Latest news with #Navratri
Hindustan Times
13 hours ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Due to low supply from south, coconut prices soar ahead of Ganesh festival
PUNE: With a drop in coconut production in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the last three years, the prices of regular coconut, dry coconut, and tender coconut have surged across the region, including Pune. Traders expect prices to rise further as demand increases ahead of the festive season. Due to low supply from south, coconut prices soar ahead of Ganesh festival High-quality tender coconuts, which were available at ₹40 each until recently, are now being sold for ₹60 to ₹80, depending on quality, size and location. Dry coconuts, which are in high demand for religious and culinary use, are selling at ₹300 to ₹320 per kg in wholesale markets, and around ₹400 per kg in retail, traders said. The prices of regular coconuts used for pooja and cooking have risen by 30 to 40%. 'In Pune, the average daily demand for dry coconut is around 20-30 tonnes, but arrivals are only 15-20 tonnes. With supply failing to match demand, prices have naturally increased. With Ganeshotsav, Navratri, Raksha Bandhan and Diwali coming up, demand will rise further,' said Ashok Lodha, a wholesale trader at the Pune Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC). Shiva Yadav, a retail tender coconut vendor, said, 'This year, the prices range between ₹50 and ₹80 depending on quality. Many customers are unable to afford it now, especially if it means paying more than ₹50 for a glass of coconut water. Still, people who are buying for patients or those recovering from illness continue to purchase it out of necessity.' Retail grocery store owner Santosh Agrawal said that lower middle class and economically weaker customers are cutting back on their consumption, especially dry coconut. 'Coconut is a daily part of our cooking. But with prices so high, we've started using it in smaller quantities,' said Sonali Karmarkar, a homemaker from Konkan. However, no relief is in sight as both demand and price are expected to rise further in the coming weeks.
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
'Still waiting for the money': Burger Singh shuts down ₹47 crore funding report with wit
Homegrown burger chain Burger Singh has issued a witty clarification, denying recent reports that it raised ₹ 47 crore in funding. The company responded to a story by startup news platform Entrackr, calling it premature, and explaining the confusion with a generous dose of humour. The July 17 report had claimed that Burger Singh had secured ₹ 47.15 crore in a new funding round co-led by Negen Value Fund and Nine Rivers Capital, with participation from Rhodium Trust and 19 other investors. But in a statement shared with the press, Burger Singh said- Not yet. 'We'd like to clarify some excitement stirred up by an 'exclusive' report… claiming Burger Singh has successfully raised ₹ 47.15 crore in a fresh funding round,' the company said. 'We're flattered. Truly. But unfortunately, and quite factually, that's not true. Not yet, at least.' The confusion, according to Burger Singh, stems from a misreading of a Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) filing, specifically, an MGT-14 form. The company clarified that this is simply a regulatory step that indicates the possibility of a share offering, not confirmation that funds have been received. To explain further, the company offered a quirky real-estate analogy: 'It's the corporate equivalent of listing your house on 99acres. It simply means: we're open for business. It does not mean the house is sold, the money is in the bank, and we're lighting cigars with ₹ 2000 notes.' Burger Singh also dropped a cricket analogy for good measure, referencing India's heartbreaking Lord's Test loss: 'This is like reporting that India had won the match right before Siraj took guard against Shoaib Bashir's second-last ball… Sometimes the ball trickles back and knocks off the bails. And so do your hopes.' 'Legally speaking, an MGT-14 is a pre-offer document, not a receipt,' the statement added. 'The investors still have to say yes, transfer the funds, and sign on the dotted line. None of that has happened yet. So any report implying otherwise is premature — and frankly, misleading.' While Entrackr did reach out to CEO Kabir Jeet Singh for comment, Burger Singh addressed that too, in trademark style. 'Kabir receives more unknown-number WhatsApps than a housing society aunty gets forwarded videos during Navratri. If he stopped to reply to all of them, that's all he'd be doing all day.'
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
'Still waiting for the money': Burger Singh shuts down ₹47 crore funding report with wit
Homegrown burger chain Burger Singh has issued a witty clarification, denying recent reports that it raised ₹ 47 crore in funding. The company responded to a story by startup news platform Entrackr, calling it premature, and explaining the confusion with a generous dose of humour. The July 17 report had claimed that Burger Singh had secured ₹ 47.15 crore in a new funding round co-led by Negen Value Fund and Nine Rivers Capital, with participation from Rhodium Trust and 19 other investors. But in a statement shared with the press, Burger Singh said- Not yet. 'We'd like to clarify some excitement stirred up by an 'exclusive' report… claiming Burger Singh has successfully raised ₹ 47.15 crore in a fresh funding round,' the company said. 'We're flattered. Truly. But unfortunately, and quite factually, that's not true. Not yet, at least.' The confusion, according to Burger Singh, stems from a misreading of a Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) filing, specifically, an MGT-14 form. The company clarified that this is simply a regulatory step that indicates the possibility of a share offering, not confirmation that funds have been received. To explain further, the company offered a quirky real-estate analogy: 'It's the corporate equivalent of listing your house on 99acres. It simply means: we're open for business. It does not mean the house is sold, the money is in the bank, and we're lighting cigars with ₹ 2000 notes.' Burger Singh also dropped a cricket analogy for good measure, referencing India's heartbreaking Lord's Test loss: 'This is like reporting that India had won the match right before Siraj took guard against Shoaib Bashir's second-last ball… Sometimes the ball trickles back and knocks off the bails. And so do your hopes.' 'Legally speaking, an MGT-14 is a pre-offer document, not a receipt,' the statement added. 'The investors still have to say yes, transfer the funds, and sign on the dotted line. None of that has happened yet. So any report implying otherwise is premature — and frankly, misleading.' While Entrackr did reach out to CEO Kabir Jeet Singh for comment, Burger Singh addressed that too, in trademark style. 'Kabir receives more unknown-number WhatsApps than a housing society aunty gets forwarded videos during Navratri. If he stopped to reply to all of them, that's all he'd be doing all day.' Ending on a cheeky note, the burger chain said: 'It's like reviewing a restaurant based solely on the smell wafting from the kitchen. We'll announce the fundraiser when it's real.'
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘There is a freedom in drawing': Madhvi Parekh on her solo exhibition showcasing sketches from 1978 to 2018
In several ways, artist-couple Madhvi and Manu Parekh's Delhi home reflects the essence of their marriage: a mutual respect for their individual preferences and interests. Between discussions and occasional diverging views, their distinct artistic practices also find space on common walls alongside works of friends and fellow artists such as Ashok Ahuja and Bhupen Khakhar. Looking at the canvas of the late Baroda modernist, Madhvi, 83, recalls how their association grew stronger because both did not receive a formal art education. 'We used to discuss the challenges we faced. When I first began painting on canvas, I felt like crying if I made a mistake. Bhupen taught me how to paint a layer of white on top and do it again. The white background also made the colours brighter,' says Madhvi, days after the opening of her solo, 'Madhvi Parekh: Remembered Tales', at DAG in Delhi. The exhibition that is on till August 23, features her recent canvases alongside a selection of drawings spanning 1978 to 2018. The latter are distinctly more intuitive, offering a glimpse into her creative process, with depictions ranging from figures with fish and birds seated on them to creatures bearing multiple heads. 'There is a freedom in drawing and a certain spontaneity. The different elements that appear on the same page may not always be related or interconnected,' says Madhvi. As she browses through the three-volume publication, titled 'Madhvi Parekh: Early Drawings', she shares how several of these notations have led to larger works, including a Tibetan prayer wheel she encountered during a trip to Ladakh and a vivid village scene where a man is seen lazing on a charpoy, while another figure sits under a tree, on which a bird perches. Several of her works also stem from childhood recollections of growing up in Sanjaya, a village in Gujarat, 60-odd km from Baroda. She recalls how her homemaker mother and educator-ayurvedic practitioner father instilled in their six children early lessons on hard work and optimal utilisation of time. 'I led the best childhood there can be. There was so much natural beauty around and the entire neighbourhood was like a big family. We would sit together in the evenings, embroider, make rangolis during festivals. We used to look forward to attending Ramlila during Navratri and the travelling circuses and behrupiyas, who would make an occasional stop,' recalls Madhvi. One of the larger canvases in the ongoing exhibition, titled 'Travelling Circus in My Village', alludes to some of those outings. The triptych features acrobats, birds, animals, protagonists with horns and other fantastical creatures dancing across the mélange. If 'Pond in my Village' comprises varied scenes from rural settings, in the canvas 'Two Scarecrow in my Rice Field', the titular figures dominate the predominantly black-and-white composition that features numerous reptiles, birds, animals, flying objects and a shrine that seems to be dedicated to fauna. Engaged to artist Manu Parekh when he was 12 and she was nine, and married when she was 15, it was well into her 20s that a then pregnant Madhvi decided to pursue art. Paul Klee's 'Pedagogical Sketchbook' handed to her by Manu became her Bible, that she pored over with careful attention. Within a week, Madhvi was giving Klee's geometric forms a personal twist, adding limbs and wings and placing her figures in more familiar rural landscapes. 'In India, no one after Jamini Roy had really explored this merger of the West and traditional Indian folk, and this became Madhvi's unique language,' says Manu. While raising their two daughters, Manisha and Deepa, took precedence, Madhvi recalls how any spare moment would be spent in practising art and discovering new techniques. Artist-friend Nalini Malani, for instance, taught her the nuances of reverse glass technique that Madhvi adapted in her own way and still extensively employs. Though the diverse exposure she had as a child continues to direct her oeuvre, her experiences and observations from residing in different cities such as Mumbai and Kolkata, and her extensive travels also find expression in her work. Her disturbing visit to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem in 2004, where she was moved by the testimonies of the victims and the atrocities committed by the Nazis, led her to seek solace in the figure of Christ. After researching numerous depictions, Madhvi reflected on how she had been mesmerised by Leonardo da Vinci's Renaissance masterpiece 'The Last Supper' during a trip to Milan, Italy. She decided to paint her version, imbibing it with diverse folk elements. The series was among the highlights of her first major travelling retrospective 'The Curious Seeker', organised by DAG in 2017-18, and was also part of her solo presentation at Frieze Masters in London in 2022. While her canvas 'The Bird on the Tree' is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the 2024 Venice Biennale saw her and Manu's works being replicated onto intricately embroidered wall art created in collaboration with Karishma Swali's Chanakya School of Craft. 'During the initial years, I had to find time to become an artist and creating a work gives me immense joy,' says Madhvi, adding, 'I paint and sketch what comes to my mind. I am not really affected by what people say.' So the beginnings of her complex narratives still appear relatively simple. A circle forms a face, followed by a square for the body and triangles for limbs — as they come together, a complete figure is born.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Tejashwi Yadav mocks union minister Lalan Singh over ‘mutton party' during Sawan, recalls past BJP reactions
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has taken a swipe at Union minister of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy, Rajiv Ranjan Singh—commonly known as Lalan Singh—for organizing a "mutton party" in Lakhisarai, which falls under his Munger Lok Sabha constituency. Criticizing what he sees as the BJP's double standards, Tejashwi remarked, "BJP would now say that it is 'punya' that Lalan Singh is feeding mutton to his people & workers, because he is their ally & a Union minister. They won't say anything now. When PM comes here tomorrow, I hope he will speak on Lalan Singh, that he is feeding mutton in Sawan," he told PTI Video in a sarcastic tone. His comments were in reference to earlier criticism he had faced from the BJP, and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for similar reasons. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Operations Management Degree Data Science CXO Design Thinking Cybersecurity Management Data Analytics Artificial Intelligence healthcare Product Management Technology Public Policy Project Management Others PGDM Leadership Data Science MBA others Finance Digital Marketing MCA Healthcare Skills you'll gain: Quality Management & Lean Six Sigma Analytical Tools Supply Chain Management & Strategies Service Operations Management Duration: 10 Months IIM Lucknow IIML Executive Programme in Strategic Operations Management & Supply Chain Analytics Starts on Jan 27, 2024 Get Details Bihar politics has seen such controversies before. Last year, Tejashwi himself was at the center of a storm after a video surfaced of him eating fish fry during Navratri. The clip, which was posted by Tejashwi on his own social media, led to strong backlash. However, he later clarified the timing of the video, explaining that it was shot before Navratri and shared deliberately to highlight the 'low IQ' of his critics. The issue of non-vegetarian food during religious periods has repeatedly sparked political rows in the state. Two years ago, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav faced BJP criticism for hosting a mutton feast during the holy month of Saawan. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was also present at the event. Speaking at an election rally in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur at the time, Prime Minister Modi had said, "They visit a criminal's house, a convict out on bail in Sawan to cook mutton. They make videos to mock people, echoing the Mughal era mentality. They aim to provoke citizens and secure their vote bank, now they'll rain bullets on me, abuse me. But it's my responsibility to show the right aspect to the country." The renewed controversy underscores how food, faith, and politics continue to collide in Bihar's charged electoral landscape. Live Events [With TOI inputs] Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
