THE WHAT
AND HOW
OF

Petlee Peter talks to NCB
of\ufb01cials on the drug routes
to Chennai.

hen it comes to shopping for all that one needs for a bharatnatyam perfor-

mance, does not need to run from pillar to post in the city. Just drive your vehicle down to Shanthi Dance Needs of TVS Ma- ni, Mylapore tank. From cos- tumes to accessories to jewellery to even the make up kit, one is guaranteed to \ufb01nd that is re- quired. Mani is a tale of rags to riches. His wish to help the de- serving explore their passion for dance was his driving force.

Way back in 1957, Mani who was just 13 years old, went to learn the art of tailoring from one of the few renowned classical dance costumes tailors\u2014Amar Jyoti. He used to tailor for famous artistes like Padmini, Sai Subha- laxmi and the like. Mani says, \u201cFrom threading a needle to cut- ting, stitching and designing the costume, I got to learn a lot from him.\u201d After mastering the skill for ten years, he decided to go on his own by starting a tailoring shop of just 24 sq feet at Santhome.\u201d

Mani started Shanthi Tailors with just one machine and no or- derlies. Although there was a huge demand for classical dance costumes, it was a challenging

phase during 1960s. \u201cInitially customers were reluctant in giv- ing me a costly material to stitch as I was new in this \ufb01eld but by 1972, I became a bit popular. The then respected bharatnatyam gu- ru, Pakkiri Swami Pillai used to honour me for my costumes dur- ing his students performances.\u201d

found the need to scale higher. He soon moved to a bigger space at Mylapore. \u201cThat\u2019s when I em- ployed few tailors as I started get- ting a lot of orders from the NRI community during December and May. Soon I realised that lower income strata could not af- ford to pursue this costly art. For their sake, I started renting out bharatnatyam costumes in china silk and dharmavaram silk which now costs between Rs 100 to 200 and about Rs 400 respectively for one day. With many schools hav- ing dance programmes and dra- mas, we started to make and rent costumes for folk dance, animals, leaders, mythological characters,

vegetables and fruits which is now priced between Rs 100 to Rs 350 for a day.\u201d

In late 1980s, they began to sell all accessories like \ufb02owers, make- up set, false hair, natuvangam, and dance CDs, Kemp jewellery set. Mani says, \u201cThis place was not enough and hence we opened a bigger showroom\u2014 Shanthi Dance Needs at Myla- pore itself.\u201d He also opened a shop for his daughter Devibala in 1992 in T Nagar.

Mani credits his two sons - Siva Kumar and Senthil Kumar and daughter - for bettering it. They were instrumental in launching the store\u2019s website in mid-1990s.

Over last four decades, they have earned goodwill of commit- ted and punctual service world- wide. The cost of stitching is between Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 de- pending upon the style and pat- tern of the costume. Mani says, \u201cWe suggest the material, colour and pattern of the costume as per the body structure, type of dance to be perfomed. For arangetram, at least one costume should be made of Kanchipuram silk and colours like nay blue, brown should be avoided in order not to coincide with the stage back

Spice Jar at The Residency has a special buffet of summer coolants to help
one beat the heat. Buttermilk prepared in four \ufb02avours and many other
cool treats will be served. The buffet is prized at Rs. 425. A group of eight
get a buffet free. For reservation call 98841 39319.

1967: opened Shanthi Tailors at Santhome High road
1972: moved from Santhome to Mylapore
1984: Started separate hire section of folk dance and drama

\u201cAlthough I have owned a shop for the last
forty two years, I feel proud only if some one
calls me a tailor and not the owner\u201d

ccording to latest Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) data, Chennai stands third in

terms of cases of drug abuse among South Indian cities after Bangalore and Hyderabad. The Central Government drug control body also reveals that since the last two years contra- band usage among youngsters in the city is on the rise.

What are the banned drugs available in Chennai? How do they enter the city?

S. Davidson Devasirvatham, Director - South Zone, NCB, says banned substances like marijua- na, heroin and even cocaine are being peddled in Chennai.

\u201cWhile heroin and marijuana are illegally cultivated in India and distributed throughout the coun- try and even exported, cocaine is smuggled all the way from South America and reaches Chennai via Africa,\u201d Davidson informs.

In the last two years NCB has managed 95 per cent convictions in drug smuggling cases and has apprehended many offenders, in- cluding a few elusive bigwigs of the trade, he adds.

Widely known as ganja or weed, marijuana is said to be the most highly distributed drug in the city. Sources from the NCB\u2019s south zone reveal that the drug is smuggled into the city mainly from the border regions of And-

hra Pradesh and Orissa, where it is cultivated. Ganja from these re- gions is considered to be of \ufb01rst quality.

The cannabis plant grown in the mountainous regions of Vi- rudhunagar, Theni, Dindugal, Coimbatore and Idukki region in Kerala is also known to be the source of ganja to the city. Mid- dlemen distribute the drugs after acquiring them from farmers and usually transport it on trucks to various southern locations in the country including Chennai. City- based drug dealers receive the consignment and distribute it to peddlers for sale.

Punjab borders, NCB says heroin reaches Chennai after passing dealers in Gujarat and Mumbai with a price tag of Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 7 lakh per kilogram.

The poppy plant is also cultiv- ated under government supervi- sion in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan for medical purposes. Some farmers illegally sell opium to drug dealers, who later smug- gle it to the rest of the country, an NCB of\ufb01cer added.

Heroin, a semi-synthetic drug from which brown sugar is de- rived, is the second-most illegally sold contraband in Chennai.

Heroin is also smuggled from Chennai to countries like Sri Lan- ka, Malaysia, Singapore, Thai- land, South Africa and the Middle East.

Intelligence sources with the NCB reveal that cocaine activity in Chennai is primarily among the elite circles, including those in night clubs and rave parties. Known to cost Rs. 3,500 for a gram here, this drug extracted from Coca leaves comes from South America via southern Afri- ca, Dubai and Mumbai and then landing in Chennai.

ingenious methods to transport heroin and cocaine.

While some swallow the drugs in capsule form, others transport it through consignments via ship and air transport.\u25a0

The red line indicates
cocaine smuggled to
Chennai from S. America
via Africa, UAE and

The orange line indicates
marijuana smuggled from
parts of Andhra Pradesh and
Orissa to Chennai

The blue line indicates the
smuggling of heroin from
Afghanistan via Jammu &
Kashmir, Punjab and Mumbai to