It is fun, meditative and a perfect way to clear your head at the end of a long and tiring week, says Nayantara Thomas, when asked about slacklining. A product designer by profession, she has been indulging in her hobby every Sunday at the open space in Swiss Hutte, a restaurant on Greames Road, for the last few months.
Slacklining involves walking or balancing on a flat webbing or a ‘slackline’ which is tied between two anchors, in this case, between two trees at Swiss Hutte. “It improves focus, posture and brings people together outdoors,” she said.
Slacklining is different from tightrope walking with regard to the ‘line’ used. While tightrope walking has a taut rope on which people balance, the slackline is flatter and has more bounce. In August, the Covelong Point had organised a Slackline India Championship.
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Nayantara said she had picked up slacklining as a hobby in Pune and was eager to get more people in Chennai interested. “There are a lot of professional slackliners from across the country. We’ve thrown it open to anyone who is interested to come every Sunday and enjoy the activity,” she said.
Charging on the move
If you’re outside and broke, a call to a friend or a dear one is all it takes to fix things. But if your smartphone does not have charge, you could be stranded.
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G. Ramakrishnan, a marketing professional who travels by scooter, says often he starts out in the morning with his battery fully charged, but his phone is dead by the time he returns. For people like him, Amam Arun, a mechanical engineer from SRM University, has designed a small unit that can be fitted on to two-wheelers to charge mobile phones.
“I have tried it out on at least five different vehicles and the charger works perfectly well. Its a 50x50 mm sized box and should be connected to the key hole of the bike. It has a switch and will charge even if the engine is not running,” said the youngster, who has spent the last eight months perfecting the charger he calls Power Aid.
He is now hoping to take the product to two-wheeler manufacturers. "My battery ran out at a crucial time when I was on the road and I didn’t know what to do. Then I decided my bike should have such a facility,” added Amam. Some manufacturers seem to be aware of the need too. One small bike already comes with a charging port.
(With inputs from
S. Poorvaja and
Deepa H. Ramakrishnan)