From infantry to handlooms to hotels, Capt C P Krishnan Nair of the Leela group shares the story of his life in business with Bhupesh Bhandari.

The captain's campaign

Business Standard

In a manner very unlike Maruti Suzuki, the company is not focussing on small cars at the Auto Expo this year. Instead, it plans on bringing in utility vehicles. The first of those is the Ertiga, pictured here, which it says is the country&rsquo;s &ldquo;first compact utility vehicle&rdquo;. Powering the Ertiga UV is the K14 VVT engine, which is also making its global debut.

Show and tell!

I am planning to sell my Ford Ikon 1.3 and buy a diesel sedan. I also own a 2010 Hyundai Accent petrol. I have shortlisted the Chevrolet Optra Magnum, Skoda Rapid, Volkswagen Vento diesel and Maruti Suzuki SX4. My city driving is very less and I intend to use the car for outstation travelling and holidays. My budget is Rs 9 lakh. Please suggest a suitable car.

Sedan decision

The bleak post-Partition era in Bengal gave rise to a new literature of dissent. Malay Roychoudhury helped found the Hungryalist movement, and 50 years on he tells Nayanima Basu about its beginnings and its downfall.

'A sour time of putrefaction'

Bharti Kher is the latest artist to join the iconic ABSOLUT campaign with her bindi installation. She talks to Priyanka Sharma.

Absolute Kher

Proponents of foreign investment in retail say that farmers are being shortchanged by wholesalers and retailers at present. Akshat Kaushal traces the journey of an apple consignment from the orchards of Sopore to the dining tables of Delhi.

From tree to Mandi

It&rsquo;s a funny thing this business of internet freedom. Because the net is so profoundly empowering and anonymous it feeds into an individual&rsquo;s right to freedom of expression.

One man's freedom

A die-hard yoga devotee learns how to balance her workout with the help of a personal fitness trainer. Deborah Schoeneman shares her experiences.

Yoga addict's new mantra: Mix it up

One of the world&rsquo;s most influential admen, who built campaigns for Johnnie Walker and Axe, says brands are moving towards fashion and entertainment.

The consumer as audience

Great hopes are pinned on World Series Hockey, a new league for city teams along the lines of cricket&rsquo;s IPL. Will it work? Aabhas Sharma looks at the numbers and talks to the people.

Hockey's IPL moment

The interview came on the heels of Sacco&rsquo;s second book on Palestine, Footnotes in Gaza, in which he goes to the Gaza Strip to learn about two atrocities committed in 1956, a half-century in the past. These are the massacres in the towns of Rafah and Khan Younis in which nearly 400 Palestinians (according to the UN) were killed by Israeli soldiers without real provocation.

Plenty of other places to look

Have you ever wondered why you cannot buy wines online in India? Meaning, why can&rsquo;t a site like, say, Flipkart.

Selling wine online is better

Cuisine from North East India is creating quite a buzz in culinary circles with its subtle and delicate flavours. Avantika Bhuyan finds out the secret behind its rising popularity.

Flavours of the East

Big &mdash; that&rsquo;s how you would summarise Samsung Galaxy Note, the latest smartphone that claims to be a tablet too. The question that needs to be answered is why there is a buzz about the Samsung Galaxy Note, when the Dell Streak 5 too tried the same thing and pretty much collapsed in the process.

This will make you sit up and take Note

Dhiren Kapadia, who runs a travel agency in Mumbai, bought a Reliance Tab last month. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t afford a device that costs upwards of Rs 25,000, and in addition to the charges of data usage,&rdquo; he says. Kapadia zeroed on the Reliance Tab, that cost him Rs 12,999 and for Rs 4,500 as advance annual data rental, he is now entitled to 1 GB 3G data per month. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very affordable deal for me,&rdquo; Kapadia says.

Low-cost tablets try hard to please buyers

Cyber threats are set to grow and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter will be targetted the most.

2012: It's a grim internet out there

Organised players and national chains are redefining the age-old business model of pharmacy retail.

A new prescription for growth

The textile major wants to increase its revenues from apparel and fabric retailing to 40 per cent of total in FY 13, from a third at present.

Arvind: Less of denim, more of brands

A group of friends are out on a joyride in the Tata Nano. Amid the fun and the laughter, the commercial highlights the unique features of the car: Groovy interiors, great suspension, comfortable air-conditioning, short turning radius and neighbour&rsquo;s-envy-owner&rsquo;s-pride kind of mileage.

Second coming

Italian coffee chain Lavazza entered India with the acquisition of Barista Coffee Company in 2007 and started the Barista Lavazza chain of coffee shops. The company was again in the news after it opened its first international premium coffee chain Espression in India in September this year. Attilio Capuano, Asia &amp; Pacific director, Lavazza, feels that the two brands can coexist as the target audience is different, even though the distinctions might get blurred at times. In an email interaction with Richa Prakash, he discusses the future of the two brands in the country among other things. Excerpts.

Q&A: Attilio Capuano, Lavazza

The sixth channel from the Viacom18 stable is set to premiere mid-December. Christened Sonic, the channel is an extension of the Nickelodeon franchise and will be pitched between the kids channel Nickelodeon and youth channel MTV. The channel is aimed at the 10-18 age group, or the &lsquo;post-kid and pre-adult&rsquo; demographic, which the channel believes is a largely unexplored space.

Sonic: No child's play

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