Tuesday, October 26, 2010

A must read! 100% Eco Product

Jai Gurudeva - Mitti cool... Amazing true story and products from a simple Indian..!A Gujarati

Image: Mansukhbhai Prajapati with APJ Abdul Kalam.

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam called him a 'true scientist'. Mitticool, a clay refrigerator that works without electricity had turned the world's attention to its creator Mansukhbhai Prajapati, a craftsman based in Gujarat ..

Presenting the national award to Mansukhbhai in 2009, President Pratibha Patil appreciated his work and asked him for a Mitticool.

Scientists and journalists from across the world have visited his unit to see how he makes eco-friendly products at a low cost.

A school drop-out, he has achieved a feat that many in the world envy today. The simple and unassuming Mansukhbhai is not keen on money. His ambition is to make more low-cost and eco-friendly products for the masses.

"A good majority of Indians cannot buy a fridge as it is expensive. Besides this, electricity bills and maintenance cost is also high. Mitticool is an eco-friendly product which has no maintenance costs. It also retains the original taste of vegetables, says Mansukhbhai who has sold 1500 units so far.

"I failed in the tenth standard. But I was not disappointed as I knew that I was capable of making something new," says Mansukhbhai who holds a patent for Mitticool.

People who considered him as incapable, now look up to him. They say, "you are the pride of our community!"

He has been popularising earthen products since 1988. The only drawback for him is the lack of stores to sell them.

The products are mostly available in Gujarat and in some stores in Mumbai and Pune only. Besides, the low-cost fridge, he has developed a water filter, non-stick tava and a pressure cooker all made of clay. And he has many more innovative ideas.

Image: Mansukhbhai' s father at work.

The beginning

Pottery has been the Prajapati family's traditional business. Mansukhbhai' s family belonged to Morbi in Rajkot district.

However, his father gave up the profession as it was not getting them any money. It was all hard work without much gain. He being the only son was sent to school on the hope that he would do well in academics and get a good life..

However, he disappointed them when he failed tenth standard. To make matters worse, he refused to take up construction work which his father had started doing. He was however forced to do all sorts of odd jobs. He even injured an eye working in a brick factory..

"I was fed up. I wanted to start my own factory. But there was no way I could do it without resources. I joined a tile factory. I worked there for sometime. This was a turning point for me," he says.

He found that tiles were manufactured at a fast pace with a machine which was quite expensive.

Image: Mansukhbhai receives the National Award from President Pratibha Patil.

However, Mansukhbhai knew he needed to think differently and make innovative products. He took a loan of Rs 30,000 and started a small factory.

At the age of 18, he made a machine, which could make 600 tavas a day instead of 100 tavas they used to make manually. This gave him lot of confidence to explore and innovate.

He got the idea to make a machine for about Rs 4,000, which could help him manufacture more tavas than was being done manually. His initiative to restart the pottery business was not taken positively. But he went ahead despite opposition.

"Now all my family members actively take part in the work. They are very happy with what I have achieved so far.. I owe a lot to my family. I am happy that my elder son is doing an engineering course in ceramic

engineering. "

Image: Water filter.

His only regret is that because of poor marketing his products are not reaching out to many people. He, however, makes it a point to parcel products to people who are willing to deposit money in his bank account.

The business

It was a great beginning. "I also made a clay mixing machine. Till then, clay used to be missed with the legs.. This machine also reduced the workload and improved the efficiency."

By 1995, he realised the need to build a water filter. The market had steel filters which were not very efficient. After months of research and hard work, he built a water filter.

Luck favoured him too. "A person who had settled in Nairobi heard about my project and approached me for 500 units. I was excited. I sold it making Rs 100,000 on the first sale. It was a good start. The product I developed was sold in Nairobi even before it sold in India ," he says. The water filters priced at Rs 350 to 400 are quite popular.

Image: Non-stick pan.

Later in 2005, he started the non-stick tava (pan) business. "My wife could not buy a non-stick tava as it was costly. So I thought many people would be facing the same problem..

That's when I designed the non-stick tavas, priced between Rs 50-100." It took him an year to research and experiment -- testing the material for the non stick coating etc. The food grade test for the pan was done by Tata Chemicals in Mumbai.

Mansukhbhai has sold more than 50,000 tavas. He had to make thousands of tavas before he made the perfect one.

He thanks the Gujarat Grassroots Innovation Network and professors at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and the National Innovation Foundation, who extended their help in the form of grant and guidance for getting the patent, making the packing box and lab testing of products.

Image: Mitticool fridge.

"When a foreign delegation came to meet me, we cooked food in clay vessels and served them in clay plates. They were very impressed and happy with our healthy approach."

In 2009, he made the clay pressure cooker. "It comes with a whistle too," he remarks. About 500 cookers have been sold so far.

The idea behind Mitticool

During the 2001 earthquake, all earthen pots were broken. Some people told me the poor people's refrigerators are broken. They referred to the 'matkas'(pots) as refrigerators.

It struck me then that I must try to make a fridge for those who cannot afford to buy a fridge. The patent winning Mitticool has been the most challenging product for him. It needed a lot of experimenting. He started work on it in 2001, the product was finally ready by 2004.

It took him almost four years of hard labour and an investment of about Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million). An engineer who saw the fridge asked him to make 100 units. This was a great morale booster..

He had to take a loan of about Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) for the Mitticool project. He is still repaying the debt.

Image: Mansukhbhai with his products.

It takes 10 people to make a fridge in one day. Made from clay, the refrigerator can store water, fruits, vegetables for 8 days and milk for one day.

The upper part of the refrigerator stores water, while the bottom unit has space for fruits, vegetables and milk.


At present, he sells the clay fridges at Rs 2,500, at his unit. Most of the sales outside Gujarat are done during exhibitions.

In Mumbai and Pune, some of his products are available. Every year he takes part at the international trade fair in New Delhi in a bid to popularise the products.

Image: The popular clay pressure cooker.

"I have also been getting lot of calls from the US .. It is amazing to see so much interest from abroad," he says happily.

Mitticool was showcased at a conference organised by the Centre for India and Global Business, Judge Business School , University of Cambridge , UK in May 2009. Bosch and Siemens Hausger te (BSH), Germany , has also showed interest in Mitticool.

About 20 units of Mitticool have been exported to the UK , Africa and Nairobi .. He has now been invited to Africa to set up a unit there. "I have not committed anything but the most important thing is the soil. Gujarat has the best soil for pottery," he points out.

Image: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi checks the products.

The recognition

Mansukhbhai had never imagined that his products would win him so many accolades.

Nothing can be as rewarding as such compliments. Money is nothing compared to people's appreciation. "Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi knows me by my name. He has been very supportive and told me to approach him for any problem," he says.

He says well-known activist and performer Mallika Sarabhai recently remarked that he should be made Gujarat 's brand ambassador.

Image: Mansukhbhai to be on Discovery Channel

He also enjoyed doing a shooting for a programme which will be aired on Discovery Channel.

"A team from the Discovery Channel took me around India .. I enjoyed the trip. It was a wonderful experience. I had never imagined that I would ever be able to fly in a plane," Mansukhbhai says.

The media has been very supportive. It feels great to see my products on television channels, newspapers etc.

Image: Clay artifacts.

His goal

Mansukhbhai wants every Indian to have access to his products. There is very little awareness about the products though I try to participate in 2-3 exhibitions every year.

"I wish I could strike a deal with a retail store like Big Bazaar to get better visibility. I am sure if more people use our products, it will create more awareness about such low-cost products that are a healthy and cost effective alternative in the long run."

Advice to entrepreneurs

His advice to budding entrepreneurs is: Never think about failures. Never give up.

Put your heart and soul into what you want to do. Always follow the right path and have patience. Keep working hard.


Monday, October 25, 2010

LIVE TELECAST OF THEVAR JEYANTHI ? ? ?

check out :

http://fr.truveo.com/thevar-festivalmp4/id/4243122938

Saturday, October 23, 2010

SECOND INNINGS - KARTHIK

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

S.S.CHANDRAN FROM MUKKULATHOR COMMUNITY IS DEAD



 நடிகர் எஸ் எஸ் சந்திரன் மரணம்

சென்னை, அக்.9 (டிஎன்எஸ்) அதிமுக முன்னாள் எம்.பி.யும் நடிகருமான எஸ்.எஸ்.சந்திரன்(69) மாரடைப்பால் காலமானார்.

திருவாரூர் மாவட்டத்தில் நடந்த நிகழ்ச்சி ஒன்றில் கலந்து கொள்வதற்காக அவர் மன்னார்குடி சென்றிருந்தார். நிகழ்ச்சியில் பேசிய முடித்த பிறகு அவருக்கு நெஞ்சுவலி ஏற்பட்டது.

இதையடுத்து அவர் உடனடியாக தனியார் மருத்துவமனை ஒன்றில் சேர்க்க்ப்பட்டார். ஆனால், அவர் இறந்துவிட்டதாக மருத்துவர்கள் தெரிவித்தனர். பின்னர் அவரது உடல் சென்னை கொண்டு வரப்பட்டது.

சினிமாவில் நகைச்சுவை, குணச்சித்திர நடிகராக பிரபலமான் எஸ்.எஸ்.சந்திரன், அதிமுக-வில் இணைந்து 2001 முதல் 2007 வரை நாடாளுமன்ற மாநிலங்களவை உறுப்பினராக இருந்தார். தற்போது அதிமுக கொள்கை பரப்பு துணை செயலாளர் பொறுப்பில் நியமிக்கப்பட்டு தமிழ்நாடு முழுவதும் கட்சி கூட்டங்களில் பேசி வந்தார்.

திருவாரூர் மாவட்டம் முத்துப்பேட்டை ஒன்றியத்தில் உள்ள இடும்பாவனத்தில் நேற்று (அக்.8) இரவு அ.தி.மு.க. பொதுக்கூட்டம் நடந்தது. இக்கூட்டத்தில் எஸ்.எஸ். சந்திரன் பங்கேற்று பேசினார். 9.05 மணிக்கு பேச துவங்கி 10.15 மணிக்கு முடித்தார். கூட்டம் முடிந்ததும் முத்துப்பேட்டையில் அ.தி.மு.க. நிர்வாகிகளுடன் அமர்ந்து எஸ்.எஸ். சந்திரன் சாப்பிட்டார்.

பின்னர் மன்னார்குடியில் ஓட்டலில் தங்கினார். படுக்கைக்கு சென்ற அவருக்கு நள்ளிரவு 12.15 மணிக்கு நெஞ்சுவலி ஏற்பட்டது. மூச்சுத்திணறலிலும் அவதிப்பட்டார். சில வினாடிகளில் மயக்கமாகி சாய்ந்தார்.

உடனடியாக அவரை அருகில் இருந்த தனியார் மருத்துவமனைக்கு தூக்கிச் சென்றனர். அங்கு அவரை பரிசோதித்த டாக்டர்கள் அவர் இறந்து விட்டதாக தெரிவித்தனர்.

எஸ்.எஸ். சந்திரன் உட லுக்கு திருவாரூர் மாவட்ட அ.தி.மு.க.வினர் மலர் வளையம் வைத்து அஞ்சலி செலுத்தினர். பின்னர் அவரது உடல் வேனில் ஏற்றப்பட்டு சென்னை கொண்டு வரப்பட்டது.

மரணம் அடைந்த எஸ்.எஸ். சந்திரனுக்கு ராஜம் என்ற மனைவியும் ரோஹித், ரங்கராஜ் என்ற மகன்களும் கண்மணி என்ற மகளும் உள்ளனர். ரோஹித் சினிமா கம்பெனி வைத்துள்ளார். ரங்கராஜ் டாக்டருக்கு படிக்கிறார்.

எஸ்.எஸ். சந்திரன் 800 படங்களுக்கு மேல் நடித்துள்ளார். காமெடி குணசித்திர வேடங்களிலும், வில்லன் கேரக்டரில் நடித்து இருக்கிறார். ரஜினியுடன் மாப் பிள்ளை , உழைப்பாளி படங்களில் நடித்துள்ளார். பாட்டி சொல்லை தட்டாதே படத்தில் எஸ்.எஸ். சந்திரன் பாத்திரம் பேசப்பட்டது. ஒருமுறை சொல்லி விடு , எங்கள் குரல் ஆகிய படங்களை தயாரித்தும் இருக்கிறார். தற்போது விஜய் டி.வி.யில் வாங்க பேசலாம் என்ற நிகழ்ச்சியை டெல்லி கணேசுடன் இணைந்து தொகுத்து வழங்கி வந்தார்.

சென்னை கொண்டு வரப்பட்ட எஸ் எஸ் சந்திரன் உடல், இன்று (அக்.9) காலை 10 மணிக்கு சாலி கிராமம் ராஜாஜி காலனி பசும்பொன் முத்துராமலிங்கம் சாலையில் உள்ள வீட்டில் பொதுமக்கள் அஞ்சலிக்காக வைக்கப்பட்டது.

அ.தி.மு.க. தலைமை கழக நிர்வாகிகள், எம்.பி., எம்.எல். ஏ.க்கள் மாவட்ட கழக நிர்வாகிகள் மலர் வளையம் வைத்து அஞ்சலி செலுத்தினார்கள்.

இறுதிச்சடங்கு நாளை காலை 9 மணிக்கு நடக்கிறது. சாலி கிராமத்தில் இருந்து உடல் ஊர்வலமாக எடுத்துச் செல்லப்பட்டு தியாகராய நகர் மயானத்தில் தகனம் செய்யப்படுகிறது. (டிஎன்எஸ்)

Oct 09, 2010