Creative Edge

Not A Single Branch Was Cut To Build This Three-Storey House On A 40-Foot Mango Tree I magine being able to pluck fresh mangoes without having to move from bed. Or waking up to the sounds of birds right next to you, with their nests built inside your bedroom. For most of us, this sounds like a scene out of a Disney movie. But for Ajmer-born businessman Kul Pradeep Singh and his family, this is an everyday reality —  their house is built atop a 40-foot mango tree ! This three-storey treehouse has two bedrooms, a kitchen, a library and a living area, and is located in Udaipur. “The area where our treehouse stands is known for its fruit trees. People used to sell these fruits from over 4,000 trees for a living. But due to an increase in population, they started cutting the trees down,” he explains. The pleasure of nature’s company In 1999, Singh was in search of a plot in Udaipur, and had decided that he wouldn’t harm any trees in this area. “When I told a property dealer to...

  Who Is Devendra Jhajharia, the Olympic Gold Medallist India Forgot J avelin thrower Devendra Jhajaria epitomises an invincible spirit. The now  40-year-old  track athlete has always perceived the glass half full, bringing home one laurel after the other despite unimaginable challenges. Jhajharia is the only Indian to have ever won two gold medals at any Olympic or Paralympic games – one at the 2004 Athens Paralympics and another at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. He has held a world record (62.15m in javelin throw) and is the first para-athlete to be given the prestigious Padma Shri.  In 2004, he was also awarded the Arjuna Award for his contribution to the field of sports in the country. But what makes all these feats even more spectacular is the fact that he achieved them with one arm. Sharing what inspired him, the great Paralympian had told  India Times , “When I looked around I saw so many people who didn’t have both arms or both legs and I thought I was ...

  Naturals Ice Cream: How a Fruit Vendor’s Son Built a Rs 300 Crore Empire I t was an unusual combination of selling Pav Bhaji and fruit-flavoured ice creams to the ever-growing population of Bombay (now, Mumbai) in 1984, but Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath was au courant with India’s dessert obsession. He had worked in his brother’s South Indian eatery long enough to know how much Indians love to end a meal on a sweet note. The simple idea of offering something cold after a hot and spicy dish worked and he clocked a revenue of Rs 5,00,000 in the first year from his own tiny 200-sq-ft shop in Juhu’s Koliwada area. A year later, he stopped selling Pav Bhaji to become a full-fledged ice cream brand. The modest eatery with six tables was now offering frozen dessert in five flavours —  sitaphal  (custard apple),  kaju-draksh  (cashew-raisin), mango, chocolate and strawberry.  Fast forward to 2021, the single ice cream parlour has grown into 135 outlets in var...

A Simple Step Helped Me Diagnose a Deadly Cancer 2 Weeks Early, Saved My Life I n early 2021, Meher Roy was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukaemia (ALL) in the nick of time by a routine standard blood test- the Complete Blood Count (CBC). ALL is a type of blood and bone marrow cancer known for its rapid progression. “Ideally, a CBC is a routine automated test. However, if an unusual discrepancy is found in the readings, the blood work is analysed by a human pathologist under the microscope. In my case, that’s what happened,” he tells  The Better India . Ordinarily, one would expect such a cancer diagnosis to come thanks to severe symptoms or life-altering experiences.  But Meher’s story began and continues today because of a simple alteration in the body – an increased resting heart rate. Leading an aware life From an early age, Meher’s father inculcated in him a habit of getting regular health checkups. “I don’t know why he did it. My mother went through an epis...

India’s First E-Scooter That Doesn’t Come With Batteries, Requires No Charging E arlier this month, Bounce, a Bengaluru-based electric mobility startup, launched its first consumer  electric scooter , Bounce Infinity E1, which comes with a unique feature. This is India’s first e-scooter that doesn’t necessarily come with batteries and thus needs no charging. Offered with a ‘battery as a service’ option, this e-scooter will be available to consumers at Rs 45,099 (Delhi ex-showroom), while they can pre-book it for a refundable amount of Rs 499. Deliveries are slated for March 2022 through its dealership network and its online platform. But what does a ‘battery as a service’ option entail?  The Better India  spoke to Vivekananda Hallekere, the CEO and co-founder of Bounce to understand this unique feature. “The recently launched Bounce Infinity E1 offers a unique ‘Battery as a service’ option – the first-of-its-kind in the Indian market. Here, customers have the choice...