Leander Paes credits his third
French Open title to tennis legend
and one-time mixed-doubles
partner Martina Navratilova

Manoj Kumar returns to directing with an Indo-Pak love story. And he\u2019s still not forgotten the \u201cdirty thing\u201d that Shah Rukh did.

A motorcycle theft lobby is known to be
operating in Ambattur and adjoining
areas. Reliable sources reveal that many
two-wheelers have gone missing from
the areas and some policemen are
involved in the thefts. A few months
ago, a motorcycle parked near a police
station there mysteriously went missing
and the station authorities refused to
register a case.

A senior cop who has been posted to a
big chair in the city has vast experience
in the \ufb01eld of intelligence services. A
few envious khakis in the force are
secretly taunting the senior. \u201cWhat can
an intelligence man do in a law and
order situation?\u201d they mutter.

Theft at cellphone shops are known to
be happy affairs for some police
personnel. The reason \u2013 if the case is
cracked and lost property is recovered
there is an unwritten police code that
says that a high-end mobile phone is the
reward for the hardworking of\ufb01cers.
Due to this the tainted khakis turn up-
to-date cellphone users.

the Meera Isaiaruvi Tamil Music Awards held in the city on Saturday saw playback singers and lyricists of the Tamil \ufb01lm industry sway to a dif- ferent tune. Singers including Naresh

Themed \u2018Celebrating Excellence in Music\u2019 the awards recognise the most popular songs and albums of the year 2008-09. The awards cover \ufb01lm, Car- natic and folk songs.\u25a0

Iyer, Benny Dayal, Rahul Nambiar, Karthik, Vijay Yesudas, Shwetha Mo- han, Madhumita, Srilekha Parthasa- rathy, Sumangali, Charulathamani, Suchitra and Mahathi walked the ramp wearing clothes designed by

The Raintree has introduced Sunday Brunch promising to bond the family with fun, frolic and food. The ambience is a European Street, the famed Bombay Chowpatty and namma Chennai, all rolled in one. Chaat counter, pav bhaaji, egg counter, dosa counter...are some of the main attractions. Brunch is on from noon to 3.30 p.m. For reservations call 4225 2525.

t the time of recession, all one can think of is to save one\u2019s earnings and not

start any business ven- ture. However, in the last two months, two new food joints have opened. Ergo spoke to K. Kumar of Dosa Calling, a speci- ality restaurant in Kilpauk, and Shamaz and his partners of 36 Degrees, a swanky new restau- rant on Santhome High Road, to \ufb01nd out their ambitions be- hind starting afresh in times of recession.

Little did the four NRIs know that the song \u2018London Calling\u2019 would inspire them to say goodbye to their well-placed jobs in an overseas \ufb01ve-star ho- tel and come to India to start their own hotel company, Se- rene Restaurant and Hotels Pvt. Ltd.

K. Kumar, Raj Nanda, Gop- inath and Ha\ufb01dh are very hap- py about their 40-day-old maiden venture, Dosa Calling.

In spite of having more than a decade\u2019s experience in the hospitality industry, it took them one year to make their dream come true with an initial investment of about Rs. 1.5 crore out of their personal sav- ings. \u201cWe designed a business model that would not get af- fected by recession. From our research, we observed that there was a dip only in luxury goods and \ufb01ne dining. Al- though we have a \ufb01ne dine, our prices range from Rs. 23 to Rs.

80. We serve about 30 varieties of exotic dosas made of \ufb01ve kinds of batter apart from other southern snacks and desserts.\u201d

With a beeline of foodies on Sunday evenings, Kumar is sat- is\ufb01ed with the way the business has picked up. He says the se- cret is good service in a swanky western ambience \u2013 chefs in classy uniforms and an open kitchen where one can see the dosas being prepared. From Ju- ly onwards, they will have an exotic combination of dosas pertaining to one particular re- gion.

In a year\u2019s time with NRI funding of Rs. 4 crore, they plan to take Dosa Calling to Banga- lore, Pune, Pondicherry and Hyderabad and also open a multi-cuisine restaurant \u2013 Wok: The Indian Way \u2013 and a north- ern frontier and Chettinad spic- es fusion \u2013 Inde.

\u201cIt\u2019s during recession that we are able to negotiate better rent rates with the landlords for an ideal price for lease of about seven years,\u201d they say. Howev- er, the only qualm is recruiting quali\ufb01ed chefs, but they have back up plans for the same.

One can call 4554 6060 and snacks can be home-delivered in pizza boxes and chutneys in air-tight containers.

The trio of Shiham V.P., Riyas P.P. and Shamaz Mohammed of 36 Degrees were and are con- \ufb01dent that the business will do well in spite of the challenging times in the market. Shamaz, one of the partners who feels

that the food industry has not been adversely affected, says: \u201cPeople in Chennai drive down to any part of the city for good food. We have not compro- mised on our food quality and quick service, and hence are con\ufb01dent of attracting food connoisseurs right from the start.\u201d

While Shiham and Riyas have a hospitality industry back- ground, Shamaz is into timber and interior design. Shamaz, who is also related to Shiham, says: \u201cWe met Riyaz when he was a partner of a coffee shop in Dubai and he expressed a de- sire to start his own in India. Hence, we took off from there and opened a food joint out of our savings. The initial invest-

They have branded it 36 De- grees: At 36 degrees u go minus. \u201cThe name strikes a chord with every Chennaiite as the average temperature of the city is 36 de- grees but one feels cool inside our restaurant,\u201d says Shamaz. The business is quite encourag- ing and they expect it to im- prove

As you enter the cool 1,200 sq ft, 40-cover fruit cream joint with low and soft sofas, one can choose from a variety of milk shakes, fruit juices, all-veg piz- zas and grills. Their signature dish, however, is the fruit creams \u2013 dry fruit falooda cream, kiwi cream, strawberry cream and so on.

On why they have stuck to pure vegetarian, he says: \u201cRight now, we don\u2019t want to clutter our menu card with a large va- riety of dishes and hence have stuck to vegetarian. But we may start non-veg items in due course.\u201d

The three plan to soon open another branch at Gopalapu- ram and Anna Nagar and a multi-cuisine restaurant at As- cendas IT Park and extend their current outlet on Santhome High Road into an outdoor restaurant.

\u2018Twilite Corpos\u2019 is conducting dance classes for children, corporates
and ladies in T. Nagar. Classes will be taken in batches and for
different age groups, to help one reduce weight and build up
con\ufb01dence. For details call 9790983380/9884331103.

Shamaz (extreme right) and Riyas of 36 Degrees on Santhome High Road