Chotte Nawab on
his upcoming movie
Love Aaj Kal and
also his sweetheart
Kareena\u2019s movie
Kambakkht Ishq

riot of colours \ufb01lled the venue at the Taj Coroman- del on Sunday where

hundred of participants ex- hibited their creative expression on the canvas. Keeping in mind that art is a tool in therapy, heal- ing and a fun form, a painting competition was conducted for special children and adults by the Down Syndrome Association of Tamil Nadu, Round Table No 1 and the Member Associations of the Round Tables of India.

in the event. The participants were divided into three age groups \u2013 10-15 years, 16-20 years and 21-30 years.

The speciality of the contest was that all participants received a bag with crayons, t-shirts and little gifts. Prizes for the \ufb01rst, sec- ond and third prize winners in each category were awarded. Al- so, the award-winning painting of last year\u2019s event would be sold and the proceedings received out of that will go towards a partic- ular child.\u25a0

The talent
competition for
special children
received good

Splash of
colours at
the painting

Down
Syndrome
Association

novel display with wrap around events.
Over 100 graphic novels from authors
ranging from Sarnath Banerjee, Neil
Gaiman, Peter O\u2019Donnell, Agatha Christie,
William Shakespeare, H.G. Wells and
Charles Dickens are on display. Parallel to
the display is a \u2018Comic Strip\u2019 competition
on the theme \u2018Climate Change\u2019.
Participants can send in their entries before
July 23, which is open to children, students,
professionals, parents and homemakers.
Finally, on July 25 at 6 p.m. an interactive
presentation \u2018Walk through on graphic
novel\u2019 will be organised by Ashok
Rajagopalan, an illustrator and writer of
children\u2019s books. The graphic novel display
is on view till July 31 at British Council, 737,
Anna Salai. For details call 4205 0600.

The \u2018Cook and Dine\u2019 concept has become a trendy affair in Courtyard by Marriott
as Master Chef Suresh Thampy offered his bag of culinary expertise this time to
Rajasthan Cosmopolitan Ladies Club. The hotel had welcomed 75 ladies of the
association to don the chef\u2019s hat and try their hands on Italian food with Master
Chef Suresh Thampy.

chance meeting with an old friend at Adyar Bakery brought Lakshmi Parkavi

and her college junior Dav- loor Harshavardan together to launch a social networking site with a cause. Hardum.com is the most recent local social network- ing platform in news, because the platform was inaugurated at the Raj Bhavan, with Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala and actor Kamal Hassan gracing the launch.

Hardum (Hindi for \u2018always\u2019) is the entrepreneurial venture of two alumni of College of Engi- neering (CEG), Guindy. Hardum has divided namma Chennai into different pockets, whereby you can chat, buy and sell things and search jobs, to name a few. Its buy-and-sell feature is the most effective for those looking to con- nect with the neighbourhood store.

Around 70 such areas have been networked so far, and in a few months from now the team hopes to connect entire South In- dia.

Lakshmi, a B.Tech IT (2006) graduate, always dreamt of be- coming an entrepreneur and her \ufb01rst step towards that was getting a Management degree.

\u201cAfter graduation I worked with CTS for 10 months and left to Scotland to pursue my MBA,\u201d says Lakshmi.

Networking and e-commerce was a rage in Scotland and the 24-year-old knew she had to in- corporate the two in her business model but did not know how to start off.

Finding Harshavardan, better known as Harsh who passed out of CEG in 2008, helped in sowing seeds for their venture.

Interestingly, the idea for the business was sprouted at CEG, where the two met up often in the college parking lot, canteen, etc. The main motto for their venture was: \u201cDo something different us-

\u201cWe brainstormed on various ideas and \ufb01nally decided on the name Hardum,\u201d says Harsh, who was famous in college as the Stu- dent Union President plus as the main organiser of 2008 Techofes. After graduation, Harsh also worked in the U.K. for six months.

Why should one visit Hardum? \u201cHardum, in a way, is eco-friend- ly and one can donate stuff over the site. We thus contribute to a pollution-free

environment,\u201d says Harsh. How? \u201cWe have di- vided the city area-wise, like An- na Nagar, Avadi, Sholinganallur, etc. So if you want to buy someth- ing you can go to that suitable segment in Hardum and see if so- meone is selling that in your area or a nearby area, thereby saving time and money.\u201d

Also for example, say you have a college textbook that you no longer use. You can put it up as \u201cfreebies\u201d on the site and it can be availed of by other users. Har- dum has various friendly fea- tures. One could check out for discounts and events and read around nine newspapers online. So far, the website received around 2,700 members who have undertaken various deals, a good start they say.

Besides Lakshmi and Harsh, the venture had many enthusias- tic college students of CEG play- ing a role. Like, the website was designed by an alumnus, while some friends helped in market- ing. \u201cFrom the naming of the website to its design, marketing and funding, students were the pillars and the Vice-Chancellor our path-breaker,\u201d they say.\u25a0

Two CEG alumni launch
www.hardum.com, where one
can buy, sell and search for a
variety of day-to-day goods

Tamil Nadu Governor
Surjit Singh Barnala
launching hardum.com
at Raj Bhavan in this
July 9 photo. Also
seen are Anna
University Vice
Chancellor Mannar
Jawahar (left),
Harshavardan (second
from left) and actor

Networking and e-commerce was
a rage in Scotland and Lakshmi
knew she had to incorporate the
two in her business model but
did not know how to start off