It&rsquo;s interesting what bits of one&rsquo;s education one remembers. I spent one long, hot afternoon in junior school memorising the Sanskrit chant Bhaja Govindam. This tedious task was much eased by terror &mdash; because the lesson was with a teacher who, though entertaining, was also uncompromising. Each of us was to stand up and chant the whole selection (about 40 lines), in front of the class. As luck would have it the teacher called on me first, and &mdash; relief! &mdash; it all tumbled out more or less perfect.

English as she is spoke

Business Standard

When it comes to affordable diesel hatchbacks, it is not the upcoming Maruti Suzuki Swift DDiS that the Chevrolet Beat TCDi will have to fight with, but these two cars.

Now beat this

After two bikes, it&rsquo;s time for a car &mdash; unfortunately I don&rsquo;t have the budget for a Fiat Punto! I&rsquo;m looking at something around Rs 4 lakh. The Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 VXi and the Chevrolet Beat LS are in my shortlist. The Ford Figo, Maruti Suzuki A-star and the Hyundai i10 are not on my options list. What would you suggest? What's your opinion of the K10? My main requirements are front seat comfort, AC, reliability and a music system (which I shall acquire from the aftermarket). I don&rsquo;t think the Beat Diesel will fit in my budget, while the Tata Indica Vista Quadrajet too is a bit expensive. Please give me your verdict.

Budget blues

Vijay Mallya, Adi Godrej, Anil Ambani and Anand Mahindra have fallen for the charms of a yacht.

Rich man's new toy

The Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

My Life My Style: Tarun Tahiliani

The Rs 72-crore World Bank-supported Area Traffic Control system is helping Mumbai cut down on commuting time.

Ease on down the road

The aloo wars of 2005 are now barely remembered, but for a brief while, the question of whether Indian potatoes were infected or not became a cross-border issue.

It's eating us

Ordinarily, it might be a bit much to hit the bar at nine in the morning. In the Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender of the Year competition, touted as the Oscars of the bartending industry, 32 of the world&rsquo;s top bartenders have been shaking, stirring and pouring through the day &mdash; from 9 am to 5 pm &mdash; to create some of the finest drinking experiences.

Mixers and shakers

Maruti faces no threat to its crown despite the emergence of many challengers.

Small car giant & the wannabes

India Inc is learning the ropes of corporate reputation management the hard way.

Damage control

After doing MBA from Harvard, Lavanya Chettiar is working with McKinsey. But her best teacher continues to be her grandfather, Nalli Kuppuswamy Chettiar.

Nalli waits for GenNext

Indo Nissin&rsquo;s Top Ramen wants to jump on to the health bandwagon; but it would do well to remember that it takes time to win over health-conscious customers.

Instant noodles, instant energy?

With just the state-owned BSNL offering dedicated Apple iPad 3G data plans, tablet PC users claim it has hampered the adoption.

RCom to offer iPad data plan 

After this whirlwind lunch interview, Shivinder M Singh, managing director, Fortis Healthcare (India), cleans up his desk with a paper napkin, folds it neatly and tucks it under his empty plate. Perhaps a fetish for organisation is Singh&rsquo;s vice, but fastidious preparation has worked for him. In 10 years he has taken Fortis Healthcare from a single facility in Mohali to being the largest private healthcare provider in the country on the back of a string of canny acquisitions.

Q&A: Shivinder M Singh, MD, Fortis Healthcare (India)

CavinKare, the Chennai-based manufacturers of hair care, skin care and personal care products, has recently launched a one of its kind double fragrance talcum powder, Cool Duet. As the name suggests, the talcum powder has two fragrances &mdash; first, a &lsquo;flowery minty&rsquo; fragrance that helps one start the day feeling fresh and active, and second &mdash; one which is activated when the user perspires &mdash; is a fruity fragrance which keeps one cool and fresh.

CavinKare: Two better than one

The name&rsquo;s Bond, James Bond.&rdquo; &ldquo;A vodka martini, shaken not stirred.&rdquo; Our favourite secret agent who made these phrases part of popular lexicon is the hero in STAR Movies&rsquo; bid to revive consumption of the English entertainment channels. The James Bond festival on STAR Movies, Bond Forever, will run till July-end. According to viewership data provided by TAM, English entertainment accounts have only 0.1 per cent share and English movie channels 0.7 per cent (in 2010) of the overall television viewership.

The top 10 business bestsellers

Medicine systems like ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homeopathy (AYUSH) have long enjoyed acceptance among Indian communities. However, owing to inadequate scientific validation, they had not received due recognition in the past.

KIT: Traditional Indian medicine systems

    ______ Smile is the title by which this brand has a presence on Facebook. It encourages you to share your &lsquo;smile&rsquo; by uploading photographs. Fill in the blank with the brand&rsquo;s name.

The Strategist Quiz (#210)

&nbsp;

    Which company unveiled its &lsquo;Sound Charge&rsquo; t-shirt that harnesses the power of sound to charge a cell phone using a material found in hi-fi speakers?&nbsp;
    Orange Telecom, UK&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    In the 80s, the founder CEO of which Fortune top 10 company did a hula (a Hawaiian dance) on Wall Street after his company made a pre-tax profit of 8 per cent for the previous fiscal year?
    Sam Walton of Wal-Mart&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    To revamp the image of a

Answers to last week's quiz (#209)

Waghbakri tea is a known name in Gujarat. It is the market leader in that state with a 45 per cent market share. In recent years, however, the brand has been attempting to go national moving to neighbouring states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa and Delhi. It has even made inroads into the southern city of Hyderabad.

Regional to national: not an easy ride

- Find Specials News, Features, Analysis and more at Business Standard. Full coverage of Goafest 2014

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