Press Release

Text 100 Public Relations today announced the launch of its Global Resource Optimization

2008-01-15T05:03:00.002-08:00

Text 100 Public Relations today announced the launch of its Global Resource Optimization (GRO) service, based in Mumbai, India. The new service allows clients worldwide to tap into round-the-clock services and gives them opportunities for enhanced communications capabilities while lowering the cost of performing time-intensive activities.

GRO’s globally integrated communications and campaign management infrastructure allows clients to create 24/7 virtual account teams to manage time-sensitive projects. As the cost of business in India is considerably lower than most markets, clients will be able to leverage the world-class skills of Text 100’s award-winning team in India while extending their resources.

“GRO is able to significantly improve Text 100’s efficiency and quality of delivery,” said Aedhmar Hynes, CEO, Text 100. “We are offering clients a way to optimize their budgets and receive even better service by moving time intensive activity that can be done anywhere in the world to lower cost markets. The advantage to our clients is that our local teams can then devote a greater part of a budget in the high cost markets to PR tactics that require local knowledge and insight of the client’s industry, market and media.”

The first GRO center in Mumbai, led by Madhuri Sen, Managing Director – GRO, is currently focused on three categories of services that have been identified as best adaptable to virtual teamwork: a) account administration (e.g., online campaign management, analysis, report generation, information management, etc.), b) content (e.g., case studies, opinion articles, spokesperson bios; general editing, proofing and formatting) and c) secondary research to support client campaigns, reviews, pitches, messaging workshops etc.

The Indian team has the benefit of over a decade of experience with global leaders such as Cisco, Gartner, Lenovo, Microsoft, Nokia and Philips. Text 100 is the leader in technology PR across India and the first such PR agency to be CMS II (Competence Management Systems) certified by Det Norske Veritas, a globally recognized standards organization. This year it was also ranked as one of the 25 best employers in India across industries in a survey conducted by Hewitt: the only one in the PR industry to make it to that list. In addition to this list of achievements, Text 100’s track record in virtual teamwork made India a natural choice for the company’s first GRO location.

“Our industry must innovate to survive and GRO is an example of this as it challenges traditional notions about what a PR budget can buy,” said Ava Lawler, regional director, Asia Pacific. “PR campaigns are increasingly integrated worldwide andas the corresponding level of complexity rises, clients want to maximize their budgets as much as they possibly can.With GRO, we offer clients an enhanced service and greater flexibility without an increase in budget.”

Since the time the service was internally launched for testing early this year, several Text 100 clients have successfully adopted the GRO model.

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About Text 100

Text 100 is a global PR agency serving companies that use technology for competitive advantage. Built organically from the ground up, Text 100 uniquely offers the dedication of local agencies and the power and reach of a global agency, Text 100 represents leading brands in 31 offices around the world. Clients of the company include Fujifilm, IBM, Philips, Cisco, Sony and Xerox. Named New Media Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report and winner of PRWeek 's PR Innovation of the Year, Text 100 is at the cutting edge of emerging media technologies and public relations techniques. In August 2006, Text 100 became the first public relations consultancy to establish a presence inside Second Life. For more information about Text 100, please visit www.text100.com

The company announced today that the new user-friendly website have gone live to a worldwide audience.

2008-01-15T05:03:00.001-08:00

The company announced today that the new user-friendly website have gone live to a worldwide audience. The new intuitive and intelligent navigation methods will allow customers to gain more information and insights effortlessly. Customers can now compare each and every feature of the product with its competitor products and prices before making a purchase decision. The website has been completely overhauled in terms of menus, ajax features, information architecture, functionalities etc. A list of new brands and product categories has also been added.

According to Arun Kapur, CEO of GadgetsGuru, "With this comprehensive top-to-bottom renewal of our company website, we have focused on consumer website experience, usability and product placement in an entertaining and interactive manner. I am sure it will be compelling enough for our customers to visit it again and again. I am grateful to the web development team for their hard work on this project."

He also added that “The Company has been giving away one Sony PSP for one lucky customer every month. We also have a profit sharing program, where we share a percentage of profit to the customer who refers his friends. We will be coming up with more interesting offers soon.”

The products listed in Gadgets Guru website include Digital Cameras and camcorders, Laptops, Mobile Phones, Technology accessories and peripherals, Car Stuff, Spy Gadgets, and Corporate Gadgets. Gadget Guru’s portfolio of well-known brands includes Apple, Nokia, Sony, Canon, IBM, Palm and Vertu.

The Santoor Legend and Music Composer Pandit Bhajan Sopori has been honoured with the highest civilian

2008-01-15T05:02:00.000-08:00

The Santoor Legend and Music Composer Pandit Bhajan Sopori has been honoured with the highest civilian award of the State of Jammu and Kashmir by the Hon’ble Governor S.K. Sinha and Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for his lifetime dedication and contribution to the Jammu and Kashmir State at a function organized at SKICC Auditorium, Srinagar by Govt. of J&K.

Pandit Bhajan Sopori's has single handedly carried the culture and music of the State of Jammu and Kashmir on his shoulders, in not just taking it to international heights but even providing a respectable status in the Valley, due to his diligent and untiring efforts in nurturing the spirit across generations. The honour is in recognition of his lifetime service.

Pandit Bhajan Sopori is heralded as not just the 'pride of the State of Jammu and Kashmir' and also the 'pride of the country'. The mystic master has been the pioneer in establishing the Santoor on national and international platforms and has come long way since he created history by being the first person to play the Indian Classical music on the Santoor way back in the early 1950s. In his five decades of dedicated work he has explored various dimensions of the Santoor, carrying out many path-breaking innovations for which he is hailed as the ‘Saint of Santoor’ and the ‘King of Strings’. He has formally established the only authentic style of playing the classical Santoor known as the ‘Sopori Baaj’.

A composer of almost 5000 songs in various languages, Pandit Bhajan Sopori has used his Santoor and his compositions to highlight the concept of oneness and foster unity enshrining the idea of national integration, humanism and peace. His recitals and compositions bear the distinctive stamp of his virtuosity and erudition.

The quiet and unassuming maestro is the bearer of the rich musical legacy of the fabled ‘Sufiana Gharana’ of Kashmir, the exclusive Santoor family of the country. In fact what Sopori family has given to the world of music is the instrument Santoor.

For his contribution, he has received numerous awards and honours. Some of the honours conferred on him include Padmashri, Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Shiromani Award, Delhi Ratan Award, Delhi Telugu Academy Award, Shardha Samman, Kala Yogi Award, Golden Jubilee Celebrations Award (AIR-Srinagar) and other lifetime achievement awards like Sangeet Vibhuti, Raag Sagar, Pt. Gama Maharaj Samman, etc. He has also been honoured with the National Flag of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Publicis Groupe has agreed to acquire leading Indian public relations consultancy Hanmer & Partners

2008-01-15T05:01:00.001-08:00

Publicis Groupe has agreed to acquire leading Indian public relations consultancy Hanmer & Partners. Hanmer & Partners employs some 350 professionals in 42 cities across India. This strategic acquisition, subject to the approval of the Indian government’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), is in line with Publicis Groupe’s commitment to expand its offering in high-growth emerging markets. Following this acquisition, Hanmer will be aligned with Manning Selvage & Lee (MS&L), one of the world’s most important public relations firms, and the Indian agency will be renamed Hanmer MS&L. This acquisition significantly strengthens MS&L’s presence and capabilities in India, while offering Hanmer & Partners’ clients access to a global network.

The consultancy specializes in public relations for a wide range of industries including consumer; lifestyle and hospitality; financial services; IT and telecom; media and entertainment; auto, aviation, engineering and infrastructure; and healthcare communications. It works in tandem with its specialized division Hanmer Reach, a unit that helps clients reach audiences across different geographies and diverse cultures. The firm also has several divisions including Hanmer Interactive, a multimedia division that focuses on web-based solutions; Hanmer Events and Hanmer Advertising. Its clients include ACC, Network 18 (CNBC), Bharti Axa, Emirates, Enam, General Motors, ICICI Bank, ICICI Prudential, ING Vysya, LG, Religare, Tata Sky, BPL Mobile, Henkel and Discovery Networks, among others.

Mark Hass, Global CEO of MS&L, said: “We’ve worked with Hanmer & Partners for several years, and we have a very successful history of collaboration. Sunil Gautam and his team will add significant new expertise and resources to the MS&L family in a region that is of growing importance to the public relations industry and MS&L’s global clients. This acquisition is an important component of MS&L’s aggressive growth plans for Asia, where the firm already enjoys a significant presence in China, Japan and Southern Asia.”

Sunil Gautam, managing director of Hanmer & Partners, said: “Partnering with MS&L gives us the opportunity to build our client relationships both inside and outside of India. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to join MS&L, and I think this will be a very fruitful and successful partnership for many years to come.”

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Hanmer & Partners

Hanmer & Partners, with a presence in 42 cities in India, offers a bouquet of services including strategic counseling, corporate image management, brand support, financial public relations, events and promotions, outreach, creative services, interactive services and crisis communications, apart from media relations. Hanmer & Partners employs nearly 350 communications professionals across 10 practice and vertical specializations bringing some of the most creative, yet robust campaigns to life everyday. The firm works with 150 businesses with an even mix of multinational and Indian corporations.

Web site: www.hanmergroup.com

Manning Selvage & Lee

MS&L is one of the world's leading global public relations firms. Headquartered in New York, MS&L has 60 offices throughout North America, Latin America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, as well as an extensive global affiliate network. The agency meets the needs of global and local clients by providing bestinclass services in consumer marketing PR, healthcare PR, corporate communications and technology communications, as well as industry-leading work in digital communications. MS&L won PRWeek's Best Use of Internet/New Media Award in both 2006 and 2007.

Web site: www.mslpr.com

Publicis Groupe (Euronext Paris: FR0000130577) is the world’s fourth largest communications group. In addition, it is ranked as the world’s second largest media counsel and buying group, and is a global leader in digital and healthcare communications. With activities spanning 104 countries on five continents, the Groupe employs approximately 44,000 professionals.

The Groupe offers local and international clients a complete range of communication services, from advertising, through three autonomous global advertising networks, Leo Burnett, Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi and two multi-hub networks,Fallon and 49%-owned Bartle Bogle Hegarty; to media consultancy and buying, through two worldwide networks, Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia; interactive and digital marketing led by Digitas; Specialized Agencies

and Marketing Services (SAMS) offering healthcare communications, corporate and financial communications, public relations, CRM and direct marketing, event communications, sports marketing and multicultural communications.

Web site: www.publicisgroupe.com

The relentless activist-actor Vani Tripathi has done it again

2008-01-15T05:00:00.002-08:00

She is at it again. The relentless activist-actor Vani Tripathi has done it again. She is now making a film on one of the most gruesome truths facing the country i.e. "Farmer Suicides".

Speaking passionately about it as she always does about most things, Vani says that the farmer suicide situation is a "BURDEN ON HER SOUL". Speaking on the topic at length she said I have been going to Maharashtra and its interior belts for number of years by now. I have seen the heart rending conditions that the farmers are facing and the incompetence of the present govt. Which has not been able to do anything about it.

More than a lakh of farmers have committed suicide in the past one year itself only in Maharashtra so you can well imagine what the condition would be all over the country.

Vani says she has nightmares about the farmer suicide situation and says that it is giving her sleepless nights. The entireshooting will happen in the interiors ofthe state and will be there for a month both in the vidarbha and the marathwada region of Maharashtra. Vani says its right time "The truth needs to be told ". And she has decided to take up this very strongly.

Her work with the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha is also in focus as she's addressing "Woman Issues" very convincingly all across the country.

She saysbeing a young national secretary of the youth wing of the party is a huge responsibility and she wants to do more advocacy for the issues relating to young women all across the country.

Talking about her acting work, she said more wants to be on a path which sheconnects to and also talk about the those truths also which we ignore. "My work has to reflect my ideas".

On being asked how she feels about being on aggressive speaker and a "star campaigner" for the BJP She says over "she feels passionate about the political path that she's on". She rejects the word "Star" and says we are all "Karyakartas" of the party and we have to do so much more as every activity has social accountability and she is very aware about it.

Way to go Girl! Hail Girl Power!

Diwali, Arzoo.com, India’s leading travel portal, today announced a special offer

2008-01-15T05:00:00.001-08:00

On the festive occasion of Diwali, Arzoo.com, India’s leading travel portal, today announced a special offer where customers can avail guaranteed 10% discount on domestic airfare bookings on Go Air, Spicejet, Indigo, & Indian for travel anywhere within India. Similarly customers can also avail guaranteed 7% discount on International airline bookings to US, Europe and Gulf.

Commenting on this special offer, Mr. Sameer Patil, Head-Marketing of Arzoo.com said, “Diwali is one of the most Grand festival of India and therefore we have announced this special offer to provide 10% discount on 4 domestic airlines to our customers to celebrate, rejoice & travel more by taking benefit of this special offer”. This offer is valid for bookings done via any bank credit card or even by paying cash on delivery between 2nd Nov to 15th November, 2007 for travel on any date till 31st March 08.

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About Arzoo.com:

Through Arzoo.com, customers can book Domestic and International Flights, make Hotel Reservations, buy Domestic & International Holiday Packages, and find Exciting Weekend Gateways and also Service Apartments. Apart from offering amongst the best rates in all categories, the unique value proposition of Arzoo.com is that customers have a choice of multiple ways of making travel reservations via the Internet or Mobile Phones or by calling a Toll Free Number (1-800-22 21 20) for 24x7 assistance, or by simply sending an SMS to 567 67 55 mentioning brief travel requirements.

Arzoo also specializes in handling regular travel requirements of corporate customers, including group bookings. Through special deals with major hotels in all categories across India and overseas, Arzoo suits the budget and tastes of all types of customers.

Tagit, a Singapore based mobile commerce company, with its development base in India,

2008-01-15T04:59:00.002-08:00

Tagit, a Singapore based mobile commerce company, with its development base in India, announced that Mobile phone users in India will now be able to book movie tickets in all Cinema Halls owned by AdLabs, the country’s largest chain of screens, using a unique solution called Mobile Box Office which enables users to book tickets, make payment and even select seats using their mobile phones!

All you need to do to block your seats for the latest releases like JAB WE MET and NO SMOKING, is to send an SMS to a predetermined number, download an application which guides you through the whole process, right up to blocking your seats. The system runs on GPRS, giving users a seamless and effortless way of navigating content which is being dynamically updated in real time from Adlab’s website. The confirmation of the booking is sent directly to the user’s phone in text form. Thus no more standing in queue, no more multiple trips to the cinema, and no more buying tickets in the black.

The Indian movie business is experiencing annualised growth rates of about 30 per cent. In 2006, Indian films grossed about USD 2 billion, up from USD 1.5 billion in 2004. A Price Waterhouse Coopers forecast expects revenues will leap to more than USD 4 billion over the next five years. About 30 to 40% of these revenues are from multiplexes, which makes mobile ticketing an attractive proposition.

“With the largest film industry and the largest number of mobile users, India is the ideal place to roll-out this solution,” says Shankar Narayanan, co-founder & president of Tagit. “The mobile phone is probably the one product that has successfully bridged the digital divide and solutions like ours, help the mobile users benefit from internet services, which were till now the preserve of only PC users”. Elaborating, he mentioned that the service has found ready acceptance among cinemagoers of another major cinema chain which has introduced the service. “Our solution enjoys over 55% market share in the burgeoning Mobile e-ticketing market”, he added.

Adlabs Cinemas, well known for its strategic deployment of technology to enhance customers’ cinematic experience, will make this service available across its 110 screens spread across 26 cities. “At Adlabs, we believe in innovation and customer convenience. The Mobile Box Office solution from Tagit empowers our customers and saves them time, effort and money, thus adding to the quality of the cinema-going experience. The response in the first week of its launch has been extremely encouraging”, says Tushar Dhingra, COO, Adlabs Cinemas.

"Adlabs is a premier brand and we are proud to be associated with them for their mobile ticketing platform. This is yet another milestone in our global thrust to be the leading service platform for entertainment, travel, hospitality, commerce and finance", informed Ranjan Kapur, Country Head, WPP India and Chairman of Tagit India.

Commenting on the future plans of the company in India, Narayanan says, 'Mobile internet usage in India will grow at a rapid pace and need-based services such as ticketing, bill payments and mobile government services will become the drivers for this growth, which will in turn lead to the growth of mobile advertising”. According to the latest figures released by TRAI, India has already crossed the 250 million user mark last year, much ahead of schedule. Of this, 25 million subscribers are in the city of Mumbai alone. Given the increasing adoption and ease of usage of GPRS, the community of mobile service users is bound to grow. Conservative estimates place the number close to 20 million in the next few years.

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About Tagit (India) Private Limited

Tagit is a mobile commerce company with a Development and Marketing office in Noida, India. It has innovated the ATM (Advanced Transactional Mobility) platform for mobile commerce which enables secure and seamless payments on mobile phones, and is able to adapt, transform and project online content onto hundreds of different mobile phone models rapidly and at low cost without the need for extensive reconfiguration of operating systems. Tagit has developed a suite of advanced mobile commerce applications for the entertainment , travel, financial and government sectors, and major international companies have already signed up for this unique solution.

About Adlabs Films

Adlabs, a member of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, is one of the leading movie and entertainment companies in India with a dominant presence across the value chain: production of films and TV content, film processing and services, domestic and international distribution of content and a nationwide cinema chain. Adlabs currently has a market capitalization of over Rs. 2300 crores.

For more information, please contact:
Rohit Srivastava, MelCole PR Shankar Narayanan, Tagit
Phone: +91-11-29834428, 29833118 Phone: +91-9892853310.

The company is founded by Rajendra Khare, ex MD Broadcom India and the founder chairman of Indian Semiconductor Association

2008-01-15T04:59:00.001-08:00

The company is founded by Rajendra Khare, ex MD Broadcom India and the founder chairman of Indian Semiconductor Association (ISA), along with Ravi Bhatt, ex Head of Nokia’s R&D center and co-founder of Amber Networks, Anant Kansal and Tapan Datta. The technology foundation has been layered with top quality talent from the media and creative world. CVL Srinivas, ex CEO Asia Pacific, MAXUS (a GroupM media agency) is the CEO of SureWaves. Tushar Vyas, who was Head of GroupM India’s Digital Division has joined as VP Business Solutions. A few more senior persons from the media industry have joined the company including Sanchit Sanga, Rajendra Dwivedi and Prabhvir Sahmey, all from GroupM.

SureWaves has cutting edge technology developed in partnership with Plasmanet of the UK, to distribute content and advertising onto a range of remote Display screens, in real time. The content can be any combination of live or recorded TV, internet feeds, flash files, powerpoint or any internal communication material of an organization. SureWaves plans to create communication channels customised to the client organization, in terms of the content and screen design. The communication channel has easy to use tools that can help manage the content and advertising in real time. Says Chairman and Managing Director Rajendra Khare “SureWaves enables an advertiser or brand owner to better target consumers, ensuring that advertising using this visual medium is not only more effective in attracting the attention of the right people at the right time, but is also more cost-effective”.

Another very unique feature is the ability of customers to interact with the screens via their mobile phones. Using Bluetooth technology, SureWaves screens not only educate the customers but engage them as well by allowing a two-way interaction with the screen. CVL Srinivas, CEO of SureWaves adds “Digital Out of Home screens have already become a blindspot. We are trying to build engagement not only through our contextual and real time content, but through interactivity as well”. A retailer for example can not only promote his products on screen, but can allow his customers to download information from it, onto their mobile phones. This information can be acted upon then and there via Bluetooth or can even be acted upon over a normal GPRS connection later on. SureWaves has been in the market for the past few months and is today piloting its systems with a few lead organizations.

SureWaves is also looking to provide its content management and interactivity solutions to existing Out of Home Display networks both in India and abroad. Srinivas adds “This is a nascent medium around the world. Like in any medium, driving viewer engagement is the key to success. We believe that we have the right technology combined with a good understanding of how such media get consumed. We are open to partnering existing networks to help them realize higher revenues via our more engaging solution.” SureWaves is processing a few enquiries from existing screen networks both from India and abroad.

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SureWaves, a group company of Bangalore based IndusEdge Innovations is introducing revolutionary media convergence solutions, aimed at driving customer engagement. SureWaves has the ability to combine TV content with Web, Out of Home Displays and Mobile phones in a unique manner. These solutions are being targeted at organizations in Retail, Retail Banking, Transport, Hospitality, Health Care, Expos and Government projects where a customized communication channel to drive customer or viewer engagement is beneficial. SureWaves is also positioned to partner existing Out of Home Display networks by creating a network of networks using its unique solutions, and driving higher levels of viewer engagement.

CellSerf (www.cellserf.com) and Candid Marketing (www.candidmarketing.com) joined hands today to enter the mobile advertising space.

2008-01-15T04:58:00.002-08:00

CellSerf (www.cellserf.com) and Candid Marketing (www.candidmarketing.com) joined hands today to enter the mobile advertising space.

CellSerf, a mobile media and technology company based out of New Delhi, India and Sunnyvale, CA, has partnered with Candid Marketing, a leading marketing services company, for developing the mobile advertising market and business in India. Candid Marketing is a division of IMSG Plc. (www.imsg.co.uk) with a presence in many of the high growth markets worldwide. In India, Candid Marketing is a leading marketing services company and is widely regarded as the pioneer in innovative below-the-line marketing solutions. With its offices in six major cities, Candid executes marketing and sales programs across more than 120 cities for most major international brands with a presence in India.

CellSerf’s founder Vishal Batra said, "As a highly innovative and leading promotional marketing services company in India, we see Candid Marketing as the ideal media partner for our Mobile VAS offerings. Their reach and reputation is unmatched and we would be able to leverage their experience in taking CellSerf's first-of-kind mobile media application to advertisers for non-intrusive custom-built sniper target solutions."

The recently launched CellSerf mobile application optimizes advertising spends by offering a variety of options for the advertisers to connect with the end users. It offers the advertisers better return for their money by offering targeted advertising on a pay-per-view basis on the very intimate mobile medium.

The advertisers can choose their target viewers based on the user's demographic information, and current interests. The advertiser can present video, audio, picture and text advertisements served on the mobile handset along with a surety that the user has viewed the ad. Further advertisers may choose the pricing models, between CPC (cost-per-click) and CPM (cost-per-million), depending on the nature of its business and marketing campaign.

Batra added, “With CellSerf mobile application, we are presenting advertisers a TV like advertising channel that is many times more personal and captive and importantly non intrusive.”

To add more teeth to the application CellSerf combines Multimedia Instant Messaging, Global Multimedia Mobile Messaging and Multimedia Email that allows mobile users to go beyond the traditional style of communicating in Text and leverage the mobile phone's multimedia capabilities to exchange Video, Pictures and Voice messages. The application and service is free to use. The mobile advertising solution is integrated with mobile IM, Messaging and Email applications to offer targeted multimedia advertisements to end users.

Candid Marketing’s founder and CEO Atul S Nath said, “CellSerf has all the applications to keep young mobile users engaged and connected with their friends and family. This presents itself as an outstanding opportunity for advertisers to interact with customers. To the advertiser we are offering a novel, cost-effective and most importantly interactive medium to communicate with customers.”

Candid Marketing’s Vice President Harsh Sisodia said, “CellSerf is the Swiss-knife of mobile applications as it offers connectivity through Instant Messaging, Email and Mobile Messaging all-in-one”. In between a user sending and receiving messages and emails, advertisements, intuitive communication and response-oriented interaction is facilitated with the user in a non-intrusive way.

With its incomparable penetration in India, the mobile phone as a medium is bigger than any other. There are more mobile phone users than TV viewers and newspaper readers today. The mobile has replaced traditional cameras as the preferred way to capture pictures and record videos. Mobile handsets are preferred for listening to music today and have become a truly personal medium to reach out to customers.

"With the CellSerf mobile application we are offering our clients a new and exciting medium for reaching out to customers. Today the penetration of mobiles in India is tremendous and with CellSerf we are allowing our clients an opportunity to touch each and every one of them in a way that will bring them maximum returns for advertising money", said Harsh.

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About CellSerf

CellSerf is a Mobile Media and Technology company (www.cellserf.com) based out of New Delhi and Sunnyvale, California. CellSerf has developed the next generation mobile messaging and IM service that elevates the user's experience beyond text to take full advantage of the mobile phone's multimedia capability. CellSerf offer’s an integrated application for Multimedia IM, Email and Mobile Messaging for free. Further it also integrates multimedia advertising on the mobile handset. CellSerf offers advertisers a focused and non-intrusive mobile marketing tool to reach customers.

About Candid Marketing

Candid Marketing (www.candidmarketing.com) is a division of IMSG (www.imsg.co.uk) an AIM (London Stock Exchange) listed company with presence in many of the high growth emerging markets of the world. Candid Marketing is India's leading promotional marketing services company and is widely regarded as the pioneer of below-the-line marketing services industry in the country. From its offices in six major cities, Candid manages marketing and sales programs across 100+ cities for most major international brands with a presence in India. Having pioneered promotional marketing in India, Candid is known to be one of the most innovative and experienced companies in the business.

Candid Marketing has offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, and Hyderabad. In the last 12 years, Candid has managed over 15000 promotions and events across more than 120 cities and 30000 locations nationwide, and is known to be one of the most innovative and experienced companies in the business. Widely regarded amongst clients as the 'execution' specialist, Candid boasts the highest quality promotion execution and management in the industry. Having pioneered promotional marketing in India, Candid owns most resources and equipment, allowing economies of scale to translate into better value for client.

In line with Percept’s continuing evolution as a contemporary integrated communication Consultancy Company

2008-01-15T04:58:00.001-08:00

In line with Percept’s continuing evolution as a contemporary integrated communication Consultancy Company, Percept Profile Pvt. Ltd., the Public Relations arm of Percept Holdings Pvt. Ltd. today announced the array of clients bagged nationally in the last quarter. The new accounts acquired range across various categories like Hospitality, Lifestyle/Fashion, Corporate and Media/Entertainment. This gain of 13 new businesses has resulted in a 30% growth in the last quarter of 2007 for the agency.

Speaking on this meteoric rise, Rahat Beri, Chief Operating Officer, Percept Profile evinces, “In the last quarter, we have notched up an impressive list of clients across various practices. Our bottom-up approach to outstanding strategic & research capabilities coupled by project execution, across India, allows us to deliver consistent superior corporate communications transversely a whole range of categories. The Media & Entertainment domain in the last year has grown exponentially in its own space. “

The new accounts gained across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore are Lucera – A brand of Renaissance Jewellery Ltd., Donear Industries Ltd. – leading Shirtings & Suitings brand, Brioni – Elite designer formals from Italy, s.Oliver – A German apparel brand, ItzCash Card Limited, MDLR Airlines, Amaltas (brands – Lush & Storm), ESP Consultants, Venetian Macao Resort Hotel – Asia’s largest integrated resort destination, Ajmal Perfumes – leading Gulf perfumier, Sai Baba Production’s - Amul Star Voice of India, Paramount Films of India for Transformers, The Bourne Ultimatum, Mighty Heart, Elizabeth-The Golden Age and ASA Film’s - Mumbai Salsa.

“We have strengthened our various domains by consolidating & specializing in 360 degree Communication across spectrum. We have always added value by being a marketing communication partner to all our businesses and going forward we recognize that as a key differentiator in the service we offer “; Ms. Beri added.

The agency will service these accounts on a national basis across Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad & Pune. These new accounts in Percept Profile’s kitty will further consolidate its endeavor in specializing in corporate communication across the spectrum and various fraternities.

Percept Profile’s existing clientele includes Nissan Motor Company, Playwin, TCL, Asia MotorWorks Ltd., Shapoorji Palonji, Tao Art Gallery, Universal Music, BigAdda, Areva T&D India, Percept Picture Company and many other reputed brands.

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About Percept Profile:

Percept Profile is part of Percept Holdings Ltd., which is a strategic holding company that promotes, owns and manages a spectrum of marketing communication companies. Percept Profile takes a 360-degree view of client’s businesses to build powerful and distinct communications programs that resonate with the stakeholders who are critical to their success. For more information please visit http://www.perceptprofile.com

Italian actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations World Food Programme

2008-01-15T04:57:00.001-08:00

Italian actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), has returned from a field visit to projects that the UN agency is supporting in India, urging the international community to strongly commit to support WFP programmes so as to provide education and food to millions of hungry poor children.

The Italian actress strongly appealed for contributions during the press conference that took place today in New Delhi.

“Working side by side with WFP has taught me that each one can make a difference in the fight against hunger. Food can serve as a magnet to bring children to school and change their life”, said Cucinotta, who chose India as her first field visit in her role as WFP Ambassador Against Hunger.

Cucinotta visited WFP-assisted primary schools, mother-and-child health and nutrition centers, and food-for-work activities in the predominantly tribal districts of Jhabua and Dhar in central state of Madhya Pradesh. She was very impressed with the functioning of WFP-supported projects. She learnt first-hand that as a result of the WFP’s support to national school feeding programme, the enrolment in the schools have increased substantially, the attendance rates were higher than in other schools and moreover, the children looked healthy.

“While India is making tremendous progress on the economic front, more efforts are needed in the social arena, in terms of better nutrition, education and health services for the poor. The commitment of the Government of India for hunger and poverty alleviation is commendable. I have been impressed by WFP’s work in India that focuses on strengthening the national food-based schemes by developing better models, including formulation and local production of micronutrients fortified special foods. Every dollar WFP spends leverages several more dollars from existing schemes. This is what external support and capacity development are needed for in India”, said Cucinotta.

Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Oscar nominated in 1994 for the film “Il Postino”, has been appointed WFP Ambassador Against Hunger in 2006 after having produced the Italian film “All the Invisible Children”, that focus the attention on the millions of children and teenagers whose rights are denied by hunger, exploitation and war. The film was realized by eight top directors: John Woo, Emir Kusturica, Spike Lee and others.

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency. Last year we gave food to 88 million people in 78 of the world's poorest countries and provided school meals to about 20 million children in 71 countries; almost half of whom were girls. Starting in 1963 and continuing as the largest multilateral conduit for external food assistance to India, WFP has worked with the Government of India to fight against hunger, malnutrition and illiteracy. In 2006, WFP assisted approximately 2.9 million people in India, including 2 million women and children.

India, Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi were in groove together at the ongoing India-International Trade Fair

2008-01-15T04:56:00.000-08:00

Recently the heavenly state of India, Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi were in groove together at the ongoing India-International Trade Fair.

Every day IITF is having an evening fulfilled with cultural extravaganza of different cities, in this chain it was the time for artists from J&K to create the waves with the sheer magic of their scintillating performances. And they didn't upset the delhiites on getting the opportunity during the cultural evening organised by J&K Akademi for Art, Culture and Language.

During the cultural programme artists from small towns of Kashmir presented various aspects of Folk Music and Dance in colourful dresses featuring Dogri, Pahadi & Kashmiri Folk Music & Dance, Rough, Mask Dance of Laddakh and folk music from Kargil & Kudd.

The evening was commenced by non other than the CM of Jammu & Kashmir Sh. Gulam Nabi Azad, who was specially invited for this programme. He first applauded the efforts of all the artists and J&K Akademi for making their presence felt through various ways and programmes. He said the art & cultural activities from different states of the country are the main source to show unity and these artists are doing wonderful work in keeping it alive as the monuments amongst the masses.

During the programme, along with Sh. Gulam Nabi Azad, Mangat Ram Sharma (State Minister for Health and Medical, J&K), Ramesh Chandra Sharma (State Min. for PHE, J&K), Abdul Rashiddar, Sh. Kadri, O.P. Sharma (Special Officer, Art & Culture, J&K Akademi) and many others were present there.

India catapulting to the 15 position in 2007 (from the 21st rank) in the coveted Gunn Report

2008-01-15T04:42:00.000-08:00

India catapulting to the 15 position in 2007 (from the 21st rank) in the coveted Gunn Report is by no means a small feat. A significant role in which was played by McCann India.

With its celebrated Happydent palace commercial making it to the Top 10 list of the Most Awarded Commercials Worldwide, McCann has helped Indian billing move up the ranks.

This is the first time in Advertising history that an Indian ad has made it to the top 10 most awarded list of the Gunn Report.

Gunn Report is an annual rating of creative work based on awards won by Advertising agencies worldwide in nearly 60 varied award shows and is the prestigious list which agency professional’s across the globe eagerly await.

The Gunn Report positions McCann India at no 22 worldwide and O&M India at no 45 with its adoption campaign garnering the 12th spot.

According to Prasoon Joshi, McCann’s Chairman & Regional Creative Director, APAC, “I am happy that apart from making a more than positive impact on the sales of the product, the happydent commercial has gone on to not only to raise the bar on creativity and win awards for McCann but also boost up India’s ranking as a whole.”

Recently Vasant Vihar based Studio Vasant organised a exhibition of paintings by new and emerging talent from Hyderabad

2008-01-15T04:41:00.002-08:00

Recently Vasant Vihar based Studio Vasant organised a exhibition of paintings by new and emerging talent from Hyderabad Bhawandla Narhari and Sunirmal Maiti. The exhibition will continue till 25th November, 2007.

On the occasion of opening, painter Bahwandla Narhari, Baljeet Chaddha (Director, Studio Vasant), Ronita Chatterjee (Gallery Manager, Studio Vasant), Art Curator Victor Vijay Kumar, painters Umesh, Pankaj Mohan Aggarwal and many others were present there.

Bhawandla Narahari's paintings depict scenes from the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. The artist is a Gold Medallist from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University’s College of Fine Arts, Hyderabad, and is employed at the National Institute of Nutrition as a Technical Officer (Artist). He has participated in many solo shows in Hyderabad, Madras, Bombay and Delhi apart from group shows and art camps at many places for the past many years. His art works find place in many national and international prestigious institutions in Hyderabad, Delhi and many art collectors abroad. The artist’s specializes in scenes depicting village scenes, the village atmosphere, life-styles, and festivals.

On the occasion Baljeet Chaddha said, both the artists are very talented. I watched and like their work, their work has intensity to attract an normal human being and are able to present the village / towns' life-style, atmosphere, art and drawings amongst them. Our aim is to appreciate the talents of various artists between the people as well as to present their skills, imagination and the cultural monuments of the country.

CSA announces the opening of its Bulgaria Associate office in Sofia

2008-01-15T04:41:00.001-08:00

CSA announces the opening of its Bulgaria Associate office in Sofia, Bulgaria. CSA is Europe’s leading speakers’ bureau. For twenty years, its wide ranging portfolio of motivational, business, keynote and guest celebrity speakers has been instrumental in providing inspirational speeches, rekindling vision and transferring skills to virtually every sector of the world’s economy.

Commenting on the recent expansion, CSA Global Business Development Manager, Emilia Knight, states:

“With Bulgaria’s recent entry into the European Union, CSA sees this as an opportune moment to expand its business practices in the area. As the area has been rather untapped by us in the past, this is an ideal time to get involved by offering our services to companies in order to implement the concepts presented by our experts to boost the Balkan economy. The European Union entry will offer many benefits to the vicinity, and CSA wants to be present to help accelerate the region’s progress.”

CSA Bulgaria will be headed by Christina Vlahova who is the founder of “Intellecta Srl” – strategic marketing consultancy. The operations of the company spread across the whole of the Balkan region. Christina Vlahova brings 13 years of international strategic marketing experience to the CSA family.

“Bulgarian professionals have always been keen on gaining more expert knowledge and adopting the latest business practices. That is why training courses have for decades been one of the best benefits corporations can offer their employees, one of the strongest loyalty building incentives. And now, what we are witnessing is that the whole region is opening up to organizing events both in-house and open for the public, where established international experts are invited to share their knowledge.” – says Christina Vlahova. “While monitoring this trend, the choice of our collaboration with CSA came as a natural business solution – the market itself pointed to it.”

When asked how Bulgaria can benefit from the services and experiences of CSA, Christina Vlahova explains:

“With the opening of CSA Bulgaria, the question changes from ‘Where to find the speakers to invite to our event?’ - a challenge we have all been having during the past 1-2 years to ‘Who from this extensive portfolio of experts and speakers best fits the needs of our event?’ We are switching the dialogue from a logistics-based into a content-based one. Because at the end of the day, all of these bright professionals deserve the best access to information they can get, the best out-of-the-box thinking. If we can utilize the experience of CSA in working with speakers from around the world, then let us tap into it.”

For more information, please visit www.intellectasrl.com/wordpress or contact the CSA Bulgaria PR office directly at csabulgaria@intellectasrl.com

To download a copy of the CSA Speakers brochure go to: http://www.intellectasrl.com/wordpress/csa-celebrity-speakers/

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About:

Celebrity Speakers Associates (CSA), grown from nearly 25 years of experience as Celebrity Speakers Ltd. in the UK, is Europe’s leading speaker bureau. CSA is entrusted with the management of speakers' services, who are among the world’s most outstanding personalities from the field of professional business, academia, politics, sport, entertainment and the arts. There are more than 7,000 speakers and experts in the CSA portfolio.

Intellecta Srl was created in June 2004. Positioned as a Strategic Marketing Consultancy, the operations of the company spread across the whole of the Balkan region and it offers innovative marketing strategies to lager corporations, as well as to small and medium enterprises. For the territory of the Balkans the company operated from Sofia, Bulgaria.

For media inquiries on potential speaker’s interview please write to: csabulgaria@intellectasrl.com or call +359888308180

NYSE listed enterprise management solutions leader, BMC Software

2008-01-15T04:40:00.002-08:00

NYSE listed enterprise management solutions leader, BMC Software (NYSE:BMC) has appointed Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide to handle its public relation activities in India.

Emerging the winner from among top names in PR in India, Ogilvy PR will develop communications strategies and programs to raise the profile of BMC Software to attract and recruit talent for the company’s fast growing development centre in Pune. In addition, the comprehensive communications program will include elements of traditional media and industry analyst relations to raise customer and channel partner awareness of BMC’s enterprise management solutions that enable companies to manage IT from a business perspective.

“We are looking forward to doing some result driven work for BMC Software in India. Though Ogilvy PR works with BMC Software in other Asian markets, for India, we had to demonstrate that we are the right agency for them. Our proven expertise in brand building, strong understanding of technology business in the Indian milieu and our contemporary approach to both traditional media and the fast emerging digital media proved to be the differentiators,” commented Ms. Meenakshi Bhalla, President, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, India.

“Also, our specialist units in digital influence, CSR and crisis management provide our clients a globally attuned, fully ready agency which can effectively partner them in all their brand building plans,” she added.

“India is a critical and strategic market for BMC, employing more than 750 research and development staff and expanding rapidly. It is critical we have the right partner on board to manage our communications programs and Ogilvy PR demonstrated throughout the evaluation process that they understand our business, the market and what we are trying to achieve,” said Mark Stouse, BMC’s global corporate communications leader.

“Given our effective partnerships with Ogilvy PR companies in other key markets within Asia Pacific, adding India to Ogilvy’s footprint with BMC is a natural evolution,” said Pip Livingstone, senior manager of field marketing and communications for BMC’s Asia-Pacific region. “The agency review for India was hotly contested by a number of top firms, but Ogilvy was a definite stand-out and we’re pleased to be working with them in such an important market.”

Luca Penati, managing director of Ogilvy PR’s Global Technology Practice, said: “For several years, Ogilvy PR has been a strategic partner for BMC Software in the Asia Pacific region. BMC requires a team that is familiar with the complexity of the enterprise management software industry, yet is able to go beyond traditional tech PR with a team that knows how to create thought leadership campaigns and link those campaigns to concrete business results.”

Ogilvy PR is currently BMC Software’s agency of record in a number of countries in Asia-Pacific. This includes H-Line in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong; PRAP in Japan; and Howorth Communications in Australia.

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About Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR) is a leading global marketing communications firm, with offices in more than 60 cities around the world. For more than 25 years, Ogilvy PR has provided strategic public relations counsel to a variety of clients across its consumer marketing, corporate, healthcare, technology, public affairs, social marketing and entertainment practices. The agency also offers biotechnology and government affairs expertise through its subsidiaries Feinstein Kean Healthcare and Ogilvy Government Relations, respectively. Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide is part of the WPP Group, one of the world's largest communications services organizations (NASDAQ: WPPGY, www.wpp.com). For more information, visit our Web site at www.ogilvypr.com.

"Sliver of Time" is the name of exhibition of paintings by painter Kota Neelima and photographs of Anuj Parti.

2008-01-15T04:40:00.001-08:00

"Sliver of Time" is the name of exhibition of paintings by painter Kota Neelima and photographs of Anuj Parti. Organised at The Travencore Place, the exhibition was inaugurated by Smt. Shiela Dixit (Hon'ble Chief Minister, Delhi) recently. On the opening ceremony along with Shiela Dixit, Kota Neelima, Anuj Parti & his mother, Shikha Sharma, K.V.S. Rama Sharma, Rajeev Sethi, Raja Reddy, Kaushalya Reddy, Yashodhraraje Sindhiya, Latika Dixit and Pawan Khera were also present there.

SLIVER OF TIME

It is a thin layer of memory. Out of place in present. Too early for future. Too late for past. It is easy to confuse the past with the future because both meet for a moment in the present. But how is one to know that this moment is indeed the present, if it is already passing on into the past? The synapse of memory in the brain is already forming for this passing moment. But what if the moment is frozen now, before it turns future into past?

It will be a very thin layer of memory. Of clouds before they become waves. Of lotuses before they return to the depth. Of waters resting before they turn into rain. Of that layer of time which exists only for one heart beat. In the next beat, it would have formed a memory, unchangeable, forever.

But for now, it belongs neither to present, past nor future. It does not even belong to time. In time, however, it will be finally lost. Here is that precious layer of memory in paintings and photographs, colours and pigments, the only means pure enough to qualify for this momentary mischief. For, it is a moment stolen from time. A moment that the future gave up and the past has not yet claimed.

LIGHT AND ITS MYRIAD FORMATIONS

Each of these recent paintings explores and dives into a separate wavelength of colour…yet the patterns of her poetic voice reign. For the moments incarnate which decipher her metaphors of fecund flora, still life-scapes, and the abstract of the natural realm, hang as one as the symphony unfolds. Nonetheless, it is important to step back and absorb this raga with space, as the juxtaposition of each piece could confuse the novitiate.

The artist speaks of kaala, the timelessness of her work. In each unfolds a conscious exploration from the clouds to myriad dimensions of that which she names ‘depth’. Such that strong, albeit discursive spectrums range from the highest to the lowest reign. To manage within a single series to embrace that which a single being aims to sense, both as a creative and vital force. Like a 19th century photographer (John Thomson) who first captured simultaneously the clouds and the land in a single glass plate negative frame, paralleling a dancer whose arms sweep in an arc of 360 degrees, the expanse of a panoramic lens. She lives surrounded by a natural dimension, which she has nurtured. So, in her work do these sensibilities come alive through other than pure green tonalities? One sees fuchsias, blues of the sea and sky. …Small interstices within larger compositions glean this idea of slivers of time. For as the metaphors of moonlight (unable to be possessed, ephemeral) are inherent to essential creativity and atomistic prowess so does her exploration carry one from the land-locked to the mountain range to the limitless lands of one’s sensorial lexicon.

Stillness, at once vibrancy, the artist’s strokes defy categorization. In one work, there is exuberance, with spans of realms of eternity. However, in another, she addresses the superficies of shallowness of the so-called surface. This work embraces at once, no matter what stage, this shadowing stretch of vision. An extreme burst, from tonal hues within one semi-abstract work, towards another in pure chromatic exploration – blues, reds, greens (very few, albeit ironically that she lives surrounded by the myriad caprices of the verdure kingdom to burgeon with such a force), ochre, creams and gilded tangerine, browns of earth and bark, shades of turmeric and goldenrod and yellow, pinks and purples complete the equations.

What is expressed in Liquid Glass or Corridors of Light - the depths of the silence of the stroke of the brush, which at another moment can be as vibrant as the rush of white water running. Metaphors of time are at work within and betwixt these canvases, such as Order and Claims of Water. Her earlier series in 2006, entitled the echoing life of nature, bring to mind this incessant searching to meld the nature-scape, the nature morte, and the ethereal/surreal landscape, cum transcendent imagery. There speaks a desire to render the intangible, what has concrete natural life, but passes through our existence in seasonal unfolding. To consider – the abstract and figurative as one and the same, as life purports to do. Conscious and unconscious, the perceived and the intuitive, touched and felt. Five senses swell to multifarious renditions like chords and octaves congeal as crescendo. From the minute to the immense, the pattern of a leaf echoes with the ripple of water, the vein of a tree.

These works conjure a momentary pause, as if between breaths, placing one foot before another, a step from nature’s sunsets to sunrises, when the pastels and flames fuse at once. Just as for those who sail who understand, as do cinematographers, the meaning of the phrase ‘sweet light’ when the sea and land meet in one hue and vanishing perspective. What shall follow as this artist hones her craft and vision in the future shall be a pleasure to encounter, as her brushes focus more contently on the pulse of energy, and she find her voice.

The heart perceives and experiences, the mind soaks them up and stores, and an artful metamorphosis happens

2008-01-15T04:39:00.002-08:00

The heart perceives and experiences, the mind soaks them up and stores, and an artful metamorphosis happens. The soulful journey of the artist is through the highway of such experiences that overflow spontaneously onto the canvas, their true essence recalled and reflected in flashes of paints and colour. The artist captures the ethereal, the sublime, which is the portrayal of life itself. This is what we get to watch in "EYES SEES – HEART PERCEIVES" an exhibition of paintings by Delhi based artist SHUCHI KHANNA at Studio Vasant, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi.

On the occasion of opening ceremony artist Shuchi Khanna, Shamshad Hussain (Sr. artist & son of renowned artist M.F. Hussain), Soniya Jaitly (Fashion Designer), Ashwin Aishwarya (Founder Director – Global Art Village), Probir Sikdar (Sr. Artist), Dr. Mukesh Jaitly (Dentist – Orthodontist), Baljit Chaddha (Director – Studio Vasant), Victor Vijay Kumar (Art curator & painter), Ronita Chatterjee (Gallery Manager – Studio Vasant) were present there.

The artist is exposed to various facets of life, as a daughter, wife, mother, and teacher and above all as a Woman in this Man’s World. She seeks to express as it were the day & night of life.

While the artist is aware, even if she does not endorse Shakespeare’s view that “This life is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”, she believes in the Wordsworthian sensitivity to the greener side of life -- “In small proportions we just beauties see and in short measures life may perfect be”. This series is, in such short proportions, an amalgamation of a cascading medley of feelings emerging from inner space as agony and ecstasy and much else that the viewer too may see, imagine or conjure!

THE THOUGHT BEHIND SHUCHI KHANNA’S PAINTINGS

Drawing from the core of her femininity, guided by the soul of spiritual quests, Shuchi Khanna is a multi dimensional Artist in the real sense of the term. The young artist steps out from the universal patterns to articulate a life through her canvas and colors. She stimulates her brush mainly to convey relations among Men, Women, and the Nature, beyond boundaries of thought. She dexterously conveys that women are the Creators & they glue the world together. She uses extra splashes of pastel colors in her works. But let the placid shades not beguile. She subtly brandishes the brush as a plume, which could well be a hard sell reminder of the chaos of the times. Her paintings speak a lot about Women Empowerment without harsh & obvious confrontation with the nature. Her paintings are an effective mix of Divinity, Hope and Inspiration. The essence of her work is not lost into the labyrinths of ingenious strokes. If she gives a chorus of the protagonist, she supports the thought of her piece with strong colors. This lends her intellect a quality that directs towards a curiosity. Her fields are anywhere, from Ceramic surfaces, Cement Walls to Clay pots & Wooden Doors. From Hand Made/Art Papers to Canvas & Wooden Boards. Apart from women, she inculcates the presence of mysticism in her works, as evidenced in her ‘Gayatri Mantra series ... The ‘OM’ touching sacred beads only gives out the message of the presence of the Lord and the Almighty. These symbols, nonchalantly cast into the background of a blush of colors, artistically convey the blueprints of existence and suggest, quietly, the insignia of life.

She is Delhi University graduate & a qualified Commercial Artist who underwent further training in the Creative Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, New Delhi. She qualified for the degree of Bachelor of Education from the Allahabad University.She accredits herself for being a free-lance graphic designer and counselor for reputed advertising agencies. Presently SHUCHI heads the Department of Fine arts at the Sanskriti School, a prestigious School in Delhi. She teaches Applied Art to classes Eleven and Twelve.

TSOTSI– an Academy Award Winner in the Best Foreign Language Film Category in the year 2006

2008-01-15T04:39:00.001-08:00

Adding another feather to its teeming cap, Percept Profile has bagged the highly acclaimed foreign language flick Tsotsi. TSOTSI– an Academy Award Winner in the Best Foreign Language Film Category in the year 2006, was screened at the much-anticipated IFFI on the 24th of November 2007 in Goa amidst much fanfare. Directed by Gavin Hood and Produced by Peter Fudakowski - TSOTSI, a movie that has strong screenplay backing and intense display of emoting skills - is proudly being presented by Percept Profile at the esteemed IFFI this year in Goa.

TSOTSI had been awarded the Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Category in the year 2006.

Starring Presley Chweneyagae – a gifted actor in the title role, TSOTSI is an endearing tale of a teenage boy who has repressed the memories of his past and lives his life in the present. Seemingly indifferent to emotions and hence uncaring towards the world and its beautiful forms of life, the story revolves around various incidents which helps him transcend into a different mindset slowly. How the story transcends into an emotional plot; when Tsotsi carjacks and accidentally chances upon a little baby inside the car. From there onwards, various incidents he comes across changes his life - forming the crux of the movie.

Making its grand release in India in the month of December, TSOTSI promises to be a movie that captivates Indian audiences with its unique tale of ‘Innocence lost!’ Percept Profile, the PR agency that is promoting media activities for this tale of sheer brilliance in India, ensures that the movie captivates the minds of the Indian audiences and thus viewed by audiences of all age groups across the country.

Percept Profile, a brand name by itself has to its credits movies such as Traffic Signal, Aap Ka Surroor, Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar, Phir Milenge, Mumbai Salsa, Bong Connection and My Friend Ganesha…. The PR agency has been instrumental in the success of the popular animated flick Hanuman and now is all set to ensure that Hanuman Returns achieves global recognition. Amongst International films, Profile has handled production houses including the likes of Paramount Pictures and their movies namely Transformers, Disturbia, The Bourne Ultimatum and The Mighty Heart. Apart from these, Elizabeth – The Golden Age an Oscar winning classic by Shekhar Kapur has now made its successful entry in India.

When asked, Rahat Beri - COO of Percept Profile, mentioned….”We indeed feel very very proud of being associated with such an acclaimed movie. Percept Profile has been focused relentlessly over the past few years in growing the Media & Entertainment vertical of its business. And has taken some very serious initiatives in this vertical, which has only enriched its domain expertise. TSOTSI is one such example

VIPs in hundreds from across India descended on the mammoth well-decked Garware Stadium

2008-01-15T04:38:00.002-08:00

The sleepy town of Aurangabad in Maharashtra woke up to the biggest wedding of all times whilst Karan Darda, son of political bigwig Rajendra Darda & nephew of popular MP & Chairman Lokmat Group Vijay Darda, tied the knot with Ruchira Aggarwal, an advocate by profession.

VIPs in hundreds from across India descended on the mammoth well-decked Garware Stadium. Undoubtedly the wedding of the year, this event had the crème Dela crème of India in attendance, drawn from Bollywood, corporate world, politics & media.

The celebrity list included big names from the realm of politics, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Civial Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan, Amar Singh, Farooq Abdullah, Rajiv Shukla, Jaya Pradha & Jaya Bachhan. The corporate world was well-represented too- Gautam Singhania & Vijay Mallaya being the notable ones. A battery of Bollywood stars like Anil Kapoor, Ritesh Deshmuhk, Tulip Joshi, Yukta Mukhi, Asrani & ace director Madhur Bhandarkar spent the entire evening congratulating the Dardas. The media fraternity came in large numbers to cover one of the biggest weddings of Maharashtra, including senior editors of print & electronic media and Rahul Mittra, CEO Brandsmith.

The bridegroom’s father Rajendra Darda & uncle Vijay Darda were seen patiently welcoming the guests at the massive stage erected to accommodate the celebrities & VIP,s. “We are elated to see the turnout today,” said MP & Chairman Lokmat Vijay Darda. “This is a result of the love that the Darda family has earned over the decades.”

More than 20 chartered flights brought the VIP guests to and fro from Aurangabad and nearly 20,000 people attended this mega wedding.

News is nothing but information floating form North East West South

2008-01-15T04:38:00.001-08:00

News is nothing but information floating form North East West South. We do get all the information about all the incidents happening across the globe through newspapers and magazines, as they are the trustworthy source of all type of information. But what if somebody intends to collect the information about newspapers and magazines itself? The question in no longer an unanswered one! Information of all publications is now just a click away. Thanks to www.printnpublications.com

Mumbai based company Prime Info (India) has launched a new portal www.printnpublications.com to target communications, marketing, media and PR professionals who sometimes find it difficult to find information on local newspapers and magazines of a particular city. Printnpublications offers a solution to the problem as it has a directory consisting list of newspapers and magazines being published from various metros be it Mumbai, Delhi or cities like Lucknow, Patna, Indore or Pune. Even the publications from the small towns of the country, have been listed on the portal for the advertising and PR people to reach out to hinterland preparing the best media plan.

“The website has been promoted by the people from the field of Advertising and Media having more than 25 years of experience and it aims to become a valid reference source for information of print media to media buyers, media planners, advertising agencies, retails clients and all. It is a good platform to display relevant information including, advertisement tariff, circulation, demographics, communications and edition details,” Mr. Upendra Vaidya, director of the project infomed.

“We have also tied up with google and with the help of google maps, it would be possible for our viewrs to tarce the exact location of the newspapers office. This would be more helpful while searching the information of newspapers based at rural level.Currently we are preparing a list of only ‘INS accredated’ newspapers but the ‘non-accredated’ ones would also be added soon, Vaidya said.

The website already been operational, shows the information of various newspapers from more than 1200 cities among 28 states and the number is continuesly increasing. Various publications from Andhra Pradesh, Aassam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, J&K, Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Pondicherry, Rajsthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have already been listed on the website.

There are two types of listing the newspapers on this website viz. Basic Listing and Premium Listing.

Basic Listing

Basic Listing is maintained by our editorial team. List containes only name of publication and city of publication. Charges for basic listing is Nil. If you want to add your name, please send email with details to info@printnpublications.com. Our editorial team will add the name after receipt of details.

Premium Listing

Premium listing offers facility to display various information about the publication. Details such as communication address, telephone, editor, admanager, rate tariff, circulation, language, periodicity etc are provided. This data helps advertising agencies, media planner to plan their advertising budget.

One can update tariff from own side. For this one will get username and password, which will help him / her to update all the information on the fly. One can just register the information by visiting http://www.printnpublications.com/contact.

“Various Ad-agencies, PR agencies would find this website very useful while preparing their annual ad-budget. We will ensure that the information made available on this website will be accurate and will be updated from time to time,” Mr. Vaidya said.

Sopori Academy of Music and Performing Arts (SaMaPa) as the name itself suggests that it's an institution

2008-01-15T04:35:00.000-08:00

Sopori Academy of Music and Performing Arts (SaMaPa) as the name itself suggests that it's an institution of music and performing arts. SaMaPa is not merely an academy but a cultural movement aimed at propagating and popularizing Indian classical and traditional music with a focus on Jammu and Kashmir State for which it has been recognized on a global level. SaMaPa serves as a cultural bridge between the State of Jammu and Kashmir and rest of the country representing the heartbeat of J&K people and its culture.

SaMaPa, under the aegis of its Chairman and President - the Santoor Legend and Composer Pandit Bhajan Sopori, has raised the level of music in J&K bringing it in the world music scenario. Pandit Sopori, hailed as the ‘Pride of the State and Nation’, has through his music highlighted the concept of oneness and foster unity enshrining the idea of national integration, humanism and peace amongst the common man and the youth in particular.

Alike day & night, grief & happiness, loss & win are incomplete without each other, art & culture, literature & music too are also incomplete without each other or it makes the perfect combination, keeping this perfect combination in mind SaMaPa have done great work in the field of arts, creativity and literature alongside music. And the example of the same can be seen in their annual music festival "SaMaPa Sangeet Sammelan", which was entered into 3rd year recently with two days Festival at Kamani Auditorium at Copernicus Marg, New Delhi.

During the two days festival an art exhibition by artists of J&K Akademi of Art, Culture & Language was also organised and two legendary personalities from the music industry; Tabla Maestro Padma Vibhushan Pt. Kishan Maharaj and the veteran music composer Sh. Khayyam were honoured with prestigious 'SaMaPa Vitasta Award 2007' and Ustad Gulam Mohammed was honoured with 'SaMaPa Sher-E-Kashmir Sheikh Mohd. Abdullah Award' for Dogri Folk Music. Pandit Kishan Maharaj & Sh. Khayyam were awarded for their lifetime contribution in the field of Indian Classical Instrumental Music (Tabla) & Music Direction respectively, whereas Ustad Gulam Mohd. was awarded for his contribution to Dogri Folk Music.

The first day of the festival belonged to the Santoor of Santoor maestro & music composer Abhay Rustum Sopori, Vocal of Harish Tiwari and Tabla recital by Pandit Kishan Maharaj and his grandson. The second day commenced in the morning with Santoor Ensemble by the Students of Salvan Public School, Gurgaon which was coordinated by Roshan Ali (disciple of Pt. Bhajan Sopori), followed by Swar-Laya Samvad (Feat. female Musicians) by Su. Maitree Majumdar, Su. Veena Sawale (Vocal), Su. Preeti Sinha (Pakhawaj), Dr. Vasudha Saxena, Dr. Neelu Sharma, Su Khushboo (Tabla) and ended with Vocal Recital by Pt. Madhup Mudgal. Second evening of the two days musical festival consisted of Sitar-Sarod Duet by Kedia Bandhu (Sh. Manoj & Sh. Mormukut Kedia), Vocal Recital by pt. Samresh Chawdhury and Odissi Dance by Guru Kiran Segal and troupe. Painting exhibition by artists of J&K Akademi was also the point of attraction for guests and all the delhiites.

The festival was a huge success for all the artists as more than thousands of people came to enjoy and the sizzling performances of the artists left them mesmerised. During the festival many distinguished guests including Zohra Sehgal, Pt. Rajan-Sajan Misra, Dr. Shanno Khurana, Gurcharan Singh Chadak (Min. of PWD, J&K), Sh. Shambhu Nath Sopori, Pt. Bhajan Sopori, Aparna Sopori, Pakistani Urdu poet Farhat Shehzad, Dr. Farooq Abdullah (Hon'ble Member Parliament, Rajya Sabha), Jugal Kishore (Hon'ble Min. for Rural Development, J&K), Dr. Rafeeq Masoodi (Commissioner Secretary, J&K Academy, J&K), Pt. Mangat Ram Sharma (Hon'ble Min. for Health, Medical Education, Employment & Ladakh Affairs, J&K), A.R. Shaheen (Hon'ble Member Parliament, Lok Sabha), Lov Verma (Jt. Secretary, Deptt of Culture, Govt. of India) were also present there.

SaMaPa Sangeet Sammelan is acknowledged as one of the top festivals of music in India. With its motive - jan jan tak sangeet (Music to the masses), SaMaPa serves as a cultural bridge between Jammu and Kashmir State and rest of the country representing the heartbeat of J&K people and its culture.

Pixelkraft has launched the first ever interactive site dedicated to brand videos

2008-01-15T04:34:00.001-08:00

Pixelkraft has launched the first ever interactive site dedicated to brand videos. Indibiz.tv is designed to meet three simple objectives – recall, compare and respond.

Convergence is driving the evolution of various forms of interactive media, resulting in information/content that is not limited by geography or time. Interactive advertising presents fresh challenges for advertisers who have hitherto adopted an interruptive strategy.

Indibiz.tv is an online video directory for brands, targeted primarily at the tech-savvy Indian, both home and abroad. But with product and service categories that make for easy accessibility and a simple-to-use interface, www.indibiz.tv appeals to practically everyone.

As a complement to television advertising, www.indibiz.tv allows the viewer to view the videos of a number of brands for a particular product or service. Post which if the advertiser has opted for a response feature, the viewer may choose to visit the brand’s website, or interact with the advertiser through any of the other touch points - email, chat or phone. Response to brand communication is instantaneous, and conversion to business is very high, because the viewer has actually opted to visit Indibiz.tv and see the commercial.

The response from Media buying houses, Advertising agencies and Corporates has been good, and videos from Airtel, Amararaja Batteries, Ford, Hindustan Unilever, Himalaya, ING Vysya, Mahindra Holidays, MK Electric, Nokia, Parryware, Saint Gobain, Titan Watches, Wipro, Yamaha, etc are already featured on the site.

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www.indibiz.tv is brought to you by PixelKraft, a 4-year-old media solutions company based in Chennai who recently launched RamandRia.tv – India’s First English Micro Sitcom for the web. Pixelkraft is into Content Creation, Online Distribution, Online Exhibition, Advertising – Brand Development & marketing communication solutions.

The ABVP and All Jharkhand Student's Union (AJSU) combination are all set not to repeat the flaws

2008-01-15T04:33:00.004-08:00

The ABVP and All Jharkhand Student's Union (AJSU) combination are all set not to repeat the flaws at the Vinoba Bhave University Election. The coalition that supposedly had a majority at VBU could not achieve expected success. The coalition this time is putting in extra effort to safeguard its candidates against the threats and horse trading.

Karunanidhi, State Office Secretary (ABVP) said that the results of the VBU are pointing towards the ill trends entering the field of the student elections. He said, "Horse trading and threatens to the candidates has resulted in the victory of the opposition on the two seats at the VBU."

Karunanidhi added that the university seems to be working to make National Students Union of India (NSUI) victorious in the election. "The step of the Vice chancellor where in he used his special rights to approve the candidature of a candidate with criminal background totally clears his intention."

Besides, the coalition is thinking of ways by which the candidates can be safeguarded. A higher source of the coalition said that a workshop for the candidates would be conducted, “We will keep our candidate at some location and bring them back on the day of poll, this would save them from all shorts of harassments and in those couple of days they would also learn more about the organization and the student’s rights,” he added.

The coalition is still fighting for the winners from the Ghagra College whose names are not enrolled in the electoral list. Rajeev Shadeo, District coordinator, ABVP said that it is a matter of shame if the university authority does not have the list of colleges that have gone into elections, “The university authority are doing as guided by there masters, we would take the matter in court now,” he added.

Harish Kumar from AJSU said that the coalition has about 120 members, “Our coalition is all set to win the five seats, and the only condition is that the university authority remains unbiased,” he added.

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THE first Public Relation Firm in Jharkhand. We provide the bestest of the press coverage and bring you closest to the target audience. Apart we make small motin pictures. A complete package of publicity in Jharkhand is here.

Eureka Communication is all about young people, who who are determined to give Public relation a new dimension. Based in Ranchi, Jharkhand, we have group of 12 hard working professionals.

Grand Kerala Shopping Festival” scheduled to take place across 14 districts of Kerala starts from 1st December

2008-01-15T04:33:00.003-08:00

Grand Kerala Shopping Festival” scheduled to take place across 14 districts of Kerala starts from 1st December 2007 to January 15th 2008. The festival will cater to the local populace, the NRIs and the foreign tourists.

Positioned as the largest ever shopping festival in India, with a participation of over 1500 establishments across the state of Kerala, the festival will be accompanied by a huge marketing campaign, estimated to be around 18 crores.

141Sercon – part of the WPP group and one of the largest specialised Below the Line has bagged the prestigious Unique initiative to leverage state tourism and position as the shopping haven.

This joint initiative will extend across all retail, entertainment and tourism related touchpoints across the state which would include establishments which focus on handicrafts & handlooms, hotels & restaurants, spas & resorts, jewellery & lifestyle, electronics & home products, spices & coir products.

The festival offers a great opportunity to brands and sponsors to be part of the largest ever festival in India. The festival offers opportunities for brands to create brand awareness and association while also ensuring experiential connect in the last mile.

The Grand Kerala Shopping Festival promises to offer numerous opportunities for brand exposure, on-site signage and displays, cross-promotions, contests, naming rights, and destination marketing activities associated with tour packaging – plus official status with promotional opportunities in print, web, and broadcast media, and high visibility to large, targeted audiences at the lifestyle level.

This festival is an endeavour to equal the popular annual shopping carnivals in Hong Kong and Dubai.

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About 141Sercon:

141Sercon has been the outcome of the coming together of two of the largest activation networks in Asia, SERCON and 141 Worldwide. The combined entity is one of the largest specialized “below-the-line” marketing services agencies which cater to the emerging markets in Asia. 141Sercon is part of the WPP Group.

Recently 141Sercon launched 1010, the group’s comprehensive digital initiative. Embarking on the philosophy of ripples of change, 1010 provides its clients and partners a unique approach of thinking beyond the obvious and translating the fundamentals into the strongest possible interactive communication solutions.

141Sercon conceptualizes and executes effective business events and below the line marketing initiatives to help clients access markets and engages their channel and customers. 141Sercon currently provides this value offering to more than 70 leading brands and organization, across FMCG, Consumer Durable, Services and Information Technology verticals across the geographies of Asia. The team at 141Sercon endeavors to understand the brand’s marketing challenges, its environs, it’s customer behavior and channel response, and addresses them by using Below The Line Marketing techniques, in both the offline and online formats. The absolute focus on core competencies and deliverables for the clients has helped 141Sercon become one of the largest experiential marketing solutions provider across Asia.

"The Caral – SUPE Civilization 5,000 Years Of Cultural Identity In Peru may change the world historys,"

2008-01-15T04:33:00.001-08:00

"The Caral – SUPE Civilization 5,000 Years Of Cultural Identity In Peru may change the world historys,": RUTH SHADY SOLIS

Recently a press conference was held at the Press Council Of India, New Delhi, organized by the Embassy of Peru in India & Brandsmith, a leading brand management, events, promotions & business advisory company.

Addressing the conference, His Excellency Carlos A Yrigoyen Forno,the Acting Ambassador of Peru in India & World-renowned archeologist Ruth Shady shared their startling revelations on the discovery of one of the oldest urban civilizations in the world & the oldest civilization of the Americas-the ancient city of Caral in Peru.Ruth Shady Solís is a Peruvian anthropologist and archeologist. She is also founder and director of the Archeological project Caral. Throughout her career, she directed many different projects of archeological investigation on the coast, the highlands and the rain forests of Peru, placing emphasis on the study of the development of the complex socio-political organizations. She was director of the Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Antropología del Perú (Nacional museum of Arqueology and Antropology of Peru), and director of the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology of National University of San Marcos.

She has worked at the Caral site from 1994 onwards and is credited with the discovery of the first known civilization of Peru; Shady has named the civilization after Caral, while the term Norte Chico has been adopted in English.She holds the offices of President of ICOMOS-PERU, principal professor and co-ordinator of the master of archeology graduate program faculty of social sciences of the UNMSM and director of the special archeological project Caral-Supe/INC.India is holding for the first time the XII International Conference of the National Trustees and Ms Ruth Shady has been invited by INTACH (India National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage) to share her discoveries with everybody.

The discovery of Caral reshapes the history of Peru as well as the history of the world. From now on besides Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China, Peru will have to be included with the exceptional testimony of such an old culture of peace..Also present at this important press conference was Rahul Mittra, CEO Brandsmith & brand advisor to the Peruvian Embassy in India .

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Brandsmith provides business advisory and positioning services to business globally. We specialize in integrated marketing and corporate communications, including strategic planning, events, business advisory, graphic design, advertising, direct mail, web services & media management services.

Above-the-line
TV, print advertising, in-film advertising, radio, billboard, cinema.

Below-the-line
Point of sale, POP, promotion, direct mail, e-mail marketing

Branding
Brand Strategy, Market Research, Brand Implementation, Corporate Identity, Logo Design, Product Development, Evaluation and Testing, Multilingual Branding, Brand Simplification, Brand Architecture, Brand Management.

Consulting/Training
Business Advisory, Search Optimization, Media Training, International Consulting, Corporate Training, External and Internal Training.

Design
Graphic Design, Print Literature, Brochures, Packaging, Product Design, Prototypes, Exhibits, Signage, Annual Reports, Trade-Shows, Up-Front Events.

Multimedia
Interactive Design, Web Design, Content Development, CD/DVD Design, Musical Scores and Jingles, Broadband, Video ads.

Media
Media Planning, Co-ordination, Buying, Optimization.

Public Relations
Media Relations, Structured Public Relations, Product Publicity

A point-of-purchase display for 24 Carat Fish Food designed by UAE based advertising agency Inca Tanvir Advertising

2008-01-15T04:32:00.001-08:00

A point-of-purchase display for 24 Carat Fish Food designed by UAE based advertising agency Inca Tanvir Advertising, won the coveted Silver Statue at the prestigious London International Awards (LIA) held at The Hippodrome on November 12, 2007, in London. The entry was one of a record 17,660 entries from 81countries.

The LIA , now in its 22nd year, honours preeminent work in Advertising, Design and Digital media. The highly coveted and difficult to attain statue has become an international icon of creative excellence. The distinguished international jury comprised of the most talented, recognized and awarded professionals.Inca Tanvir was established in the United Arab Emirates in 1976 and has a portfolio of local, regional and international brands.The agency prides itself in 'communicative advertising to a multi-racial audience'.

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Additional information on the London International Awards -- www.liaawards.com
Additional information on Inca Tanvir Advertising -- www.incatanvir.com

In the chain of organising paintings exhibition by different artists from all over the country, recently Studio Vasant

2008-01-15T04:31:00.004-08:00

In the chain of organising paintings exhibition by different artists from all over the country, recently Studio Vasant organised 'Blooming Joy' a solo exhibition of paintings by Madhu Jain. On the inauguration ceremony, painter Madhu Jain, Shigeyuki Shimamori (Counsellor, Japan Information Centre, Embassy of Japan), Victor Vijay Kumar, Baljeet Chaddha, Ronita Chatterjee, Ashok Jain and many other guests were present there.

BLOOMING JOY -

The biggest lessons for life come from Nature. Nature is the mentor of life, living and rejuvenation. The expanse of human ego now is extending beyond what is basic and necessary for living. We define good living in terms of increasing quantities of resources we can consume irrespective of our needs. The result is in front of us. Depleting resources, polluted rivers, toxic air, holes in ozone, vanishing forests, diseased soil all are a pointer to a dark future for humanity. Can our greed for profit make us myopic and we will bequeath to future generations of earth a landscape of death and disease. All the environmental groups are fighting a losing battle to save our beautiful earth.

It is said all good things come free. You never pay for the fragrant air you breathe in as you walk in a forest. What can be more joyous than to watch flowers blooming in Spring. Madhu Jain the artist exhibiting in Studio Vasant New Delhi has spent considerable time learning Japanese painting style. She paints blooming flowers, swaying bamboos and Nature in general. She also has learnt the language which helped her to understand the cultural and artistic nuances better. She paints Nature as it offers vignette of the eternal joys. Samuel Taylor Coleridge is nearer the truth of Nature when he says—

So will I build my altar in the fields,
And the blue sky my fretted dome shall be,
And the sweet fragrance that the wild flower yields
Shall be the incense I will yield to Thee

Madhu Jain is in search of the spirit of Romantics through her Japanese art inspired oeuvre. A journey into joyous beauty!

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UK’s leading Intangible Assets Valuation Company, Intangible Businesses Limited (IBL)

2008-01-15T04:31:00.003-08:00

UK’s leading Intangible Assets Valuation Company, Intangible Businesses Limited (IBL) is to sign a deal with MTI in London this week, as part of which Intangible Business’s proprietary valuation models and solutions will be rolled out across Asia and Middle East under the MTI Consulting banner. MTI Consulting having recently increased its offerings in 6 specialized business units to become a full services consulting company, now offers Brand Valuation as part of its increased bouquet of services in Branding Solutions. This strategic alliance between the two companies seeks to offer Sri Lankan Corporate Clients globally acclaimed Intangible Asset Valuation services, which is still in its infancy in the Asian region.

Intangible Business which commenced operations in 2001, is the world’s largest independent brand valuation consultancy, servicing clients in four sectors; marketing, finance, legal and banking. Having built an enviable international reputation for producing objective evaluations and insight for some of the world’s biggest brands, the company draws on its experience from working amongst many sectors, such as telecom, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, financial services, consumer goods, retail, fashion, not-for-profit and leisure. Following are some of the key clients of Intangible Business, Vodafone, Fortune Brands,Laura Ashley,Roche, Aventis, Cable & Wireless, KBC Bank, Angostura Group, Beam Global, Cosworth Engineering and Thorn.

“Asia is a fantastic market with tremendous forecast growth across all sectors of the economy. MTI’s excellent team, range of services and practical, market-led solutions complements Intangible Business’s rigorous and insightful approach to technical and strategic intangible asset valuation services. In MTI, we have found the right strategic partner to commit to developing this exciting market.’ We look forward to working with our partners for innovative growing businesses from Asia who are looking for our combined expertise to assist them in leveraging their brands to drive value and growth” said Stuart Whitwell, Joint Managing Director of Intangible Business Limited.

“Most companies in the South Asian region undervalue the importance of Intangible Asset Valuation and by our alliance with UK’s leading Intangible Asset Valuator we seek to add to a businesses bottom line, ” said Hilmy Cader, CEO, MTI Consulting.

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MTI Consulting is a fast growing international strategy consultancy with operations in Dubai, Bahrain, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, having worked with leading multi-national and regional clients across 33 countries in 5 continents, offering the full bouquet of management and marketing consulting and research solutions.

In addition to their mainstream strategy consulting, MTI recently set-up 6 specialized business units for Corporate Finance, Legal and Governance, Technology, HRM, Supply Chain Management and Branding. For more information please visit www.mtiworldwide.com.

India Media Exchange (IMX) the consolidated media buying unit of Starcom MediaVest Group

2008-01-15T04:31:00.001-08:00

India Media Exchange (IMX) the consolidated media buying unit of Starcom MediaVest Group and Zenith Optimedia, announced the appointment of Sujata Dwibedy as Director-Strategy & Buying, Mumbai and Ritesh Dutt as Media Director ,Delhi. IMX is a division of Publicis Groupe Media in India, created to manage the combined buying of traditional media, for existing & new clients of Starcom MediaVest Group & Zenith Optimedia in India.

Ritesh Dutt brings on board almost a decade’s experience, which comprises of 5 years in Traditional media and more than 4 years in activation. His last stint prior to joining India Media Exchange was as a buying Group Head in Mediaedge CIA (Group M ) where he worked on prestigious brands such as So.ny Ericsson, Honda Motorcycle and Scooters, Time Business Solutions, Xerox

Sujata Dwibedy has more than 8 yrs of experience in Media Planning & Buying. Prior to joining IMX, Sujata spent the last 2 and a half years with Nielsen India, Mumbai as Senior Manager, Media – Customized Research. During her stint there, she headed the Marketing Team of the National Readership Survey (NRS), for two years .

Commenting on the new appointment, Mr. Shyam Shanker, President, IMX said, “Ritesh and Sujata bring in with them extensive experience in media, buying and planning and it’s always a pleasure to work with such a talented group of people. Both have worked on some good brands and their experience will give an added motion to deliver the best to our clients. ”

On his appointment as the Media Director IMX, Ritesh Dutt stated, “I am looking forward to being a part of IMX. It has ambitious plans and has managed some great brands with an excellent group of people. I am ready to take on the challenges this prestigious assignment brings forth”

On her appointment as Director- Strategy & Buying, Sujata Dwibedy said, “I am delighted to be part of the IMX team and look forward to explore new avenues. My mandate straddles my experience in traditional media buying & media research, which I will integrate & leverage to bring value to IMX clients”

About Sujata Dwibedy:

Sujata Dwibedy spent the last 2 and a half years with Nielsen India, Mumbai as Senior Manager, Media – Customized Research, some of her clients include top notch publication houses such as The Times of India, ABP, Sakal , Dainik Bhaskar, Living Media amongst others. Prior to that she worked as Group Manager - Planning and Buying, for Lodestar Media (Division of FCB Ulka Advertising. Mumbai). She also worked for O& M (Delhi) as a Media Planner earlier in her career

About Ritesh Dutt:

Ritesh Dutt’s last stint before he joined IMX was as a Buying Group Head in Mediaedge CIA (Group M) where he had a business responsibility of over 175 crores. His key Clients were prestigious Brands such as Sony Ericsson, Honda Motorcycle and Scooters, Time Business Solutions, Xerox amongst many others. Prior to that, he marked his career as a Senior Manager – Planning (Accounts/Research) in The India Today Group. His resume also reads of names such as Group M / Ogilvy activation as Business Manager – Planning & Buying, and as Manager- Ogilvy & Mather Pvt. Ltd (Ogilvy Outreach) prior to that.

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About IMX:

IMX is a division of Publicis Groupe Media in India, created to manage the combined buying of traditional media, for existing & new clients of Starcom MediaVest Group & Zenith Optimedia in India. The primary vision of IMX is to support and improve the media buying, business acquisition & profitability strategy of both the entities. Media assets of the Publicis Groupe in India – represented by Starcom MediaVest and Zenith Optimedia – will be leveraged to create scale, and this scale will translate into an approach that creates a unique competitive advantage for clients. IMX will have office presence in Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore and will retain their physical identity in a demarked manner. IMX will commence in 2007 with strength of 15 members and thereafter review additional strength basis business acquisition and growth of Zenith Optimedia & Starcom MediaVest Group.

Genesis Burson-Marsteller today announced strategic alliances with WPP group companies BKSH & Associates Worldwide

2008-01-15T04:30:00.001-08:00

Genesis Burson-Marsteller today announced strategic alliances with WPP group companies BKSH & Associates Worldwide and Quinn Gillespie & Associates to offer global public affairs capability to Indian companies. The practice draws upon an international network of public affairs professionals to offer integrated multi-market public affairs campaigns across Washington, Brussels, Hong Kong, China and India.

The alliances were announced in New Delhi by Howard Paster, Executive Vice President, Public Relations/Public Affairs, at WPP Group. Emphasizing the importance of these partnerships, Mr Paster stated, “It will act as a two way bridge to help our international clients ably navigate regulatory environment and policy developments seamlessly across international markets.”

“Our public affairs practice has a team of experts, who have decades of experience of working with the government, to help companies understand the emerging and often complex regulatory and policy issues that impact their business,” said Prema Sagar, Principal & Founder, Genesis Burson-Marsteller. “As Indian companies compete in international markets, our principal partnership with BKSH and alliance with QGA will further strengthen our ability to provide valuable counsel and reach.”

“We help companies find business solutions for a range of issues including foreign direct investment, policy and regulatory affairs through our campaign framework methodology. Using ConstellationTM, our proprietary tool, we also help companies engage with a complex set of stakeholders.” said Ashwani Singla, Chief Executive, Genesis Burson-Marsteller.

The Genesis Burson-Marsteller Public Affairs practice is focused on key vertical segments such as retail, healthcare, energy, aviation, financial services, infrastructure and ICT.

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About BKSH & Associates Worldwide

BKSH & Associates Worldwide is one of Washington’s premier public policy and government affairs firms. It is ranked by Fortune as one of Washington, D.C.’s leading government relations companies. Collectively, the company offers decades of experience in public affairs to both domestic and international businesses. Through its offices in Europe and with its affiliate, Burson-Marsteller Public Affairs Practice, the company, when necessary, can call on leading consultants and advocates across Europe and more than 2,000 public affairs professionals worldwide.

About Quinn Gillespie & Associates (QGA)

Quinn Gillespie & Associates (QGA) is one of Washington, D.C.’s top public affairs firms, providing strategic counsel, government relations and communication services to a diverse group of leading corporations, coalitions and trade associations.

The firm brings a bipartisan, multi-disciplinary approach to helping clients tackle public affairs challenges. QGA was formed by Democratic White House veteran Jack Quinn and Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Ed Gillespie.

About Genesis Burson-Marsteller

Genesis Burson-Marsteller is India's most respected public relations and public affairs firm. The firm has 7 offices and a domestic affiliate network that reaches over 100 cities across the country. Genesis B-M is known for its insight-based strategies, innovative execution and strong focus on measurement of results.

Genesis Burson-Marsteller is the India operation of Burson-Marsteller (www.burson-marsteller.com), a leading global public relations and public affairs firm. Burson-Marsteller provides clients with strategic thinking and program execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, advertising, and Web-related services. The firm’s seamless worldwide network consists of 57 wholly-owned offices and 46 affiliate offices, together operating in 59 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s leading communications services networks.

First established in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo in 1973, the Burson-Marsteller network in Asia Pacific includes offices in Bangalore, Beijing, Chengdu, Chennai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Jakarta, Kolkata, Melbourne, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo; with affiliates in Auckland, Bangkok, Dubai, Islamabad, Karachi, Manila, Taipei and Wellington. For more information please visit www.asiaperspective.com.

For more information visit www.genesisbm.in; www.bm.com, www.asiaperspective.com

Starcom MediaVest Group today announced that its lead agency Starcom Worldwide has been appointed as media partner

2008-01-15T04:29:00.001-08:00

Starcom MediaVest Group today announced that its lead agency Starcom Worldwide has been appointed as media partner by Cotton County , one of the premier Readymade Garments Company. Cotton County was launched in 2004 by INR 2,500-crore Nahar Industrial Enterprises Ltd (NIEL).

Commented Mr Tarun Nigam, Executive Director, India- North & Pakistan, Starcom Worldwide , "Cotton County is one of the leading players in the Readymade Garment segment. Moreover it comes from the Nahar Group making it that much more prestigious. We are extremely excited to start our relationship with them. The fact that Cotton County chose to work with us without a speculative pitch is a further reassurance to us".

Starcom's key role will be to define and communicate Cotton County's brand personalities through strategic, targeted and creative media planning and in the process, its media negotiation entity, India Media Exchange will strive to bring value addition through smart and contextual buying.

According to Company's spokesperson, "It is indeed comforting to partner with Starcom. The organization has not just grown rapidly, but also added a host of new competencies and it still looks that they are well integrated in thought. It is our belief that the need of our business is creative use of multitude of contact points rather than classical media alone and this is where we look forward to benefiting from Starcom's depth of knowledge and width of services. Their refreshing approach towards consumer attention that is so media and investment neutral was one of the key motivators for us to make the decision in their favor."

With over 400 Cotton County outlets in Tier-II & III cities in North & Central India, Nahar Retail recently forayed into Southern & Western India. NIEL is the only Indian textile company to buy raw cotton & sell finished garments with world-class in house, spinning, weaving processing & garmenting, finishing, embroidery & manufacturing facilities.

Starcom's Delhi office will handle the account. The account size is estimated to be approximately Rs. 20 crores.

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About Starcom MediaVest Group

One of the largest media networks in the world in 2006 [RECMA], with billings in excess of USD 25 bn, Starcom MediaVest Group ( www.smvgroup.com), is a marketing communications group with a global staff of more than 5,800 contact architects. SMG's network of 110 offices in 76 countries is committed to delivering engaging and captivating consumer connections for many of the world's leading marketers. In addition to full service media services agencies Starcom, MediaVest and other regional brands, the holding company operates several specialist units that help clients master the dynamic contact environment and changing consumer landscape.

Starcom MediaVest Group in India

Voted as India's 2nd most admired media network and best in tools and research by Brand Equity, Starcom is one of the youngest, largest and most diversified media networks in the country. It has over 160 contact architects across its four full service offices and twelve other offices where its specialist units have an operation. It prides itself on its 'people first' approach at workplace and is known in the industry and in campuses as one of the best places to work in. It has one of the best retention rates amongst media agencies in India.

Using proprietary planning frameworks such as Passion Group Marketing, internationally proven tools such as TARDIIS, local research and superior analytical skills, the agency attempts to build enduring connections between its clients' brands and their customers.

In February, 2007, the network announced a strategic merger of its mainstream media negotiation volume with that of sister network ZenithOptimedia, to form dedicated investment unit India Media Exchange, arguably the second largest buyer in the media market.

In addition to communication strategy development and mainstream media negotiation, the network offers solutions in the area of out-of-home and ambient media [Navia], entertainment and embedded marketing [Starcom Entertainment], digital and wireless marketing [Starcom IP], sports and cause enabled marketing [Relay Worldwide], activation and media supported amplification [ACE] and small town and rural marketing [Xpanse], ambient assets, navigational signage, and retail branding [Enhance] and lifestyle marketing and communication [C].

Besides its media only-clients, Starcom provides media strategy and investment services to the Clients of three Publicis Groupe creative agencies – Leo Burnett, Ambience Publicis and Orchard. Prominent Starcom India clients include Samsung, Aircel, Diageo Radico, Make My Trip, Bharat Matrimony, Cadila Healthcare, Cholayil, Continental Airlines,General Mills, HDFC Bank, HDFC Asset Management, Hatsun Agro, Heinz, Himalaya Healthcare, ING Vysya Life, Jet Airways, JetLite, Kotak Mahindra Group, Oracle, Principal Asset Management , Procter & Gamble, rediff.com, SAB Miller, Singapore Tourism Board, Sun Microsystems, VVF, Western Union, Wipro Consumer Care, World Gold Council, and WorldSpace Satellite Radio.

Contact Details:
Mr. Tarun Nigam
Executive Director, India-North & Pakistan
Starcom Worldwide
Email: tarun.nigam@starcomindia.net

Prerana / Monika
Hanmer & Partners
Tel: 46517700
M: 9873349022/ 9811784695

2008-01-15T04:27:00.000-08:00

Sampurn Media, India's fastest growing Entertainment News Agency, after establishing itself in the competitive field of News Syndication Service, has decided to give some tough competition to the established players of 'Online Advertising' in India with its new Ad Programme called 'Sampurn Ads'.

"Yes, its true that Sampurn Media is foraying into the field of 'Online Advertising'," confirmed company's CEO Mr Sampurn Anand. Putting light on the new initiative, Mr Anand further added, "In online publication business, two integral ingredients are - Content and Advertisement. Without content, a publisher can not expect traffic, and without advertisement, he/she can not afford the day to day expenses of publication. Hence, after supplying the publishers with 'Content', it was very natural for us to look at their other need - Advertisement. So, here we are, supplying online publications with all its needs. They don't need to run around gathering stories and then wooing advertisers."

It is notable here that Sampurn Media is already catering well-established print and web publications like The Telegraph, The Statesman, The Asian Age, Deccan Chronicle, Deccan Herald, The Hindu, Rajasthan Patrika, Punjab Kesari, www.glamsham.com, www.santabanta.com and www.oneindia.com etc.

But adding 'Online Advertising Solution Provider' tag to it, the company has further strengthened its position in the field of online business.

Services of Sampurn Ads can be sampled at http://www.SampurnAds.com

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Sampurn Media, the parent company of 'Sampurn Ads' was launched in January 2006 with the whole intension of providing online publishers with two of its much needed elements - 'Content' and 'Advertisements'.

Without content, a publisher can not expect traffic to its website and without ad-revenue, he/she can not meet its day-to-day expenses.

So, keeping that in mind, Sampurn Media started its content syndication in its first phase of operation. And within months of its launch, it was already serving content in terms of text, images and videos to reputed web publications like:

SantaBanta.com, OneIndia.in, GlamSham.com, India-Forums.com, ApniCommunity.com and so on. With so many competitors in the market, it wasn't an easy task to make a mark; but then as its said - "When Going gets tough, tough gets going!", we continued moving forward in spite of problems facing us at each and every step. And here we are, India's leading Entertainment News Agency, supplying content to publications across globe.

It was only after seeing our phase one of operation meeting success that we thought of moving forward with our phase two - Online Advertising Solution Programme.

With Sampurn Ads, we have tried to give an Indigenous solution to web pulishers to take care of their ad inventories. By calling it an 'Indigenous Solution', what we really mean is an ad-server developed by an Indian, for Indian publications, towards tapping the largest economic growth in Asia - Indian Sub-Continent.

We also intend to extend the best offer to our Publishers as well as our Advertisers. Wherein our affiliate publisher gets the best possible payout in the market, our advertiser also cuts down on its huge online advertising budget.

That's why we prefer calling ourselves:

"Sampurn : The End-to-End Solution Providers"

Announcing the success of TIE Entrepreneurial Summit 2007 Online Promotion Campaign

2008-01-15T04:26:00.000-08:00

Announcing the success of TIE Entrepreneurial Summit 2007 Online Promotion Campaign, Mr. Pradeep Chopra, Director and Marketing Head, OMLogic Consulting, said, “We are happy to be a part of TES, which focuses on developing the Entrepreneurial talent in Asia. This event provided us an opportunity to prove our expertise in event promotion.”

Mr. Pradeep Chopra further added that OMLogic Consulting’s promotion campaign provided 27% of the potential delegates to the TES 2007 web-portal during the month of November and December. This corresponded to a total of 6000+ potential delegates. Also, OMLogic improved the web-sales process for TES.

Online Event Promotion is increasingly gaining importance as the media of choice for all events WorldWide. Online Event Promotion provides global reach and is extremely cost effective as compared to traditional Event Promotion medias such as Television, Radio, Newspapers and Banners.

Added Mr. Digbijoy Shukla, Associate Director, TIE New Delhi, “We are very pleased with the results of the online promotion campaign performed by OMLogic Consulting for TES 2007. OMLogic played an instrumental role in our marketing efforts to promote & brand the TES 2007 as perhaps the largest gathering of entrepreneurs & Investors in Asia. OMLogic helped us to reach out to the world at large through a very structured & result oriented approach in reaching the right set of audience who would be interested in the summit. OMLogic’s commitment, ownership & result orientation to the assignment delivered wonderful results & played an important role in helping us surpass our target of registered delegates.”

TiE Summit connects over 1500 entrepreneurs from across the Asia to world’s leading investors. Focused on inspiring and educating entrepreneurs as well as debating aspects that influence the entrepreneurial environment and opportunities in the Indian market, TES is one of Asia’s largest conventions for entrepreneurs. This year’s theme, ‘Entrepreneurship is the Future’, revolved around developments in not only conventional fields like Technology, Consumer Businesses and Media but also entrepreneurial opportunities in emerging areas such as Lifestyle, Social Entrepreneurship, CleanTech etc.

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OMLogic Consulting is a leading Online Marketing consulting and outsourcing company, based in India. It's unique and a holistic approach to Online Marketing ensures that its customers get the maximum return on their Online Marketing investments. Unlike most other online marketing firms, OMLogic works with its customers as its partners and treats online marketing as a core and an integral part of its customer's business. It starts its customer engagement by first understanding its customer business thoroughly and then by creating a customized Online Marketing strategy.

To know more about how OMLogic can help your business go global and produce breakthrough results using online marketing, check out OMLogic's Online Marketing services.

"Spice hai to Life hai," seemed to be the mantra of the day as leading brand promotions

2008-01-15T04:09:00.000-08:00

"Spice hai to Life hai," seemed to be the mantra of the day as leading brand promotions & event management company Brandsmith rocked the City beautiful with a memorable concert by India,s biggest Indi-pop band-The Aryans recently. This concert was specially produced by Brandsmith for SJOBA, St. John,s Old Boys Association,s reunion bash.

Hundreds of old boys of Chandigarh,s best school descended on the well-decked pictursque football ground for a show of the lifetime. Sponsors Spice Telecom, Haig Whisky & Smirnoff complementedBrandsmith & SJOBA for excellent arrangements and a live concert par excellence.

The Aryans, who have recently been in news for their forthcoming film music, including Sanjay Dutt starrrer Woodstock Villa, had a great time entertaining over 700 people, drawn from the crème della crème of Chandigarh. "The Aryans have shared a very special relationship with Brandsmith & we are like always, happy performing for Rahul Mittra, " said DJ Narain, head of the band. "Today,s reception has been phenomenal," he told a packed press conference before the concert.

"This reunion has had people coming in specially from all over the world and hence we had roped in to produce & manage today,s event. We are elated at the great success, " saida beaming Navpreet Singh Ujjla, the President of SJOBA.

Rahul Mittra, CEO Brandsmith, thanked SJOBA & Spice Telecom for handing over one of Chandigarh,s biggest events in the recent past to Brandsmith.

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For more information logon to www.brandsmithindia.com

exhibition of water colours which is being organised at Lalit Kala Academy

2008-01-15T04:06:00.000-08:00

"Silence that Speaks" is the title of an exhibition of water colours which is being organised at Lalit Kala Academy till 29th December 2007. The painting included in the exhibition is created by Late Prof. C.L. Sharma, which has been curated by their childrens; Swami Saran Sharma, Dr. Sucharita Sharma and Dr. Avinash Chander Sharma.

The exhibition was inaugurated recently by H.E. Dr. Ferdinand Maultaschl (Ambassador of Austria). On this occasion Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury (National Advisor NLSA – Ministry of Law & Justice, Govt. of India), artist and art critic Dr. Alka Raghuvanshi, Sudhakar Sharma, Mrs. C.L. Sharma, Swami Saran Sharma, Dr. Sucharita Sharma and Dr. Avinash Sharma were also present there.

Prof. C.L. Sharma was one of those painters of Punjab who have not restricted their paintings to canvas only but have spread it to the general masses. He developed a novel view of painting in the minds of people by throwing light on the cultural side of paintings and through this medium people have started associating themselves with our old heritage. In the last decades of the 20th Century Prof. C.L. Sharma took a revolutionary step to promote paintings, whose resultant effect was that right from the school level to the University level Painting got a status as a subject. The credit of initiating Master of Fine Arts in Colleges & Universities goes to Prof. C.L. Sharma.

Prof. C.L. Sharma used water and oil colours to portray his creativity. But the paintings with water colours brought him laurels and fame. He made human figures and scenes in water medium. Art critics praised him greatly for his outstanding excellence in Painting.

"Silence that Speaks" is an exhibition on canvas that has the perfection of Prof. Sharma's imagination and experiences, which are silent but still reciprocates the sensibility of situation and traditions around. The fact is that this is an exhibition which is not only impressive but also attractive.

On this occasion artist and art critic Dr. Alka Raghuvanshi said, the gentle and delicate touch of the artist in his creative moments comes through in no uncertain terms as one can almost walk through holding the artist's hand as he allows us a peep into his journey. The quiet moments, the lyrical moments, the soul searching are all visible only if one cares to linger and savour.

mind’s eye is an exhibition featuring an interesting amalgam

2008-01-15T04:05:00.002-08:00

From the mind’s eye is an exhibition featuring an interesting amalgam of 14 some of most creative contemporary artists of the buoyant Indian art scene. They have made their presence felt at the international level and are recognized as the harbingers of growth and change. The exhibits featured in the show are remarkable for their exploration of capturing metaphors and turning them into creative manifestations. The form and content chosen by the artists is novel as they discover newer paths to present the expressions of their aspirations and realities.

Their concerns are shared, they are looking at urban and rural reality as it explodes and implodes around them like land mines programmed to go off with a whisper. But within this cacophony of silence, they make their statement in definitive ways.

In the context of the Indian sub-continent, calligraphy of religious texts is not new as a genre, but has been elevated to an art form and often frozen in stone. Siddharth’s calligraphic explorations on the historically relatively new material – fibre glass – manage to capture the old and the new in the most charming manner. The form is new. The content timeless in its appeal. The calligraphic element has been fascinating for Alka Raghuvanshi as she hails from a world where the word is sacred in both meaning and context. Golden, glistening sands are an inspirational reference point in the use of the gold. The textures on which AIka uses it are delicate and very feminine, as is the choice of colours. The content and thought are philosophical – the iridescent soul attaches and detaches itself and lives with an ever changing world view as it were, while the light of the kundalini rises to envelop all within its ambit.

Some of the artists featured in the show include Manisha Gawade whose abstracts are an interesting amalgam of perceiving reality and weaving it with dreams at the level of pure, unadulterated thought. The stark minimalism of her canvases, offset by an interplay of colour conducts a dialogue with the creation and the creator and still manages to envelop the onlooker into this very private space. Sangeeta Singh’s female figures explore the inherent strength of the women as they don’t necessarily challenge, but accept gracefully. Her metaphors are hopeful and buoyant as they explore newer vistas.

Dharmendra Rathore’s gradual shift from dreamy figures inspired no doubt by his native Rajasthan, to sophisticated abstract imagery has touch a new high and is indicative of his growth both as an artist and a person. The palette is elegant and rooted in the phenomenal Indian context. Subrata Biswas’s ability to deal with both bright and brooding colours with equal ease is charming and the depth he brings to work is fabulous.

Playing with pure thought on a spiritual plane is Sridhar Iyer’s hallmark. His ability to grasp the profound at an abstract level has stood him in good stead and his works indicate his remarkable dexterity with both strong and fragile colours. Yusuf’s detailed yet light touch they bring to their expression sets their work apart for its innate movement. Yusuf’s abstract forms in fine pen and ink float in the expanse of space.

Lord Ram and Buddha are the theme of senior artist Niren Sen Gupta’s work. The artist’s generousity of spirit and complete control over his forms wherein they heed to his calling is mirrored in his work where the abundance of joyous colours find their balance in a dance of perfection. He has allowed himself the freedom to let the ‘isms’ fall away to lead the way to a new ism – where he is at once the protagonist and the onlooker. But is it not one of the purposes of any art? – that miniscule moment when the creation, its creator and its audience become part of the larger whole of the creative impulse.

ABOUT ENKITA ARTS

Enkita Arts is the first website by a multinational organisation to focus on Indian art exclusively as part of its endeavour to keep Indian and international audiences all over the world in touch with today’s fast-moving world of contemporary Indian art. In the wake of the much celebrated growth and recognition of contemporary Indian art, its effects on art making and art consuming practices, will be examined by our internationally renowned experts. While exploring the endless possibilities of a liberated Indian art scene, the idea is to serve as a platform for art making, critical re-evaluation, reformulations of notions of art and artistic practices, seeking to radicalize the definition of art.

The idea is to focus on art and artists who have the potential to or already are important in shaping the history of, contemporary Indian art, or attempting to explore new directions. Our chosen mandate is art that is both mainstream and fringe. Fully celebrating the potential of the mainstream, we will try to negotiate the ephemeral space between the dynamics of the ‘emergent’, ‘dominant’, and the ‘residual’ forces within contemporary artistic practices. Not treating the hugely vibrant traditional, folk and tribal arts as second grade activity, the idea will be to help provide a platform to arts and artists from diverse regions of the country to international audiences.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

ALKA RAGHUVANSHI

Born in 1961, Dr Alka Raghuvanshi, is India’s first trained art curator, having trained at the Goldsmiths College, London and the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford. She has curated and designed major exhibitions many of which travelled to other parts of the country and the world. A keen painter herself, her solo shows have drawn valued response from both audiences and critics alike and is able to perceive and experience the various arts from the vantage position of a doer as well as an onlooker. She has participated in 25 important group shows in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Dubai and her paintings form part of a some important private and public collections both in India and abroad. Her work features in this year’s Adana Biennale in Turkey and the worldwide exhibition on Giuseppe Garibaldi emanating from Italy. In her writing career on the arts spanning nearly 26 years, she has 20 books to her credit including the best selling publications – A Moment in Time and Pathfinders – artistes of one world.

MANISHA GAWADE

Born in 1974, MA from Delhi University, she has been trained in various forms of painting including glass and textiles in several parts of the world. Manisha's work has been selected to be part of 49th National Exhibition of Art held by Lalit Kala Akademi. Her work formed a part of Silent Dream, Voluble Realities as part of the Gulf Art Fair in Dubai, where she also painted the falcon – this year’s mascot of the Fair. Her solo shows Parallel Realities were held in New Delhi, Hyderabad and Jaipur. Her solo show Mindscapes of Mindspaces was held in Dubai. She has participated in several group shows including Transitions held at Art Enterance in Mumbai, Reflections Within at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, Guernica to Nithari and Buddha Mudra held at Canvas Art Gallery, Art for Concern by the Concern India Foundation, New Delhi, Encore! Art for Prabhat, New Delhi, Annual Show 2007 of Galerie Sara Arakkal, Bangalore, Transitional Realities at FM Art Gallery, NOIDA, Recent Works of Gallery 1x1, Dubai, Resounding Echoes at Rashtriya Lalit Kala Akademi, Lucknow and Savera at New Delhi. Her work forms part of some serious art collections in India and France.

SHRIDHAR IYER

Born in 1961, Shridhar Iyer has been exhibiting since 1985. Awarded in 41 National Contemporary Art Exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, AIFACS All India Painting Exhibition, SCZCC-Nagpur,Madhya Pradesh State Award. Selected shows include Leela Art Gallery-Bombay, Birla Academy of Art Kolkata, Jehangir Art Gallery Mumbai, Crimson Art Gallery, Mumbai, Home shows by The Gallery San Francisco. Art Bazar-Park Hotel, New Delhi, Indo-Russian International Art Exhibition New Delhi, Millenium show by Vinyasa Art Gallery, Chennai. His collections can be seen with I K Gujral, Priya Paul, Keshav Malik, Madhu Lamba, Alka Raghuvanshi, Bharat Bhavan, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi and many private collection in India and abroad.

SUBRATA BISWAS

Born in 1974, Subrato Biswas is an M.V.A. from Rabindra Bharati University. He is a recipient of the Rajya Charukal Puraskar of West Bengal. Selected participation includes Annual Exhibition of Information Centre, 49th National Art Exhibition Lalit Kala Akademi, Aspiration for Peace Exhibition, Rotary Sadan, Kolkata, 2006 Art Ensemble Kolkata, Annual Exhibition of Information Centre, Kolkata, organised by the Doon School Old Boys’ Societyin Chicago, Cleveland, Ohio, San Francisco. His works are in major collection in India and abroad. Currently working as Fine Arts Lecturer in Tecnia Institute, New Delhi.

YUSUF

Bornin 1952, Yusuf did National Diploma in Fine Arts and sculpture from Gwalior.He was awarded the Government of India Fellowship, QIONGDAO InternationalPrint Biennial of China,ShikharSamman by Government of India Fellowship HRD Ministry, New Delhi, by the Department of Culture, Government of M.P, State Raza Award, Bhopal.He has participated in exhibitions at Dhoomimal Art Gallery, New Delhi, Chemould Art Gallery, Mumbai, Art Heritage, New Delhi, Rashtriya Lalit Kala Kendra, Bhubaneswar,Taj Art Gallery, Mumbai,Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, Gallery Shes, Asahikawa, Japan,Gallery Tokeida, Saporo- Japan, ABC Gallery, Banaras, Art Indus New Delhi,Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai,Graphic Expressions, Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai, GalleryEspace, New Delhi, Kleinsassen-Fulda, Germany,4th Egyptian International Print Triennial. Presently he is working in Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal.

DHARMENDRA RATHORE

Born in 1965 Dharmendra Rathore completed his Diploma in Painting from the Rajasthan School of Art, Jaipur and obtained his MFA from the Delhi College of Art, New Delhi. He has also won various scholarships from AIFACS, Rajasthan Biennial, State Lalit Kala Akademi and a fellowship from the Ministry of Human Resource Development in appreciation of his works.

Rathore has participated in several exhibitions both in India and abroad. His solo shows have been exhibited at: Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi, Jehangir Art Gallery Mumbai, Shridharani Art Gallery New Delhi, Bajaj Art Gallery Mumbai, Nehru Art Centre Mumbai, Triveni Art Gallery New Delhi, Vadhera Art Gallery, New Delhi – 1997, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai , Delhi-, Vadhera Art Gallery New Delhi. His works have travelled to Denmark, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Mauritius and have been featured in exhibitions like-“Harmony Show”, “Save the Children” and “The Joy of Life.” He has also participated in the First Biennale of Contemporary Art held in Arad, Romania. Dharmendra’s works are in the collection of Glenbarra Art Museum Japan, Wolgon Universit6y of Australia, Ambassador of Denmark, Ambassador of Singapore, Mauritius, German Embassy, New Delhi, Sahitya kala Parishad, College of Art and with many other eminent personalities in India, U.K, U.S.A, South Korea, Germany and Japan.

SANGEETA SINGH

Born in 1968, Sangeeta Singh studied art at Triveni Kala Sangam and did Art Appreciation Course from National Museum, New Delhi. She has been awarded ‘Junior Fellowship’ from Ministry of Culture, Government of India (2007-2009) and Silver Medal from All India Agnipath Art Society. Her selected shows include exhibitions at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, Auschlossl, Graz-Austria, Pfarrheim Knittllefled, Austria, Radkersberg Kloch – Austria, Dhoomimal Art Gallery New Delhi, Lokayata: Mulk Raj Anand Centre-Delhi, Villa Doria - Italy, Muzeum Gallery - Slovenia, Kormend – Hungary, Bagash Art Gallery - Dubai, India Art Fair- Habiart Foundation, Raddison Hotel- New Delhi, Canvas Art Gallery, II Ramo d’oro –Italy. Participated in 79th Annual All India Art Exhibition at AIFACS-New Delhi.and VI Women’s International Conference at Graz (Austria). Her collections can be seen with ICCR, Caritas, Virgin Atlantic, Tony Blair and several private collections in India and abroad. The artist lives and works in New Delhi.

Minitha Saxena joins Cogito Consulting, the independent consulting division of the Draftfcb-Ulka group of companies in India as Vice President

2008-01-15T04:05:00.001-08:00

Minitha Saxena joins Cogito Consulting, the independent consulting division of the Draftfcb-Ulka group of companies in India as Vice President.

A MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Minitha has over 17 years of experience across diverse product categories covering packaged goods, leisure, retail, automotive and media. She has worked on several strategic initiatives in the area of new product entry strategy, brand positioning strategy, brand equity and brand audit studies, competitive combat strategy.

“I am looking forward to an intellectually challenging work environment that encourages and provokes me and gives me diversity in experience across industries and in dealing with difficult and complex problems”, comments Minitha on her new assignment.

Minitha worked at Lowe before joining the Draftfcb-Ulka team in 1999. She is a former President of Advertising Club Madras and had been actively involved in the activities of the Club.

Minitha devours information and enjoys not just reading but is also an avid netizen and movie buff. A gym regular and a Sudoku addict see her exercising not just the body but also the mind.

Minitha will be part of the senior management team at Cogito. Cogito Consulting specializes in marketing and brand consulting. The company has over the years helped large Indian and global corporations on a variety of marketing initiatives. Cogito Consulting has expertise in market entry strategies, brand architecture and positioning. Cogito has proprietary gaming tools designed to help predict competitive moves and aid marketing and business strategy initiatives.

Cogito Consulting is a part of the IPG worldwide network – one of the largest marketing services and communications group in the world.

Recently (26th December) a grand bash was thrown at Dublin, ITC Maurya Sheraton to launch Santoor Maestro

2008-01-15T04:04:00.000-08:00

Recently (26th December) a grand bash was thrown at Dublin, ITC Maurya Sheraton to launch Santoor Maestro and Music Composer Abhay Rustum Sopori's latest album 'Dancing Dewdrops'. Being released by EMI the album is based on celebrations of life through various aspects, which is a beautiful feeling and imagination.

It was a well attended function with the presence of eminent personalities like H.E. Lt. Gen. (Retd.) S.K. Sinha (Governor, J&K), Smt. S.K. Sinha, Santoor Legend Pt. Bhajan Sopori, Smt. Aparna Sopori, H.E. Mr. Larbi Moukhariq (Morocco Ambassador), H.E. Mr. Mohammed Al-Daher (Jordon Ambassador), Mr. Severyn Kharchuk (Ukraine Counselor), Mr. Mohammed Slaoui (Minister, Morocco Embassy), and members of various embassies like Morocco, Jordon, Lebanon, Arab League, etc., actress Vani Tripathi, Smt. Shameem Azad (Padmashri), Vibhav Rao (EMI), Mr. Jugal Kishore (Minister for Rural Development, J&K), Deepak Haksar, (Vice President and GM - ITC MAURYA), Fadel El-Zubi (Head–FAO, United Nations), Shanno Khurana, Uma Vasudev, Geetika Gunju, Vandana Vadhera, Sadhna Srivastava & Mukesh Gupta (MD Graphisads) amongst others.

During the programme Abhay performed the song Anhad Baaje... from his album. He looked quite pleased and excited with the album. He said this album is the first step towards celebration of life, where the Santoor symbolizes the dew; the rhythm symbolizes the dance of nature (Prakriti) and my voice symbolizes the life itself. It is a very different album that tries to blend the traditional and contemporary music. There are eight tracks. It's not a fusion album, rather a "fusion of expressions" and can also be termed as "celebration of life". The expressions are in subtle ways.

Abhay further added, Iam somewhat nostalgic about my childhood memories of Kashmir. As a child, I remember, while going in a Shikara (boat), gliding through the floating gardens of the serene Dal Lake, having seen the early dewdrops shimmering on the lotus petals. While the sun is still hiding behind the mountain peaks, the budding rays far away from the horizon with their reflection in the water and the early morning breeze silently perambulating over the surface of the lake generate a subtle wave. The wrinkle waves with a mild kiss to the lotus petals make the dewdrops swing and dance. I hope I'll be able to provide audiences the best entertainment through my album and they will definitely like it.

H.E Lt. Gen. (Retd.) S.K. Sinha launched the album and said Abhay is still very young and in very short span of time he has achieved lots of success and fame. This album of his is based on various aspects of life which are like celebrations. I hope audience will like his efforts and this album will be a big hit.

On this occasion, Vani Tripathi said I have heard Abhay's album, which has the freshness and touching feel. I've came specially from Mumbai to attend the function, because when Abhay told me that he's launching his album, I couldn’t stop myself and decided to come.

Based on an extensive research study conducted by a team of cross-border Consultants, MTI Consulting

2008-01-15T03:27:00.000-08:00

Based on an extensive research study conducted by a team of cross-border Consultants, MTI Consulting have published their expectations of global business challenges and opportunities for the year 2008 and beyond.

BRIC Power, Cross-Border Opportunities & Rising Inflation

Economic might and dynamics as we know them historically will never be the same again. Come 2008, financial power and drive will lie in places outside of the traditional geographies such as North America, Germany and Japan. Rather, the growth engines of the world economy will centre around these four BRIC nations: Brazil, Russia, India and China, all of whom will continue to see healthy GDP growth.
Feeding this appetite for growth means unprecedented demand for commodities to feed and house the million of consumers that are moving away from the poverty line and towards a better life. In many developing countries, food purchases account for as much as 70 percent of family income.
Cyclical as the effect is, this upwardly mobile movement is leading to signs of inflation, that is, increased consumer prices of basic day-to-day commodities, which is now attracting government interventionin their pursuit to keep the cost of living down.
If costs of basic commodities become steeper and dearer to the masses, we can also expect to see price controls introduced. The current addition of 60 million urban citizens a year is the equivalent of adding another Paris, Beijing, or Cairo every other month.
As a result, from an opportunity stand point, companies (stocks) and mutual funds in basic commodities and agro produce will stand to benefit. Likewise, the Middle Class of the BRIC economies will continue to offer attractive opportunities for the Healthcare, Education, Housing / Real Estate and Retailing industries
Meanwhile, countries like China and India will continue to develop their commodities supply chain in the emerging markets of Africa and Latin America, in some cases via state-level or aid-based initiatives (think Indian Government in Sudan);and through acquisitions in other cases (Mittal for instance). The re-emergence of commodities and energy based business tycoons on top of the world’s richest list (replacing some of the New World knowledge-based businesses) clearly underscores the hypotheses stated above
For countries like Sri Lanka, while it may not be able to take the BRIC Superpowers head-on, it can play the role of a regional centre. What Hong Kong was to China, Sri Lanka could be to India (if it gets it act together)

Feeding the explosive growth in the BRIC countries will see a surge in demand for basic commodities and agro produce. Consequences, the likes of the Mittals will challenge the might of the Microsofts as the world’s wealthiest

The BRIC economies comprise nearly half of the global population with an exploding youth population leading to attendant employment issues. This may potentially lead to a rapid widening of disparity between the rich and poor if not checked at the early stages.

Game Plan for $100 Oil and Greener Alternatives

Currently, there are no imminent signs of energy prices easing up for the Average Joe. If the political controversies surrounding Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Sudan and Venezuela continue, energy prices will continue their upward incline
Irrespective of this however, investments in alternate energy sources will represent an attractive investment opportunity – especially to feed the growing appetite for energy in the developing continents. World energy production rose 42 percent between 1980 and 2000 and will grow 150-230 percent by 2050. Renewable resources like solar and wind account for only 11.5 percent of current consumption
The debate over the environment will intensify, as countries such as the USA (which consumes 25% of the world’s energy) will exert pressure on global CO2 emissions, however countries such as China and India will not curtail their growth plan, as it is their rightful turn for their own industrial and economic revolution.

Looming prospects of further energy-based wars and the profitability of alternative energy

Wall Street pains to hit Main Street

The sub-prime loans crisis will continue to take its toll on the bottom-line of the leading financial services institutions, as well the jobs of CEOs of power-brokering banks and FSIs
The last quarter of 2007 has seen mild signs of the sub-prime crisis hitting the Asian Markets, however if the crisis in North America and Europe intensifies it will certainly serve as a blow to the currently sensitized Asian Markets.
It is also anticipated that the pains ofWall Street will hit Main Street, which of course means curtailed demand for the goods of Asian Countries that act as the ‘Production Floor’ of developed markets.
Furthermore, countries like Sri Lanka, which are seeing exceptionally high levels of consumption-oriented consumer credit (at very high interest rates) should watch out for the dangers of an Argentina-style credit default that could in the long-term derail any propelled economic growth and progress experienced during this time.

High consumer - consumption credit coupled with high interest rates recipe foran Argentina- style credit default. Watch out Sri Lanka!

Poverty & Environment – the Dilemma & the Dollar

The Richer Nations will continue to be pre-occupied with the Environment (‘’Planetary Emergencies’’ as per Al Gore) and the Poorer Nations cannot but take their eye off Poverty. Tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue fever are expected to spread northwards as the ecologies of these countries change with global warming, causing major health scares in addition to the twin challenges of poverty and environment.
Both of these challenges represent ‘blue ocean’ style opportunities for businesses, ranging from Green Factories to Micro Finance. The tectonic shift in economic power regionally as well as globally will dry up funds for the mature economies (owing to higher risk) as investment funds flow to the new economic power houses.

Greater global attention and funding will flow towards Poverty and Environment – in the form of sustainable businesses and not as conventional donors

The rise of Value Brands

The increasing shares of Value Brands, Private Labels and the inability of businesses to pass on cost increases to the consumer is a clear indication of the Value-based Marketing (VFM) concept, which is clearly evident in both mature retail markets (like USA) and emerging giants like India
Consumers will seek real, demonstrable value – challenging the premiums charged by ‘hollow’’ brands and Private Labels and Value Brands will see high growth as a result. Brands will make it to the balance sheet and Brand Custodians will need to act as Consumer Value and Shareholder Value Creators.
With greater consumer awareness and the involvement of conscience in purchase, consumers will now demand higher value with less impact on the environment as consumption increases globally, which may lead to eventualities such as the taxing of water and other natural resources. Over the past century, world water withdrawals increased almost as fast as population growth. Currently, 70 percent of freshwater withdrawals are for agriculture.

Consumers will seek real, demonstrable value – challenging the premiums charged by ‘hollow’ brands. Private Labels and Value Brands will see high growth. Brands will make it to the balance sheet and Brand Custodians will need to act as Consumer Value and Shareholder Value Creators

Governance beyond ‘Corporate Fashion’

Consequent to alarming levels of corporate irresponsibility, there will be increasing levels of compliances that will be slapped on non-compliant businesses, as governments and legislators are forced to protect the interests of consumers and shareholders alike
Therefore, Corporate Governance will be the new Mantra, as businesses will focus their energies to ensure compliance to ensure sales in a vicious cycle. The profit potential of good governance in dealing with the developed markets should not be ignored here
Consumers will hold corporates accountable - products that are socially compliant, generate employment and increase greater social awareness and the expectation to contribute to socially sustainable businesses will create ‘new space’ for businesses, who will be required with or without to keep pace with changing demands.

Corporate Governance will be the new Mantra, as businesses will focus their energies to ensure compliance. The profit potential of good governance in dealing with the developed markets should not be ignored

Supply Chain Efficiencies – way to Profit

Moving along, as companies encounter price capping, they will turn to supply chain efficiencies – taking a more scientific approach to managing the entire supply chain end-to-end
Gaining in importance, Supply Chain will be elevated to a Board Level Focus as companies will engage in strategic initiatives to seamlessly and cost-effectively manage their entire supply chain – providing opportunities for value-added services in logistics, warehousing, transportation and other related areas.
Price-capped markets will turn to supply chain efficiencies – as the way to maintain / improve bottom-line performance, while providing greater consumer value

Price-capped markets will turn to supply chain efficiencies – as the way to improve bottom-line performance, while providing greater consumer value

All in all, a power shift, even in smaller measures to the BRIC economies means a resurgence of competition of a new order. One that competes for not only the consumer dollar, but for sustained endorsement by the buyers that the business adds value to their lives in ways other than lower pricing and economy-sized packaging. For businesses to survive in 2008, strategic arsenal is required. The playing field may not be level – but competition is fair game nonetheless. Having said this, 2008 will likely be the measure of those businesses to see who has truly arrived and who is here to stay.

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An international business strategy consultancy, MTI Consulting has operations in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Dubai, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and UK, with strategic alliances in Australia, Mexico and the Middle East and North Africa.

MTI’s business strategy solutions focus on Strategic Planning, Re-Structuring, Marketing and Brand Management, Sales and Channel Management, Research and Service Quality. More recently, MTI has launched six new Specialist consulting units namely Corporate Finance, Technology, Legal & Governance, Supply Chain, HRM and Branding on demand.

In the last 10 years MTI has worked with the likes of Fonterra Brands Limited, Nestle, Aditya Vikram Birla Group; Al Ghurair Group, American Express, Bahrain Kuwait Insurance, DHL, Dubai World Group, Dupont, Citibank, Emirates Airlines, the Intercontinental, KPMG, Malaysia Telekom, Standard Chartered Bank, ORIX Leasing, Triumph International and Vodafone to name just a few. In the last 10 years, MTI has worked on more than 275 assignments in 33 countries across 5 continents.

The explosion at the Dargah of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti Sarkar Gharib Nawaz (R.A) on 11th of October 2007

2008-01-15T03:25:00.002-08:00

Under the perspective of Ajmer bomb explosion a press conference was held on 1st Dec 07, at Zaffran Restaurent, Connaught Place. Hadrat Syed Muhammad Jilani Kichhauchhavi, Hadrat Allama Tauseef Raza Khan, Naib Sajjada-nasheen Dargah Ala Hazrat Barielly Sharif and Hadrat Allama Tanveer Hashmi and former minister; central govt. C.M. Ibrahim addressed this conference.

The explosion at the Dargah of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti Sarkar Gharib Nawaz (R.A) on 11th of October 2007 is a great tragedy in the national, cultural, historical society of India. The organisations and communal groups of mischievous elements involved in promoting of bombing culture have always been rejected by Sufis of Islam. The universal religion which declares and upholds the murder of an innocent person the murder of whole humanity how can it permits to kill innocent people. It is need of the time to bring in public all such black sheep with believer’s courage and conviction, hidden in our society. Ajmer Bomb explosion is an open challenge from all these terrorist and extremist groups and organisations not only for Indian but for all the peace loving communities of the world, which have caused great hurt to the spiritual feelings not only of those who have esteemed devotion with Khawaja but all those concerned with the chain of saintly orders.

For God sake! It is not only to express anguish and grief over by issuing statement or holding protests rather should focus and come out with concrete mind to consider and act on the central point of the

lasting solution of the safety and security of these sacred places. It is clear that Ajmer blast has challenged the religious sense of pride of Sufis of all the great Sufi Khanqah and the scholars of religious seminaries sharing the same views right from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Now the time has come for all those concerned with Sufis, to come forward for the protection and safety of their spiritual, ethical and religious distinct identity, security of Dargahs and for the existence of Indian national unity and integrity. They need to come forward to prepare a roadmap for the permanent solution of these sacred places to protect from the jaws of these terrorist elements who are the real enemies of humanity working internally and externally.

For achieving these great goals a conference of great and distinguished representatives is going to be held in the National capital Delhi representing millions of devotees from north to south concerning with Khawaja and with Sufis. This historic convention will be held in NEW DELHI on 3rd and 4th December 2007 at (India Islamic Cultural Centre Lodhi Road New Delhi) under the banner of Khawaja Gharib Nawaz Council. The spirited approval of the representatives belongs to these esteemed Khangah and religious seminaries of India is continued to pour in this direction. Above mentioned Sufi Conference will prove to be a milestone in the history of independent India.

N.G.O. Sahaj Sankalp joined hand together to organise a function at Studio Vasant

2008-01-15T03:25:00.001-08:00

Recently (4 January) Studio Vasant and N.G.O. Sahaj Sankalp joined hand together to organise a function at Studio Vasant, where the viewing of paintings by Baljit Chadha, J.P. Singh, Jeet Kumar, Ghanshyam, Alka Raghuvanshi, Asit Patnaik & Ritu Kashyap and special auction of Bat donated by Australian Cricket Captain Ricky Ponting.

On this occasion carrying the Punter's (Ricky Ponting) bat from Australia, Henry Dubbeld, his wife Wilma Dubbeld, Dr. Rajeev Nagpal (Sahaj Sankalp), Dr. Anjali Nagpal, Dr. Mala, Baljit Chadha (Director, Studio Vasant), Manmohan Chadha, painters; Alka Raghuvanshi, Wajda Khan, Victor Vijay Kumar and Pankaj Mohan were also present there. The motive behind this function was to earn funds through the auction of Bats and Paintings to help NGO Sahaj Sankap.

On this occasion Henry Dubbeld said, we are on a mission to help needy children around the world and this is our second visit to India for Sahaj Sankalp. We have helped many children for education and medical need's. This time we have carried the bat of Australian Cricket Captain Ricky Ponting duly signed by him for the auction and we'll donate entire funds of the auction to Sahaj Sankalp.

Baljit Chadha said, our aim is to promote art and artists creativity by exhibiting their paintings, so that they can bring their skills in front of art lovers. Also we do many activities for charity purpose and recently we had concluded the exhibition of paintings by various artists for Prabhat (renowned NGO working for childrens in need), and this time we have joined hands with Sahaj Sankalp, where not only the painting but also the special auction of Bat of Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting is there and the entire funds will be given to Sahaj Sankalp.

Dr. Rajeev Nagpal, applauded the efforts of Baljit Chadha and Australian guests Henry & Wilma Dubbeld. He said their efforts are worth appreciation as they came in front and took initiative to help the children in need, whereas people don't have time for themselves. Since last 7 years we are doing work for poor children who need help for a better and well deserved life. Our aim is to provide the education, medical attention and other needful things to children so they can able to lead good life.

Nearly 10 million baby girls have been killed in India in the last twenty years

2008-01-15T03:24:00.001-08:00

The heinous practice of female feticide and infanticide in our country has become a raging issue today.

Nearly 10 million baby girls have been killed in India in the last twenty years. Some of the ramifications are manifesting themselves already. In certain areas of Punjab and Haryana, young brides are being “imported”. Much worse, young brides are being ‘shared’ by brothers! Though this problem looks insurmountable, solutions need to be found. And found urgently.

FLO, the women wing of FICCI is launching an all India campaign called SAVE THE GIRL CHILD. We are partnering with UNFPA, Corporates and the Government. In Bombay Ms Supriya Sule, Ms Priya Dutt, Ms Smita, Ms Anita Dongre, Sh Yash Chopra, Shri Javed Akhtar, Sh Prasoon Joshi, Sh Sachin Tendulkar,Ms Saira Banu are all our resource persons supporting this initiative of FLO.

Commenting on the occasion Ms Kiran Gera, National President FLO said, “Unfortunately, we tend to have an ostrich like attitude to issues that don’t knock at our doors directly. We at FLO have been shouting ourselves hoarse about how the ratios are getting dangerously skewed and how this will create major social problems. What has happened at Juhu recently alas is a sign of times to come. If we don’t deal with the core issue today, we will all be facing similar trauma as those two NRI women. And this is the reality, whether we accept it or not.”

Speaking on the occasion Mr Paresh Das V. P. Gitanjali Lifestyle Sales said “by partnering with FLO, we at Gitanjali would like to endorse this let’s celebrate the girl before we celebrate the diamonds. In India there is a prevalent myth of the son being the fore bearer of the family name, which should be broken.

Ms Vinita Bimbhet, Chairperson FLO said “To launch its national initiative to Save the Girl Child, FLO brings to you a unique musical evening Phir Wahi Shaam,Betiyon Ke Naam, on19th January at Jamshetji Bhaba. Through this presentation of live songs, interviews etc, we would be felicitating the stars on their innumerable achievements as artists and most importantly as nurturing and supportive parents of their daughters. They will be the icons for this initiative.

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For further information, please contact
Abhijeet (9967395553) / Puja (9820473457)
Sampark Public Relations, Mumbai

Speaking at the launch of the campaign MTI’s Regional Director for Indian Sub-Continent Mr. Suraj Deen said

2008-01-15T03:23:00.002-08:00

With the global marketplace a wide and open playing field, those businesses that still have an over-dependence on local and familiar territory are at risk of missing expansion opportunities, hence stunting their growth potential.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign MTI’s Regional Director for Indian Sub-Continent Mr. Suraj Deen said “in a truly globalized business environment, Companies and Countries have look to outside their home territories, in particular when they have a high risk of Single Country Exposure.”

Emphasizing the theme of the campaign, Mr. Suraj Deen highlighted the salient aspects, which specifically for a country like Sri Lanka focuses on getting home the realization that the country has the good fortune to be in a region which houses a 1.5 billion strong population. Just how many of those 1.5 billion are being targeted by Sri Lankan businesses is the burning question.

Furthermore, Sri Lankan business ought to be taking greater advantage of that new economic tiger, India, which is right next door. As a matter of fact, there are a hundred flights from Colombo to India every single week – but how good are Sri Lanka’s business connections to India really? And has anyone really taken stock of the situation that Sri Lanka may potentially be the gateway to India in as much as Hong Kong is to China?

These are just some of the opportunities that MTI aims to capture for businesses in Sri Lanka through its strong presence in the Asian and Middle East Regions. MTI has developed solutions to help Sri Lankan Companies in Market Opportunity Assessment and Feasibility Analysis; Market Entry Strategy & Implementation, Channel/Alliance/Joint Venture Partner/Franchisee Identification; Outsourced Brand & Market Management; and Brand Sourcing and Supply Chain Solutions.

Among the leading regional and multi-national clients MTI has worked with, are American Express, Ahli United, Ahmed Zayani & Sons, Adidas, Al Ghurair, Aujan, Batelco, Birla, Cargill, Citibank, Daman, DuPont, Emirates, Fuji,ICI, Isthithmar, Solidarity, Standard Chartered, the Government of Pakistan, Triumph, and Vodafone to name a few.

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India has the second largest population & also the largest consuming class in the world

2008-01-15T03:23:00.001-08:00

India has the second largest population & also the largest consuming class in the world. This consuming class is very upbeat about the outlook for the coming year. A recent AC Neilson global survey on consumer confidence puts India ahead of the pack of 42 countries covered in the research. This confidence is supported by rising disposable income, willingness to spend, predisposition towards global brands & global consumption habits influenced by media, connectivity, communication & international travel. Young adults in India are ambitious, hard working and have money to spend on their lifestyle – they are brand-conscious and internationally aware of what their counterparts in the West are wearing and buying; concludes a recent survey.

India is inviting FDI in all most all sectors of the economy. This is the right time for companies to invest in India. India has been rated a better investment destination on eight investment parameters than Russia, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil, Australia, UK, France and Singapore in a recent survey by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) on the India Perceptions, by 135 MNCs present in India. Profitability of MNCs in the Indian markets is a major attraction for investing in the country. About 62 per cent respondents reported making profit in their Indian operations while 9 per cent are breaking even.

Despite a steady and growing market size, abundant availability of natural resources for manufacturing, cost attractiveness, reliable business community, high levels of intellectual manpower, engineering expertise and a reform process that has brought about impressive economic liberalization, the Indian market is largely untapped and provides a huge potential for international players to foray. At the same time, the market is evolving at a rapid pace- in terms of consumers, investment opportunities and as more and more companies are trying to grab the chunk of the Indian advantage, the competition in each sector is increasing.

We believe that the organizations who will realize the potential of the opportunity called “India” and will be able to capitalize on it, will flourish in the long run. Sooner they realize the better profits they’ll reap.

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N.R.I. Institute organised two days 'NRI DIVAS 2008', Celebrating the Glory of People of Indian Origin

2008-01-15T03:21:00.000-08:00

Recently (on 7 & 8 January), . The function was orgranised at Hotel Intercontinental The Grand at Barakhamba Road. The two-day conference was attended by more than 200 NRIs and PIOs from the different countries.

During the two days conference, NRI Institute organised various activities for NRI's and guests. The activities including; Session on Strengthening Indo-Trinidad & Tobago Business Relationship, An exhibition by eminent British Artists, live performance by Punjabi Pop Singer Captan Ladi & Dance Troupe and Reception by the British High Commissioner to India H.E. Richard Stagg & Mrs. Stagg. During the programme Pravasi Awards was presented to NRIs from across the globe. The awards were conferred on the NRIs for their outstanding accomplishments.

It was a great time for the attendees, as they have watched the skills of British Artists' and scintillating performance by Punjabi Pop Singer Captan Ladi and the Dance Troupe, which has mesmerized people who were sitting there. Everybody have applauded the creativity of British Artists and the dance & song performance by Captan Ladi.

On the second day British High Commissioner H.E. Richard Stagg and Minister of State for Finance Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal presented the Pravasi Awards to NRIs from across the globe. The awards were conferred on the NRIs for their outstanding accomplishments. The Awardees included A Rajbansi – South Africa, C B Patel – UK, Darshan Singh Bagga – USA, Dr Govind Saha – New Zealand, Dr, Shambhu Banik – USA, Gino Ponin Ballom – Reunion Island, France, Jasjit S Jaaj – UAE, Mike Patel – UK, Ravinder Kalsi – UK, Ravi Rajagopal – USA, Roopa Iyer – USA, T L Arora – UK, Tarlochan Singh Bilga – UK and Graham Clarke – UK. The NRI of the Year was presented to Mohd, Aslam Kaxi – Saudi Arabia and Lifetime Achievement Awards went to B R Shetty – UAE and Lord Daljit Rana – UK. Raj Loomba of The Loomba Trust – UK was conferred with a special award.

Celebrating the Glory of People of Indian Origin the two days conference seen the presence of H.E. Richard Stagg (British High Commissioner to India), his wife, H.E. Pundit Maniedeo Persad (High Commissioner, Republic of Trinidad & Tobago), his wife Rohini Persad, I.K. Gujral (Former Prime Minister of India), Rama Sithanen (Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Mauritius), Sam Pitroda (Chairman, National Knowledge Commission), Graham Clark, James Hornton VPRBA, Nick Tidman RBA, Dr Kelvin Griffin, Cas Holmes, Brian Lewis, Wendy Smith, Mike Hutchins, Bernard Rangel, Ravinder Kalsi & Anjana Kuthiala, Dr. Alka Raghuvanshi (Art Curator), Pratibha Prahlad (renowned dancer) Joginder Singh (Ex-CBI Director), Tarlochan Singh (MP), Rama Valaydan, Satish Gujral, Kiran Gujral, Victor Vijay Kumar, Baljit Chadha, Manmohan Chadha, Abhay Rustum Sopori (Santoor Maestro & Music Composer), Nayantara Singh, Cateriana Zackwell, Agnese Jackman, J.J. Singh, Anupama Singh, N.R.I. Institutes' Rasik H. Patel (International Chairman), Dr. S.K. Pachauri (Chairman) & Jagmohan Singh (Secretary General) along with many delegates and others..

During the programme, Jagmohan Singh (Secretary Gen. NRI Institute) welcomed all the guests and introduced them to the people. He said, 'NRI DIVAS 2008' is a two days festival dedicated to all the NRI's around the world. Through the festival we try to invite maximum numbers of NRI's and provide them the best platform to introduce, to exchange their views and work together. Also we have honoured these NRI's for their outstanding achievements by presenting the NRI Pravasi Awards.

Talking about the institute, Jagmohan Singh (Secretary General, NRI Institute) said, the NRI Institute is a registered NGO of Indians and People/ Persons of Indian Origin founded in 1989. Over the years, the Institute has established Chapters in the UK, USA, Canada, Angola, UAE, Oman, Bangkok, Seychelles, Singapore, Switzerland, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Austria and Madagascar and has so far organized 36 International Events, 18 in India, 10 in London, 3 in Dubai and one each in Detroit, New York, Washington DC, Bangkok and Singapore.

N.R.I. Institute organised a painting exhibition entitled

2008-01-15T02:22:00.000-08:00

Recently (on 9th January), Studio Vasant and N.R.I. Institute organised a painting exhibition entitled "Cracking Spot!" where the works of Nine British artists are on display. The exhibition is organised as part of a celebration in art's unique way of binding countries and cultures while at the same time influence the farthest of people. The exhibition will continue till 13th January at Studio Vasant.

On the occasion of opening of Cracking Spot all the eminent British Artists; Graham Clarke, James Hornton Vprba, Nick Tidnam RBA, Dr. Kelvin Griffin, Cas Holmes, Brian Lewis, Wendy Smith, Mike Hutchins, Bernard Rangel, Ravinder Kalsi and Anjana Kuthiala along with Baljit Chadha (director, Studio Vasant), his wife Manmohan Chadha, Victor Vijay Kumar (painter), Namrata Chadha, Dr. Rajeev Nagpal (Sahaj Sankalp), Jagmohan Singh (Secretary General, NRI Institute) and many others were present there.

The exhibition represents a place where the continents have merged and the cultures blended. Anglo-Indian art from the UK, with an angular twist for modernism, exhibits with Royal British Art of typical Indian scene. It seems the flavor of multi-culturalisum has certainly produced some amazing artwork. The organization of the event is being run by Ravinder Kalsi MFA. She has a proven track record of organizing multi-international and multi-national art events. Supported by the Royal Societies with a considerable network including RBA, RA, RSWA, ROI, NEAC artists, art fund managers, private galleries, corporate sponsors and influential circles in the UK and India.

Graham Clarke, artist, author and humorist, is one of Britain's most popular and best-selling printmakers. He has created some five hundred images of rural life and history. Responding to the comedy of everyday life, he brings his own unique brand of humor to his interpretation of past and present history through the eyes of the common man.

James Horton took his MA at the Royal College of Art and is currently the vice president of the Royal Society of British Artists of which he has been a member since 1979. He exceeds in oil, watercolour and pastels and also takes commissions on extensive portraits.

Nick Tidnam studied at Camberwell School of Art. His tutors included Frank Auerbach, Richard Lee, Michael Rothenstein and Christopher Chamberlin. Nick was elected to the Royal Society of British Arts in 2001.

On this occasion Baljit Chadha said, our country is filled with rich culture & heritage and tourists, artists & others get influenced by this. Being influenced by this the British artists have got the encouragement to come up with this painting exhibition which is worth seeing.

NRI Institute's Jagmohan Singh has all the praise for British artists. He said that the works of these artists are awesome and everybody appreciated also. Seeing the over whelmed response of people it looks like that artists are getting success in their aim to bring their work amongst the masses & artists.

Secrets of enjoyment unveiled at the premier of "National Treasure : Book of Secrets" by Walt Disney Pictures & Satyam Cineplex at Delhi

2008-01-15T02:21:00.000-08:00

Many secrets of entertainment and enjoyment unveiled recently (on 10th January) at Satyam Cineplex where a grand premier of "National Treasure : Book of Secrets" was thrown by Walt Disney Pictures and Satyam Cineplexes.

It was a full packed house premier with the presence of many celebrities and media including; Vesna Pericevic Jacob, Ramnik Paintal, Vani Tripathi, Vandana Vadera, Rashmi Malik (Director Spic Macay), Pratibha Prahlad, Arshiya Sethi, Sahiba Singh and Nitin Bickchandani (Sony Pictures) amongst many others...

All the guests appreciated and liked the movie. The acting of veteran Nicolas Cage and the script was the main attraction for them. They all wished Sony Pictures' Nitin Bickchandani for a blockbuster success at the box-office.

On this occasion Nitin Bickchandani was happy with the people response for this movie. He said film has great script and the acting of all the stars makes it a complete entertainer. It's one of the best entertaining movies I have seen in recent-past, each and every moment contains a new twist which makes audience keep guessing what's going to happen next, that increases the anticipation and excitement.

Nitin said, our aim was to kick off the New Year with a superb, action packed thriller and 'National Treasure' is our first release this year. Almost four years ago the National Treasure created the history at box-office and we are expecting the same now. According to Nitin, Sony has lined-up fo

Sri Lanka for the single country trade exhibition of Pakistan at the BMICH

2008-01-15T02:20:00.000-08:00

In Sri Lanka for the single country trade exhibition of Pakistan at the BMICH, the Pakistan Federal Minister of State and Chief Executive of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan Hon. Tariq Ikram (former CEO of Reckitts) is upbeat on the prospects Pakistan Exports and is confident that the current strategy /organization development of TDAP (with MTI advice) will lead to a quantum leap in Pakistan Exports.

“The President’s Office is closely monitoring this strategic initiative and he has been taking a personal interest in the year long process that is being effectively managed with MTI Advice.” MTI has developed a Pakistan-specific strategic framework and several Country Marketing Models for this purpose.

Pakistan’s export for the year 2006/7 was valued at USD 16,976 Million. Textile & garments, rice, Leather, petroleum products, sports goods, wool products and surgical instruments that form the core export product categories of Pakistan contributes around 85% of the export value. According to State Bank of Pakistan its GDP Real Growth for 2006/7 is 7%, in Asian economies this has been surpassed only by China and India

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MTI Consulting is an international business strategy and marketing consultancy with operations in Bahrain, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and UAE (Dubai), with a strategic alliance in UK and Mexico. Through this fast growing international network, MTI has worked on over 275 client-specific projects in 33 countries across 5 continents – since its inception in 1997.

MTI’s Consulting Solutions include Strategic Planning, Market Entry Feasibility & Models, Re-Structuring, Marketing, Brand, Sales & Channel Management. For further information please visit www.mtiworldwide.com.

Seagate Technology (NYSE:STX) today announced that its MomentusÒ 5400 PSD hard drive

2008-01-15T02:17:00.000-08:00

Seagate Technology (NYSE:STX) today announced that its MomentusÒ 5400 PSD hard drive, a 2.5-inch notebook drive that combines disc storage with flash memory to deliver ultra power efficiency, faster boot-ups and greater reliability for the exploding laptop PC market, has won the prestigious 2008 PC World 25 Most Innovative Products Award.

The Momentus 5400 PSD hard drive ranked number 13 on PC World’s list of top products that included leading-edge notebook computers, an all-in-one cellular telephone, touch-screen PC and do-it-yourself web page creator. The Seagate hard drive uses non-volatile cache, or flash memory, to cost-effectively deliver benefits similar to that of solid state disc drives but at a much lower price. The 160GB drive places commonly used hard drive data onto a large 256MB flash memory to accelerate boot-up, reduce power consumption, increase reliability and boost performance of laptop computers.

“Seagate is pleased to win this wonderful recognition from PC World as we continue to focus on innovative technologies that make it easier for consumers and organizations to store, manage, protect and share digital content at the office, in the home and on-the-go,” said Mike Wingert, general manager, Personal Compute, at Seagate.

The 2008 PC World 25 Most Innovative Products Award winners were announced last week on www.pcworld.com and will be presented with trophies on January 7, at the ShowStoppers media reception at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas during 2008 International CES. The article will also be featured in the February 2008 issue of PC World.

The 2008 PC World 25 Most Innovative Products Awards recognize both benchmark and breakthrough products that set the standard for innovation with unique qualities that distinguish them from the pack. PC World’s editors compared hundreds of products before narrowing the field to the 25 winners.

“These are among the most inventive and trend-setting products available, breaking the traditional boundaries while pushing the limits of technology,” stated Harry McCracken, VP/editor-in-chief of PC World. “These winners help define industry standards and raise the bar for creativity in the future. Congratulations to Seagate’s Momentus 5400 PSD.”

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About Seagate

Seagate is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of hard disc drives, providing products for a wide-range of applications, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics and Branded Solutions. Seagate’s business model leverages technology leadership and world-class manufacturing to deliver industry-leading innovation and quality to its global customers, and to be the low cost producer in all markets in which it participates. The company is committed to providing award-winning products, customer support and reliability to meet the world’s growing demand for information storage.

Seagate can be found around the globe and at www.seagate.com.