CONTENT WRITING WORKBOOK

Dr Mythili Venkateswaran
About Us Pages for Discussion

What got us started?

Basic to… Boom! We began in 2010 with the simple idea of creating a fun range of souvenirs
– mainly magnets (which is what our name means) – that were Indian proud. But then, fate
had its own ideas. Our little souvenir business attracted the big guys, and in a few years, we
found ourselves in many multi brand outlets. We felt legit, and took the next step, taking on
our own independent stores, filled with what you see today: cool apparel, home décor,
furniture which is all very Chumbak. And pstt… soon enough, we’ll have our very own cafes!

Who we are today?

We’re an India-inspired, design led, lifestyle brand. People love our sass: our original take on
colors, prints and patterns, which come together to create never-seen-before products. We
make for anyone who loves a little quirk combined with good quality. We never make
anything we wouldn’t want ourselves. Seriously. For us, wit is it. We’re all about excellent
puns, sharp humor, and that well-earned giggle.

Made with love in Bangalore!

Bangalore is where we started as a small brand, looking to create cool souvenirs for
travelers. Now, we’re lucky to have a large, bright, and buzzing workplace — complete with
a sunny terrace — which inspires us to bring our best to you, day after day.

Van Heusen

We don’t just make clothes. We give corporate leaders a fashion edge to make a powerful impact in
all spheres of life.

We strive to support them in their life's moments - be it work, play or celebration - providing
inspiration and guidance through our fashion expertise.

To achieve this, we're constantly reinventing corporate dressing - making it more exciting, innovative
and fashionable.

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LinkedIn Summaries

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Blogs

Read the blogs below. Jot down your thoughts on each. And then let’s discuss them…

Which rice is best for Biryani?

Biryani originated in Uttar Pradesh, and has always been made with long grain rice - Basmati, Sela
etc. Even Tota Basmati (broken) makes for good aromatic Biryani. Even when Biryani migrated to the
southern parts of India, the rice varieties for making Biryani remained the same, as did the lightness
of spices.

However, further south from Hyderabad, such rice varieties were not available commonly (a few
centuries back) and hence robust short-grained local rice varieties like Jeera / Seerige Sambha was
used with substantially heavier use of spices (and chillies) to make 'Biryani'. There are a few other
local rice varieties which are unsuitable because they come out glutinous and not fluffy separate
grains (unless one uses excess water and discards the free starch).

This is not an either / or situation, nor good / better / best - the resultant Biryanis are completely
different in character.

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 Seeraga Samba Rice: 5 Qualities that make it irresistible for biriyani

Biriyani, popular in several parts of India, is rice at its best – smothered in flavours, fragrant, with
delightful chunks of meat – ah… ecstasy! There are several regions and several varieties of biriyani
that use the long- grained basmati rice. But the best biriyani from Tamil Nadu uses aromatic seeraga
samba rice. This makes the biriyani unique and the taste is just mind-blowingly awesome!

Samba (yes, it is the same word as the Brazilian dance!) is a variety of rice that’s grown extensively
and exclusively in Tamil Nadu and some parts of Sri Lanka. Rice is grown in the Samba season
(August to January), and hence it’s known as samba rice. This variety of rice is grown for a longer
duration than other varieties of rice.

Seeraga samba is the most expensive sub-variety of samba rice, and makes heavenly biryani.
Seeragam is Tamil for jeera (cumin seeds), and the size of the tiny oval rice grains is just the same as
the size of seeragam, and hence the name seeraga samba. There are several qualities of seeraga
samba that contribute to the resulting irresistible biriyani. Here are five of them…

1. The Size: Small enough to blend, big enough to get noticed!

Compared to basmati rice, which is a popular choice for biriyanis in several parts of India, the grain
of the seeraga samba rice is small. It’s barely one third the length of a basmati grain. As a result of
this, the rice blends well into the biriyani and does not demand overt attention. At the same time, it
dares you to ignore it! It is clearly visible, and can be seen, smelled and felt – oh yes, there’s no
missing this major grain in a well-cooked biriyani.

2. The Texture: No clumps, no mush!

Seeraga samba retains its texture after it’s cooked. It does not thicken into lumps and clumps, unlike
some other rice varieties. It is firm to bite, but not soft and mushy. It cooks to a perfect ‘al dente’! It
absorbs large quantities of water without becoming squishy. This results in larger volumes of rice
cooked to perfection compared to other varieties.

3. The Fluffiness: Perfect, not overpowering

The composition of the rice grain’s starch usually determines how fluffy it’ll become on heating. The
advantage with seeraga samba is that it gets less fluffy than most other varieties used for biriyani,
and therefore absorbs the flavours of the spices with overpowering the dish with its own flavours.
It’s there, but not in your face!

4. The Fragrance: Aroma that transports you to heaven!

Seeraga samba rice is aromatic. It has a fragrance that is heavenly. It clings to the meat and lends its
unique aroma to the entire dish, making the entire culinary experience a blissful, euphoric event.

5. The Taste: Flavoursome, lingering ambrosia!

And finally, the taste… SLURRRP… What can match the taste of a biryani made with seeraga samba
rice? The unique taste and flavour that lingers on the tongue, floods the senses, tingles the taste
buds, forces your eyes to close… one can do nothing but succumb to the feeling, surrender to the
elation, and just enjoy the experience! Lingering ambrosia indeed…

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And, those, dear friends, are five reasons why seeraga samba rice makes irresistible biryani. I dare
you to sit in front of a steaming portion of this one-pot delight, and not be tempted to spoon some
into your salivating mouth! Don’t try, friend – it’s impossible!

Check Your Date’s Compatibility Index: Go on a Biryani Dinner Date!

We had been seeing each other for about seven months now. We had several things in common –
our love for music, long walks, the kind of movies we liked… Was it time to make the final plunge?
Was this the person I wanted to grow old with? Everything pointed towards a ‘yes’. But…

I knew in my mind that there was one more acid test that needed to be conducted. The final, very
important test that had to be passed. The one deciding factor that would determine whether this
one was my soul mate…

We needed to go on a biryani dinner date to find out…

I made a list of the ten most important things that’d help me decide whether to take the relationship
to the marriage level or not.

#1 A biryani dinner: is it considered a romantic evening out?

This was critical! I think going out for a biryani dinner together and enjoying this one-pot-wonder of
rice, meat and spices is one of the best things that a couple can do together. So I did need to know
whether my other thought so too. I know of people who think biryani is too ‘desi’ to be romantic.
Their idea of a romantic meal is often confined to fancy non-domestic cuisine, very often just to be
pseudo fashionable. I needed my soul mate to consider eating biryani together something to look
forward to, something to enjoy together.

#2 Is there a positive readiness displayed towards eating biryani at a decent family restaurant?

If the answer to question number 1 above is ‘yes’, the next thing is to check is the attitude towards
eating at a decent family restaurant – a place where you can laugh loudly, where conversations need
not be in hushed tones, where you can see each other’s faces and the food you are eating under
bright lights, where you can hear the cheerful sounds of happy families, maybe with children…

#3 Am I allowed to order my choice of biryani without getting any unwanted suggestions?

Oh yes. It’s very important for me to have the freedom to choose my biryani. Not for me persons
who try to change my choice or impose their own choice. My option must be respected without any
question, without any change in expression or body language. I must watch carefully for subtle
signals at this stage…

#4 Is biryani the natural, “Of course! What else?” choice for my date too?

This stage of the evening is really extremely vital. If the order is for the same biryani that I ordered –
the score skyrockets! If the order is biryani, but not the same as my order – the test is cleared, but
with mediocre scores. But if the order is not biryani, but something else – it is danger zone. It will
indicate to me that my biryani evening suggestions in future may be vetoed. And I don’t really want
to be in that situation!!

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#5 Is there an eager wait for the biryani to arrive?

When I order biryani, the waiting period between the waiter confirming the order, and the steaming
dream dish arriving on the table is one of eagerness, anticipation, excitement and expectation. It is a
sacred period of the evening, the sanctity of which needs to be maintained, by refraining from
mundane conversations or serious discussions of life-and-death topics that are likely to ruin this
glorious period of salivating wait…

#6 Are fingers used to relish the biryani?

Ah!! Biryani must be eaten with the fingers. Not for me the one who picks at the biryani with fancy
spoons, knives and forks. The thrill of picking up the biryani with the spices and meat, and shoving it
into your waiting mouth is half the charm of the biryani eating experience. So, yes, the biryani must
be eaten with fingers to earn my commitment.

#7 Is the enjoyment of the biryani expressed without any inhibition?

Sighs, closed eyes, slurps, smacking sounds of appreciation: in short free, uninhibited expression of
enjoyment of the biryani heightens the taste and degree of pleasure of biryani eating. This factor
needs to be checked out. The more unabashed in this respect, the better…

#8 Does the conversation revolve mostly around biryani and biryani related topics?

Throughout the evening, we must ensure we don’t stray from the main theme of the evening –
biryani. All conversation MUST revolve around biryani. Comparing notes on where we’ve eaten the
best biryanis, warning each other of places that are likely to fall short of expectations, learning of
each other’s biryani preferences, sharing of biryani disappointments, educating each other about
biryani dos and don’ts… There’s so much to biryani!!

#9 Is my enjoyment of the biryani enjoyed?

When I eat a good biryani, my eyes glaze. I slurp, I lick, I lose myself in the heavenly experience. I’d
like my life partner to enjoy this enjoyment of mine, and make no attempt to stop me or change me.

#10 Is there a suggestion of when the next biryani date should be?

And last but not the least, the evening must end with a decision of when our next tryst with biryani
is going to be. Mutually agreed, of course…

The higher the number of questions with ‘Yes’ as answer, the greater the potential of the person to
qualify being a life partner.

To my delight, my date scored a perfect ten!! After proposals and acceptances amidst tears of joy,
we’ve now been happily married for three years. And happily biryanied too, of course!!

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