People, places and products

Latha Rajinikanth
New school of thought

Latha Rajinikanth is doing in real life what her famous film star husband does on screen—lending a helping hand to the underdog. That has propelled her to start new ventures in education.

Latha, who is in her 50s, says she wants “to develop education models that will ensure emotional and mental well-being of students while inculcating the right values”. That’s why at her school (currently at the planning stage), 40 km from Chennai, she is following the gurukul model of yore where students get a chance to learn, away from the disturbances of life.

At her pre-school and kindergarten initiative “Anandavana”, parents are invited to stay with their children in school. “Children can come in at anytime and attempt any activity they like,” she says. Now that’s some radical school of thought!

Ravi Parthasarathy
Winning ways

He is a dealmaker par excellence. Hardly surprising then, Ravi Parthasarathy, 56, Chairman, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), swung the Maytas Infrastructure deal in his favour without a public bidding process when the company announced its open offer for Maytas Infra.

With a 37 per cent stake (22.6 per cent pledged by the Raju family), IL&FS was the natural guardian that could acquire the heavily debt-ridden Maytas Infra. But it needed some persuasion, too, as the government took a long time to decide. At IL&FS helm since 1988, Parthasarathy’s deal-making expertise came to the fore earlier this year with IL&FS selling off its broking subsidiary to HSBC.

Under Parthasarathy, IL&FS is now being recognised as some sort of a pioneer in structuring profitable public-private partnerships like the Noida Toll Bridge deal. And the canny negotiator that he is, Parthasarathy even knows when to walk away from the table—one day after the Maytas announcement, IL&FS refused to pick up a stake in Tata Tea’s hived-off north Indian tea plantations. Going by his track record, few will question Parthasarathy’s moves.

Vijay Mallya
Mallya’s mean machine

To all those deriding his expensive sporting engagements, liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, 54, has replied, not in words, but with results. In a display of a dramatic turnabout in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps last month, the team stunned the sporting universe by finishing second and reaching its first ever points scoring position.

Yet, at the moment, Force India has suffered a setback in the exit of Giancarlo Fisichella—the Italian driver responsible for Mallya’s moment of glory. But the UB Group Chairman betrays no signs of stress. He, instead, seems to think it’s the machine which matters the most in a game like this, rather than the man at the wheel. Hopefully, Mallya will turn the fortunes of his ailing airline in the same way.

PLACE
Munich

It’s Oktoberfest time! Over six million people attend the 16-day beer festival held in Munich, Germany (Sept. 19-Oct. 4) every year. While this is, indeed, the best excuse to visit now, Munich has a lot more to offer. Check out Marienplatz, the central square in the heart of the city, or drive down to the Residence Palace of Munich, the former royal palace of Bavarian monarchs, at the edge of old town. Also on the must-visit list is the Dachau concentration camp—one of the first camps in Nazi Germany. The Olympic stadium, where the Munich massacre happened during the 1972 Summer Olympics, is open to visitors as well.

PRODUCT
Lenovo S10-2

Lenovo’s original S10 was one of the best netbooks of its generation, thanks to its stellar build-quality. The second generation of this popular netbook is thinner and lighter, and comes with an extended life six-cell battery, which lasts over six hours. The keyboard, like most netbooks, might feel a bit small. So, until netbooks featuring Intel’s next-generation ‘Pinetrail’ and Windows 7 come out later this year, this is possibly one of the best buys.
Price: Rs 20,640 onwards

Contributed by Nitya Varadarajan, Suman Layak, K.R. Balasubramanyam, Dhiman Chattopadhyay & Kushan Mitra.