The Alliance Francaise is playing host to a week-long festival of movies. Fete de la Musique is celebrated yearly with a festival of movies that are musical and where music is celebrated. For details call 2827 9803/2827 1477.

heir appalams have always been a part of the traditional meal in most households and

theirparuppu and sambar powders have become a hit over the years. Ambika Appalam Depot is one brand that has carved a niche in namma Chennai, and in two dec- ades they will complete diamond jubilee.

It all started in a humble way in the early 1920s. K.A.Velayudham\u2019s father came to Madras from Thris- sur to earn his livelihood, where he started by makingpapadams at his residence.

\u201cMy grandfather passed away in early 40s and hence my father Ve- layudham took over the business at the age of 17,\u201d says K.V. Sukumar, the third generation who runs the business along with his brother Vi- jayaraghavan.

\u201cIn Chennai, appalam was pop- ular amongst the masses and my fa- ther wanted his business to grow. He soon rented a 50 sq ft shop in Madavan Nair Street and started selling about 10 to 15 bundles of ap- palams daily.\u201d

In 1945, Velayudham moved to North Mada Street in Mylapore and named the shop after Goddess Am- bika. In two years time, Ambika Ap- palam Depot\u2019s second outlet opened on Usman Road.

\u201cIn mid-1960s, the goddess trade- mark was registered and my father got a proprietorship. This is when he started to export to various cities

\u2013 Bombay, Delhi, Pondicherry, Jam- shedpur, Trichy, Madurai and Coimbatore. On a mutual under- standing, for easy administration and sharing of pro\ufb01ts, I took care of the business in the southern belt and my brother was in charge of the exports to various cities,\u201d says Su- kumar. What started of with just four people increased to 300, com- prising all relatives assisting them.

However, the unit did face some challenges. \u201cThere was a labour strike in the early 70s and the unit was closed down for about two years. While some labourers got scattered into other trades, a few started making appalams from their homes. We restarted by buying ap- palams from them and soon got our own manufacturing unit at Choolai-

medu. My mother was very good at making various cooking powders, snacks,vadams and we began man- ufacturing them too,\u201d says Vijaya- raghavan.

Their \ufb01rst medium of advertising was the radio in 1975. With the business getting better, shops opened under the brand of Ambika Appalam Depot in Adyar, T. Nagar, Nanganallur, Alwarthirunagar and Triplicane, with the latest being on C.P. Ramaswamy Road.

With requests coming from cus- tomers the depot also started stock- ing provisions and groceries from the late80s.

powder having 27 ingredients and various \ufb02avours of appalams: jeera, jackfruit, tapioca, pepper and garlic. \u201cWe plan to rename our outlets to Ambika Super Store in a couple of months as ours is now a one-stop- store selling all that one needs to run a kitchen,\u201d adds Sukumar.

What makes their appalams dif- ferent is the taste and freshness. \u201cWe use grade-A urud daal and avoid preservatives to retain the original taste. Maximum produc- tion happens during the summers and we stock our appalams for the entire year,\u201d says Vijayaraghavan. They plan to start e-business in their website that was created in 1996.\u25a0

Made in Chennai is a column that
showcases the evolution of home-
grown busines

This appalam company
started in a humble way
in the 1920s, has today
branched out to over
half-a-dozen outlets
in namma Chennai

aatrutva\u2019s modus operandi is unlike your usual NGO. Though the intent is the

same \u2013 providing basic amenities and uplifting the poor \u2013 the means used in attaining these goals are on a different tangent. Per- haps this is because it is being run by a 21-year-old girl.

Lalitha Ramesh, an Engineering graduate, began Maatrutva knowing well that donating funds to deserv- ing orphanages wouldn\u2019t really make a difference because there were no accounts on how the funds

were used. So, she decided to pool in a group of friends to ascertain exact- ly what the needs of orphans are.

Though Maatrutva \u2013 sanskrit for \u2018motherhood\u2019 \u2013 of\ufb01cially came into being February this year, it was after three months of groundwork and re- search to make sure the work they did would make a difference in the lives of a few. Gathering a few volun- teers, who later became members of the team, Lalitha set out to different orphanages and, with or without the consent of of\ufb01cial authorities there, interacted with the children about the facilities and made a list of things that weren\u2019t provided to them.

us but most didn\u2019t. They were rude and didn\u2019t want us to interact with- out supervision. But we managed to work our way through them with a few white lies. The kids were pretty expressive about their problems and quite ready to tell us what they need- ed. We were shocked to \ufb01nd out that some of them didn\u2019t even have toothbrushes and had to share with others over a period of many years. And we came to realise how little of the funds that were given were ac- tually used to help the kids,\u201d Lalitha explains.

After they drew up a list, they be- gan to gather volunteers, doctors, professors and donors to help them out with their tasks. And they make

sure no funds reach the orphanages directly and provide for the kids in the form of textbooks, clothes and other kind. And they don\u2019t stop there. Periodic visits are made to these orphanages to make sure the materials reach the target people.

Maatrutva will also be teaming with Chennai-based music band Ra- diance, who will be releasing their second music album next month.

\u201cOur band was thinking of our second venture when Maatrutva ap- proached us for a tie-up. We knew the cause was genuine and our work wouldn\u2019t go vain and hence accept- ed the deal. All proceeds from our upcoming album, Pudhu Yugam, will go directly into Maatrutva\u2019s funds. This way we know we are do- ing our bit for society,\u201d Jayanth, a member of Radiance, says. Accord- ing to Lalitha, Maatrutva would be using the proceeds to fund educa- tion of underprivileged children and set up a library for the poor.

Maatrutva has carved a niche for itself in the four months that it\u2019s been around. Though the team did have dif\ufb01culty convincing people to donate in the beginning, word of their work has spread around and brought more volunteers, willing to help.

\u201cWe have many plans but need some support from whoever can of- fer it, to make them real,\u201d Lalitha insists.

21-year-old Lalitha
Ramesh began
Maatrutva as an
NGO that would
not just donate
money to the
deserving but also
see to it that every
penny counts

\u201cWe were
shocked to \ufb01nd
out that some
of them didn\u2019t
even have

and had to
share with
others over a
period of many
years. And we
came to realise
how little of
the funds that
were given
were actually
used to help
the kids\u201d