Craving kodbale or khakra? This Bengaluru startup sources homemade snacks and sweets

Food

In addition to homemade products, The Slate Plate sells snacks, masalas, pickle and sweets manufactured by local brands that are generally not available in big box stores.

Theja Ram

Have you ever craved that particular kind of banana chips, kodbale, or nippat that you can find only in a certain outlet? Where the taste of any other brand could not match up to the original? A Bengaluru-based start-up, The State Plate, is sourcing condiments, snacks and sweets, authentic to several states in the country.  Launched in early August by a 21-year-old duo straight out of college, this ecommerce website is sourcing homemade snacks, sweets and condiments, made exclusively by women, who are selling their wares from home kitchens. The website also sells various kinds of pickles native to respective states and also masalas that are hard to come by in urban supermarkets.  The journey “I finished college in Shri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi and was back home during the lockdown. At home, we eat a particular type of Rajasthani papad. There are only three or four kirana stores in the city which sell them and we had to get it delivered via Dunzo from a shop about 20 km away from my house,” says Muskaan Sancheti, founder of The State Plate.  Muskaan contacted her best friend from college, Raghav Jhawar, and thus began The State Plate. The duo began researching the market for authentic, homemade condiments, snacks and also ingredients that are hyper-local and not easily accessible in big box stores. Muskaan found that the market for such wares was highly unorganised and decided to start a website that could bring vendors selling homemade products in one single place.  Currently, the website is offering snacks, condiments, sweets and even local ingredients from Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. “We hope to bring in flavours from Tamil Nadu, Andhra, and as we proceed expand across the country. Our vision is to make The State Plate a one-stop website for authentic snacks that are currently available only in specific states so everyone can taste and experience various cuisines,” she adds.  ‘Wanted it to be women-centric’ Muskaan and Raghav watched videos online and designed a website by themselves. For over two months before the launch, the duo were in the process of bringing in as many vendors of homemade products as they could. They have tied up with Utkrishtha from Bengaluru, an organisation that helps women aged above 60 years, in selling their homemade snacks, masalas and condiments.  The State Plate has also tied up with Chakri, a self-help group of over 8,000 women in Maharashtra, who make myriad khakras. “We have been in the process  of reaching out to homemade vendors across Bengaluru for now. We keep getting at least 10 requests every day. The city is filled with women who are trying to run businesses at home and by the end of the month, we are hoping to rope in 100 independent women vendors,” Muskaan adds.  However, Muskaan says that the company also welcomes popular local brands in addition to homemade goods. “As long as the taste is authentic, we are very open to having popular brands as well as home entrepreneurs on board. In fact, some of the popular brands we source from different states are often nostalgic to people who belong to those states. For instance, it's very hard for people to get their hands on specific brands not available in Bengaluru but that are native to said states,” she adds.  As a woman entrepreneur, Muskaan maintains that she wanted her venture to help other women, who are trying to run businesses of their own. “We do have certain brands that are popular in certain states. These are local brands which only people native to a particular state would know. I just wanted my venture to help as many women entrepreneurs as possible. Most of our vendors are women,” Muskaan says. 

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Bengaluru riot: Husband of another Cong corporator questioned, his cellphone seized

Crime

Syed Nasir was one among three persons named by Pulakeshinagar Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy in his complaint to the police, CCB said.

TNM Staff

PTI/Representation Photo

Bengaluru’s Central Crime Branch, which is currently probing the cause of the August 11 riot and attacks on two police stations in the city, on Friday questioned another Congress corporator’s husband, suspected to have played a role in planning the riots. On Friday, Muneshwara Nagar ward’s Congress corporator, Sadija Syed’s husband Syed Nasir, was questioned. He was, however, not arrested but his mobile phone was seized and he was allowed to go. Syed Nasir was questioned after Pulakeshinagar Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy accused three of his own party’s corporators as conspirators of the riots in his complaint filed last week.  Last week, the CCB arrested Nagawara Congress corporator’s husband, Kaleem Pasha. He allegedly visited KG Halli Police Station on Tuesday evening, before the violence broke out and allegedly instigated the mob to resort to violence. However, he allegedly left the spot as soon as protesters began pelting stones at the police station.  Read: Bengaluru violence: BBMP corporator’s husband arrested for allegedly instigating mob On August 19, DJ Halli corporator and former Mayor of Bengaluru Sampath Raj was questioned for his alleged connection to the case. The investigating officers said that 11 WhatsApp calls were made within minutes of each other from Sampath Raj’s  PA, Arun Raj’s phone to Social Democratic Party of India’s (SDPI’s) Bengaluru district president Muzzamil Pasha. However, Sampath Raj has denied any connection to the case.  The police arrested Arun Raj on August 18 after several rounds of questioning.  Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Sandeep Patil alleged that at least 27 people, who have been arrested in the riots and arson cases at DJ Halli and KG Halli police stations, had links to members of various terror outfits. Last week, the CCB arrested a self-proclaimed social worker from Bengaluru, Saimuddin, who is the founder of NGO Nazria Foundation.  Sandeep Patil said that Saimuddin allegedly had links to the accused, who were jailed for the murder of RSS worker Rudresh in Shivajinagar a few years ago.  “At least 27 other accused are linked to people arrested in various terror cases including the Church Street bomb blast and Malleshwaram bomb blast cases. Some of the accused in the riots case also visited these undertrials in prison on multiple occasions,” a senior police officer told TNM.   

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Bengaluru man arrested for procuring 750 ecstasy pills online from Germany

Crime

The man was a commerce graduate and was allegedly selling MDMA to college students.

PTI

Representation photo

A man who had allegedly procured 750 ecstasy pills online from Germany in July this year, was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in Bengaluru on Saturday. He had been at large after the recovery of a huge cache of MDMA pills, commonly known as ecstasy, from the Foreign Post Office here on July 31, an NCB statement said. The man has been identified as Rahman K, it said, but did not give details of his arrest. The NCB said that Rahman, a commerce graduate, had been selling MDMA and other party drugs among students of his college and nearby institutions. He had placed the order for MDMA pills online in exchange for Bitcoins, the Narcotics Control Bureau said. MDMA (methylenedioxy-methamphetamine) is a party drug that alters mood and perception. It is chemically similar to both stimulants and hallucinogens and produces feelings of increased energy and pleasure. While fatal overdoses on MDMA are rare, they can potentially be life threatening—with symptoms including high blood pressure (hypertension), faintness, panic attacks, and in severe cases, a loss of consciousness and seizures. As per UNODC World Drug Report 2020, Ecstasy continues to be manufactured primarily in Europe, most notably in Western and Central Europe. Europe accounts for two thirds of the Ecstasy laboratories dismantled worldwide, the NCB said. "The total quantity of Ecstasy seized worldwide has doubled over the period 2009-2018. This is also reflected in the rapidly increasing popularity of such synthetic drugs in India," the NCB statement said. Earlier in June, the Air Customs Postal Intelligence from Chennai arrested a Malayasian nation of Indian origin, Kavi Kumar, from Koramangala for allegedly ordering 100 MDMA pills online from Germany. Kavi Kumar was an employee with an e-commerce website and was arrested. The Foreign Post Office in Chennai received the parcel four days before Kavi Kumar’s arrest. The package’s contents were declared as medicines by the sender. But officials at the airmail unit scanned the package to spot yellow and pink-coloured pills. A lab test confirmed that the pills contain MDMA. 

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"My phone is being tapped": Karnataka Cong chief DK Shivakumar seeks investigation

Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, however, rubbished DK Shivakumar's claims.

PTI

Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar on Friday said he has doubts that his phone was being tapped and sought an investigation into it. State Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, however, rubbished Shivakumar's claims on Saturday and said the BJP government was 'responsible' and would not resort to such acts. "You call my phone, you can't hear the voice, all these days it was fine.... from morning I have tried about 20 calls, the voice is not audible," Shivakumar told reporters here. Asked whether his phone was being tapped, he said, he has strong doubts about it. But he did not want to make any direct allegation without evidence, the Congress leader said and demanded an investigation. Later, he also wrote to Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant, saying during the last 2-3 days voice cannot be heard properly during incoming and outgoing calls and there were "unwanted disturbance and sounds". "....I have strong doubts that my phone calls are being tapped. So I request you to get it investigated appropriately and take necessary action," Shivakumar said. Reacting to his remarks, Bommai, in a statement said, there was no question of tapping Shivakumar's phone. "Ours is a responsible government and will not stoop to the low of tapping phones, also we don't have that necessity. ...If he could not speak to his party leaders when they called, he should inquire with telephone companies about it. Alleging it as telephone tapping is not right," the Minister said. Noting that the CBI was investigating the telephone tapping case during the previous Congres-JDS rule of which Shivakumar was a part, Bommai said, "such experiences can happen during their government. This government is not worried about Shivakumar's activities, also there is no need for it." The BJP government in August last year had ordered a CBI probe into the alleged phone tapping during the Congress-JD(S) coalition government headed by HD Kumaraswamy in which Shivakumar was a cabinet Minister. The Kumaraswamy government that was rocked by dissidence was accused of tapping phones and spying on a number of people in a bid to avert its collapse. 

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How Indians are using art to cope with the pandemic

Art

TNM spoke to five amateur artists on the effect the lockdown had on their art.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

Kinnisha Andrews on Instagram

The pandemic has forced people to stay indoors, and refrain from social activities for months on end. But for some, the solitude has inspired them to tap into their artistic side, from painting to music to scrapbooking. While many have said art has become a way to cope, others said the personal growth experienced in the lockdown is reflected in their art.  Chinmayi Kaushik, a designer and illustrator in Bengaluru put out a comic series, titled ‘Emptiness’, on her Instagram. “Before the lockdown began, I used to get so busy that I would just burn out at the end of the month. Once the pandemic started, I was forced to stay at home, and there was so much empty time because there was less work. I realised for the first time that I was feeling empty, but I was filling it with work. With the lockdown, I didn’t have much work. I had to stop and face the void inside me, and it forced me to look for ways to cope with it,” she said.            View this post on Instagram                   (1/6) emptiness. . . . . #art #illustration #illustrationartists #illustrator #zine #emptiness #illustagram #sequentialart #kthanksbye A post shared by Chinmayi (@chinmayikaushik) on May 24, 2020 at 5:25am PDT   Chinmayi has also found that hope in her work. She approached her second series, ‘Imagine a Better World,’ with a brighter outlook on life.  An experimental musician in Bengaluru, Roshan Machayya, found that the lockdown was a creatively productive time for him. He managed to finish projects that he had been working on for years, and even created new music. He says, “I put out one song, ‘Ignition sequence’, just when the lockdown was beginning.”  “I’m also releasing another single ‘Emptiness’, a symphony-driven song with deep ambience, heavy rhythmic sections and soulful vocals. Besides, I’m looking to put out two EPs (extended play, consisting of three to five songs). One at the end of August, and another in October,” he says.  Roshan notes that the lockdown created challenges in collaborating with other artists, and they were not able to jam together in a studio. “But, I will probably be using this experience to anticipate how to collaborate with artists from around the world,” he says.  For some, making art was a way to cope with their own mental health. Suparna, a student and vocalist from Hyderabad, said that she turned to making music because she had to move back home after a gap, and she needed something to help her cope. “I went back home after five years because of the lockdown. I was not prepared for it and I had a lot of problems with home. The first two or three weeks of the lockdown were horrible. Luckily, I had my instruments with me and I started making videos and putting them on Instagram. For me, it’s me channelling my negativity into something nice. I wrote my first song during lockdown! I wrote this over a girl I liked a lot. Never told her. It was pride month (June) and I felt like it was the right time to write something and words just came to me.” Rakshasi/Suparna · Me and Her   With some artists, creating art became more important to them while in lockdown, and allowed them the freedom to experiment. Lakshmi Nagaraj, an advertising professional said, “I started art journaling recently, maybe around November last year. It became a really big part of my life during lockdown. I tried so many new styles and just let myself explore whatever I wanted without being scared of ‘not being good enough.’” Lakshmi has been trying out various mediums from scrapbooking with the use of sketch pens and oil pastels, which she posts on Instagram.            View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Lakshmi Nagaraj (@art.and.witchcraft) on Jun 22, 2020 at 7:58am PDT   Another person who has been experimenting through a different medium is Kinnisha, who has been using her practice of art to process her emotions. “(Art) was initially an outlet to deal with the stress of being in quarantine. It almost became an act of self-care to immerse myself in creative processes, in a way that was constructive and led to something beautiful in all the chaos,” she says.  Kinnisha has also allowed herself to explore different media. “I primarily paint with watercolors, but I have recently invested in cotton canvas and acrylics. I've really been enjoying the differences between acrylics and watercolors. I've also been exploring YouTube and other artists for inspiration and tutorials. I definitely wouldn't have done any of this if not for the lockdown!”           View this post on Instagram                   Finally! Finally I've been able to overcome whatever artists block that had been plaguing me. Lo and behold my first watercolor piece since quarantine started. I didn't particularly care what I was painting, just that I was doing it at all so I just painted the entire page. _________ #watercolor #watercolorart #watercolorflorals #watercolorpainting #florals #art #painting #artistsoninstagram A post shared by Kinnisha Andrew (@artbykinnisha) on May 19, 2020 at 4:33am PDT           View this post on Instagram                   tried acrylics on canvas for the first time. used only a palette knife on the entire piece. done following @wow_art_channel amazing YT tutorial ________ #art #acrylic #acrylicpainting #acrylicart #painting #prettydoor A post shared by Kinnisha Andrew (@artbykinnisha) on Jul 3, 2020 at 4:47am PDT

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'KGF: Chapter 2' shoot to resume from Aug 26, Sanjay Dutt to join after his break

Film

There are around 24 days of shoot remaining. Initially, the crew will be shooting for around 15 days and the remaining portions will be shot after a break.

Digital Native

The shooting of KGF:Chapter 2, the sequel to the 2018 film KGF: Chapter 1 starring Yash, will resume from the third week of August. The film's creative producer Karthik Gowda in an interview to Hindustan Times told that the shoot will resume from August 26 in Bengaluru. He had also clarified that the pictures of director Prashant Neel which recently surfaced online were from a different location and not from the sets of KGF: Chapter 2. In a recent interview with Cinema Express, Karthik confirmed that the shoot will resume from the third/fourth week of August. “We will be instituting strict guidelines on the sets, and we will have all the technicians temporarily camped at a nearby hotel, and will not be allowed to venture out until the schedule gets completed,” Karthik said. The film shooting was scheduled to begin last week but it was postponed by around 10 days.The sequel has two top Bollywood stars Sanjay Dutt and Raveena Tandon in pivotal roles. Sanjay Dutt was diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer and may fly to the US for treatment. He also announced a break from work for his medical treatment. According to the film's camp, he has completed the majority of the portion of his work with just three days of shoot left. There are around 24 days of shoot remaining. Initially, the crew will be shooting for around 15 days and the remaining portions will be shot after a break. Directed by Prashanth Neel, who has also written the story, screenplay and dialogues, the film has Yash playing the lead role and paired up opposite Srinidhi Shetty. Recent reports also suggest Easwari Rao, who made a comeback to the industry with  Rajinikanth’s Kaala, has been roped in for a crucial role in the film. While Raveena Tandon will be seen the character of a politician in the film and Sanjay Dutt will be playing the role of Adheera. Vijay Kiragandur produced the project under his banner Hombale Films. The technical team comprises music director Ravi Basrur, cinematographer Bhuvan Gowda, and art director Shivakumar. KGF: Chapter 1, which hit the marquee in December 2018, was released in five languages simultaneously - Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Malayalam and Yash instantly became a star with pan Indian appeal. With KGF turning out to be a massive success in all the languages it was released, movie buffs are waiting for the sequel eagerly. Like the prequel, KGF will be dubbed and released in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi. It may be noted here that KGF went on to become the first film in Sandalwood to reach the Rs. 200 crore club. (Content provided by Digital Native)  Directed by Prashanth Neel, who has also written the story, screenplay and dialogues, the film has Yash playing the lead role and paired up opposite Srinidhi Shetty.

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After Rolls Royce, K'taka MLC and business tycoon's family gets Ferrari F8 Tributo

Politics

MTB Nagaraj was at one point the richest MLA in Karnataka.

TNM Staff

MTB Nagaraj, one of the richest legislators in India, and currently a BJP member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, is known for his penchant for luxury cars. When he jumped ship from the Congress to the BJP in 2019, many laughed at the allegation that he was lured with money. Ahead of 2019 byelections, businessman Nagaraj and his wife Shanthakumari had declared a total income of Rs 1201.50 crore. On Saturday, his son, Nithin Purushotham, got his flashy blue Ferrari F8 Tributo, the pictures of which made headlines across the Kannada channels. Nithin and his family were spotted performing pooja and cutting cake to celebrate the new car.  In August 2019, Nagraj was in news for purchasing the most expensive vehicle available in India- a Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII. The on-road price for the fully uploaded version is Rs 11 crores. Photographs of MTB Nagaraj and his supporters with the car at the Avi Mukteshwar temple in Hoskote had gone viral. Apart from this, the family owns several other luxury cars, including a Porsche Cayenne, a Range Rover worth Rs 1.95 crores, Toyota Land Cruiser worth Rs 1.5 crores and Mercedes GLS 350 D. Some of these cars are not owned by Nagaraj or his wife, but by other members of family and therefore have not been mentioned in his affidavit. MTB Nagaraju with his Rolls Royce The 70-year-old member of legislative council started his business in a shed, manufacturing bricks and then going on to build a real estate conglomerate worth over Rs 2,000 crores. In the 2019 bye-elections, MTB Nagaraj was defeated by independent candidate Sharat Bachegowda. BS Yediyurappa however ensured that he became a member of the legislative council and Nagaraj now hopes to become a minister soon. Also read: Karnataka rebel MLA MTB Nagaraj’s assets grew by Rs 185 crore in 18 months

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