FWD Business Magazine - January - February 2018

In this issue

Come February and you are bombarded by all things love. Open your phone and you have tiny virtual hearts falling across your screen announcing sales and special offers, there are advertisements celebrating the 'Festival of Love' and every store has a special 'Valentine's Day Offer' or at least a very brightly decorated window commemorating the occasion. It's the month of love, and we decided to mark the occasion by taking a look at how much people were willing to shell out on their 'Big Day' when they decide to commit to Eternal Love.
Simplicity and brevity were once the heart of the 'typical' Malayali wedding. A nonchalant ceremony that gets over almost as quickly as it began. Where receptions usually involved everyone merely being escorted from the ceremony - much to their great delight - straight to the dining hall. But over the past decade weddings have gone from being a simple ceremony to an event and to fire and fuel it all we've created a booming industry filled with event managers, florists, photographers, makeup artists, designers and the like, all of whom come together to turn a wedding into the greatest show on earth. We explore the kind of money that goes into a wedding and the booming industry thriving from it in our cover story - Matri'money'
The new catchword on everybody's lips recently has been 'Bitcoin' and more importantly 'to invest or not to invest in it'. We let the experts tell you what to do in our lead story - Crypto Conundrum.
In the midst of the hustle and bustle of Fort Kochi, you will find a quaint little plot that's almost always filled with the melodious tunes of MGR or the hit songs from a Rajnikanth movie melded with the beating of clothes to a washing stone. The Vannan community of dhobis have been a part of Kochi's history and heritage for centuries, and they continue to carry out their tasks in a world full of washer dryers. Take a peek into the world of Kochi's one and only Dhobi Khana in this month's photo story.