Annapurna Pariwar Celebrates Baldin

Annapurna Pariwar recently celebrated Children’s day with slum children in Pune. A children’s day is celebrated in December every year to showcase the talents of these young children and to spread awareness about child rights to improve their welfare.

Annapurna looks after over 600 children under their  ‘Vatsalyapurna’ project.  It runs a unique chain of low cost Day Care Centers for children of poor working women.  Annapurna Pariwar has been working for the empowerment of slum women since last three decades. An early childhood development intervention for slum children has thus become the focus of Annapurna.

A variety entertainment programme was organised for the kids from every centre to display their skills and enjoy by singing and dancing to the tune of local songs. In last 14 years Annapurna has set up 16 Day Care Centers in 14 slums in Pune and 4 Day Care Centers in Mumbai and has given an opportunity to 40 women to have self-employment. These Centers today look after more than 600 slum children in Mumbai and Pune.

Dr. Medha Purao – Samant, MD Annapurna Pariwar said, “Slum children are almost always left unattended when parents are at work or are looked after by their eldest sibling. Children thus miss out on their childhood as a result of poverty. Poverty deprives them of the capabilities needed to survive and develop.”

She further stated that, “Around the world, poor girls and boys are victims of sexual abuse and are deprived of education. We are therefore working everyday on all fronts to provide long-term, sustainable and positive change for children, to ensure their protection, to end violence against children and to provide them with their right to education and offer good prospects for the future.”

TANISHQ, INDIA’S MOST TRUSTED JEWELLER OPENS ITS NEW SHOWROOM AT PHOENIX MALL, PUNE!

Special offer: FREE Gold Coins with every jewellery purchase*

Tanishq, India’s most trusted jewellery brand, today celebrated another landmark in jewellery retailing by opening their showroom at Viman Nagar Road, Pune. This is the 239 th showroom in TANISHQ’s network. It will provide jewellery lovers a world class shopping experience and easy access to high quality traditional and contemporary jewellery from Tanishq.

This new showroom owned by Mr.Satyen Gathani and Mrs. Urvi Gathani is spread across 2,500 sq.ft. carpet area. It offers a wide range of Tanishq jewellery from grand and opulent wedding jewellery in gold, kundan polki and diamonds to contemporary jewellery, the showroom offers it’s every customer, the divine craftsmanship in over 5000 exquisite designs, that the people of Pune look for.

The new showroom was inaugurated today by Mr. Sandeep Kulhalli, Senior Vice President, Retail and Marketing, Jewellery Division and Mr. Arun Narayan, Associate Vice President and Regional Business Head – West, Titan Company Limited along with the proud owners of the franchise Mr Satyen Gathani and Mrs Urvi Gathani.

To celebrate the occasion, Tanishq has announced a special offer wherein customers will be gifted 0.2 grams gold coin FREE on every purchase of 10 grams of gold jewellery or Rs.10,000/- of diamond jewellery. Customers can avail this offer at our new showroom from 23 rd Dec to 25 th Dec 2017.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr.Sandeep Kulhalli, Senior Vice President, Retail and Marketing, Jewellery Division, Titan Company Limited said, “Tanishq has been a pioneer in setting new benchmarks in the jewellery industry. This new showroom embodies Tanishq’s commitment towards providing customers a world-class retail ambience and superior customer service”

Tanishq, which bears the hallmark of Titan and the assurance of the TATA group, has always been at the forefront by offering the best-in- class jewellery. The showroom also has a state-of- the-art karatmeter which guarantees the most accurate way of measuring the purity of gold and also promises best exchange value for old gold.

Besides this, Tanishq has a unique jewellery purchase plan i.e., Golden Harvest, which helps the customers plan their jewellery purchase with an extra benefit at the end of the tenure.

Stuart Kippelman Joins the Advisory Board of SRKay Consulting Group to Help Accelerate its Global Footprint

Florida and Pune, 21st December 2017: SRKay Consulting Group, a London-headquartered private equity venture of the multi-billion dollar SRK Group, announces the joining of Stuart Kippelman on its advisory board. Stuart is a highly acclaimed business and technology leader in the U.S., and is the former Senior Vice President and Global CIO at Platform Specialty Products, based in Florida.

Stuart has an illustrious track record receiving multiple industry awards including Top 100 CIOs in STEM 2015, Computer world’s 2014 Premier 100 IT Leader Award, and the CIO Top 100 Award in 2012, 2013 and 2014 in areas such as business and ERP transformation, cloud migrations and business intelligence. Stuart has been a WSJ guest columnist, and a featured blogger on Computerworld.com. He is an author, and holds multiple patents in data mining, and business intelligence. As an accomplished speaker, he has frequently presented at many major industry conferences.

Stuart is actively engaged in helping and guiding the next generation of IT leadership and serves as a

career mentor both for Columbia University’s Executive Master of Science in Technology Management program, as well as the CIO Executive Council Pathways program.

Prior to joining Platform Specialty Products, Stuart was SVP and CIO at Covanta, and held many

leadership, technology engineering and research roles of increasing responsibility at Johnson and Johnson.

With SRKay actively looking at expanding its global footprint with its innovative products and services ventures, we are lucky to have someone like Stuart to guide and advise us to help us succeed in new global locations like the U.S., Australia and Europe with its ventures’ said Alok Kumar, Partner and Founder of SRKay Consulting Group.

Our upcoming data sciences venture will benefit a lot from the knowledge Stuart brings in the field of

data sciences with a practical business outlook, said Kesavan Srinivasan, Chief Data Scientist and CTO of SRKay.

Since its inception in September 2016 by Alok Kumar, a leading name in the technology industry, who started SRKay after his tenure as the Managing Director of Sears India, the group is leaving no stone unturned to build the best leadership team and advisory board. Recently, SRKay announced the

appointment of Vinit Teredesai, ex-Global Head of Finance, HSBC GLT’s as Advisor Finance and Global Strategy for the group and Stuart adds a technology dimension to the board.

deAsra Foundation helps entrepreneurs to ‘Go Digital’ and increase the marketing potential of their business.

deAsra, an organization aimed at empowering budding entrepreneurs, recently organized a workshop to help entrepreneurs understand digital media and bring their business online.

deAsra is trying to address the growing need of businesses that are suffering from a loss of customer’s who now prefer to buy goods and services online. Statistics show that 65% of people in India did all their festive shopping online. This was a big hit for traditional businesses.

Conducted by Miss. Neha Sarwal, Marketing Head at deAsra Foundation, the workshop was a big success. entrepreneurs were shown how to Go Digital by using social media, online marketplaces such as Amazon and websites to build their businesses.

“Digital marketing is about connecting to your audiences in real time and making them the hero of your activity.” said Miss. Sarwal.

She also added that, “Before entrepreneurs ‘go digital’, they should be prepared with the message they want to send and strategys on how to engage with their prospective customers.”

The other key takeaways shared, covered ways to register and operate social media and online sales channels. Tips and tricks to increase reach and engagement of the audiences. And how to generate leads from online channels and sources. All these takeaways helped the audience walk away with easy and actionable ideas to start and grow their online business activities. Additionally deAsra also shared useful Social Media Marketing Checklists with those present at the workshop which was held at Morya Hall, Pimpri Chinchwad.

Take ‘Asra’ from deAsra to Start Your Own Business

The trend of setting up own business in India is picking up these days. However, not everyone is well equipped to manage the processes involved in doing so. In a bid to help such entrepreneurs and make them aware of the process involved, deAsra Foundation had arranged a workshop “Start Your Own Small Business” on Friday at Alpa Bachat Bhavan, Aga Khan Road, Agarkar Nagar Pune.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that for the success of the “Start-up India, Stand up India” campaign, the youth of India must “turn from job-seekers to job-creators”. Taking a step towards this deAsra Foundation helps entrepreneurs to start their own business, helps them to manage their business, as well as grow their business.

For, those who want to start small enterprises; business growth can make use of social media and guidance by Mentors from deAsra who have more than 35 years of rich experience in banking and financial sector.

Speaker at the event and deAsra’s Mr. Prakash Agashe said, “Once you start a business, you have already achieved 50 % of what you dream about,” he further said, “The once actual work starts, this need to keep a close eye what you do and make strategies for consistent and ensure the sustainable development of scalability of a business”.

Mr. Agashe a entrepreneur facilitator at deAsra added that, “The long term success of your business requires that you assemble right talent at right time, which helps to build your brand.”

  As yet another December the 31st comes closer, deAsra is encouraging want to be entrepreneurs to make their start-up new year resolutions, and to ensure that you see them through, they’re offering that entrepreneurs use their system succeed.

Protect your Pout this winter with Lip masks!!!

The lip masks hydrate and even out the lips – offering a smooth surface, which enhances and improves the finish of lipsticks.

Dr. Saumya Shetty Hegde, Dermatologist at Roots Skin Clinic.

Most women complain about not having fuller and lighter lips. The problem is subjective, as some women complain about dry and chapped lips; whereas it’s the shape and texture which are a concern for most others. With age, lips shrink and wrinkles begin to surface – making the person appear exhausted and stressed out. But whatever the problem is, in my opinion, lip masks are great options to consider. Ideally, a fine lip mask will offer intense moisturising, nourishment and plump up the lips within a short duration. Using a lip mask not only provides deep conditioning, but also helps to achieve a fuller pout.

Additionally, it also treats peeling and flaking lips. One of the most commonly asked questions is whether lip masks can double up as a primer. To which, my answer is an absolute YES! This is for two reasons: Lip masks helps diminish fine lines caused by dry and chapped lips.

The lip masks hydrate and even out the lips – offering a smooth surface, which enhances and improves the finish of lipsticks. Unlike popular beliefs, there is no one-size fits all for lip masks. The ingredients depend on the result expected. Some of the most effective ingredients are organic agave nectar, hyaluronic acid, jojoba oil, brown sugar, orange oil, vanilla extract, organic mauka, honey, lanolin, papaya enzymes and marine collagen peptides. Ensure your masks contain at least a few of these.

Precautions: Excess scrubbing of dead skin may ruin the overall texture of your lips in the long run. Since most lip masks are hydrating masks,  no particular precautions are required.

Four Points by Sheraton does a giving mode this Christmas

December 2017, Pune: Four Points by Sheraton, Pune continues to enthral its visitors, this time by giving a new meaning to Christmas celebration. The business hotel has created one-of-its-kind Christmas tree using notebooks. This uniquely designed Christmas tree is created using 2000 notebooks and is the centre piece of the lavish lobby. Patrons of the hotel are invited to join in this noble cause to give the gift of education to the underprivileged with a contribution of INR 200 or 500 only. The notebooks shall be gifted to the children from Teach from India Pune chapter.

Talking about this unique initiative Sapna Jairam, Director of Sales & Marketing added, ‘Christmas is a season of gifting and what better than a gift of education that will only empower the kids to create a brighter future. This is our small endeavour to create a difference in the society. It’s heartwarming to see our hotel guests contribute to this cause. We welcome the city patrons to join in as well.

14th Convocation Ceremony at Symbiosis International (Deemed) University

“We need to unleash our energies as far as education is concerned. Once we liberated human energies, restrictions were never helpful. As long as we were restrictive, we grew very moderately. “, Shri Arun Jaitley.

Symbiosis International (Deemed) University, held its 14 th Convocation ceremony on December 17th , 2017 at their Lavale campus. Shri Arun Jaitley Hon’ble Minister for Finance, Government of India graced the event as the Chief Guest.

“Today the world is highly competitive. The survival of the fittest, where what background or status you belong to does not matter. India is today highly aspirational, it’s becoming impatient. And therefore, that itself is now compelling governments and regimes to act. In twenty years from now, if we continue to grow at a pace of 7.5% growth which is our normal potential, India is yet not a satisfied nation. It wants to grow faster.”, Arun Jaitley.

Dr. Prof. S.B. Mujumdar, Chancellor SIU, talked about the inception and the journey of Symbiosis, from Cultural Centre to Educational Centre and now an International University, with its objective to bring Indian and foreign students together.

The prestigious D.Litt. degree was conferred upon Mr. Rahul Bajaj, politician and chairman of Bajaj Group and Prof. Philip Altbach, a leading global scholar in higher education with a nuanced ability to interpret Indian higher education to the rest of the world.

Vice Chancellor, Rajani Gupte, presented the annual report, reveling Symbiosis’ ranking 61 st amongst the top 100 Universities in the National Institutional Ranking Framework 2017. She also mentioned SIU’s latest patents and its association with an International project- Erasmus+ programme. SIU ranked 144 among BRICS Universities by the QS World University Rankings.

During this convocation ceremony, over 5000 students were conferred diplomas, undergraduate,

postgraduate and doctorate degrees. In addition, 12 gold medalists were bestowed for academic

excellence. The prestigious Prof. S.B. Mujumdar ‘Outstanding Foreign Student of the Year’ award was established last year. In continuation of his life long mission to offer learning opportunities to foreign students in India. This unique award and a prize money of Rs. 1 Lakh from his personal savings is a recognition of the exemplary achievements of students, studying anywhere in India. This year it was presented to Mrs. Marzia Rahmanyar, Afghanistan. She studied gender, culture and development studies at Savitribai Phule, Pune University.

Pro Chancellor, Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar thanked the guests, and on behalf of the students. The convocation ceremony concluded with caps tossing high.

QNet, KENT Join Hands To Market Next Gen Water Purifier Through Direct Selling Network

• The co-branded water purifier with breakthrough Alkaline and Mineral RO Technology will be exclusively available through QNet
• Unique Alkaline functionality helps maintain optimum pH level of 8+ to give pure and healthy drinking water
• Patented mineral retention technology using a TDS Controller retains natural essential minerals in purified water

Pune, 14 December 2017: Leading Asian direct selling company has joined hands with KENT, a market leader in Water Purification and Home Appliances, to launch KENT–QNET SMART Alkaline Mineral RO Water Purifier. This feature-packed product developed by Kent exclusively for QNet addresses one of the most important public health challenges facing Indian households today— limited access to safe and clean drinking water.

A survey conducted by a state public health laboratory last year had found a consistent increase in the water contamination levels in the Pune circle — comprising Pune, Satara and Solapur. Pune is the second largest city of Maharashtra and one of the fastest growing in the Asia-Pacific region. Analysis of 1,223 drinking water samples taken in Pune district had revealed a 21 per cent contamination. High levels of contamination were found in drinking water samples taken from villages in Pune and Solapur.

The alarming statistics revealed in the survey report is reflective of the state of safe drinking water availability in the entire country. A whopping 80% of India’s surface water is polluted, a recent assessment by Water Aid in 2016, an international organisation working for water sanitation and hygiene has shown. The report ranks India among the worst countries in the world for the number of people without safe water. Our drinking water today contains around 200 deadly commercial chemicals in addition to bacteria, viruses and other inorganic minerals, making it unsuitable, if not deadly, for human consumption.

This partnership comes close on the heels of the launch of Sharp-QNet ZENsational Air Purifier, a collaboration between SHARP and QNet to address the growing challenge of indoor air pollution.

The new KENT–QNet Water Purifier uses a combination of Mineral Reverse Osmosis (RO), Ultra Violet (UV) and Ultra Filtration (UF) technology to not only clean water, but also helps retain essential minerals, and maintain an optimum pH level to provide safe, healthy and alkaline drinking water.

Dr. Mahesh Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of Kent RO Systems said, “The domestic water purification industry is growing at the Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15 percent. However, the penetration is still low and estimated at 3 percent only. While there is increasing awareness about safe drinking water in the metros, in many Tier 2 cities boiling water is still the preferred mode of purification. The partnership with QNet, whose direct sales representatives have a strong network in many Tier 2 cities in India, allows us to reach out directly to this market through personalised presentations, help create awareness about safe drinking water, and have a direct line of feedback from the end consumer.” 

Unique features of Kent–QNet Water Purifier:

o    Multi-step purification system uses Mineral RO, UV and UF technology which removes dissolved impurities such as chemicals, bacteria, viruses and salts, making the water 100% pure

o    Patented mineral retention method uses a TDS Controller helps retain natural essential minerals in purified water

o    It maintains pH levels of 8+ giving healthy, Alkaline water

o    Has a purification capacity of 20 Litres/hour

o    Tamperproof RO membrane ensures safety

o    Smart intelligent sensors with interactive Touch Screen Display for Real Time monitoring of purity, performance and service history

o    9 Litre storage tank with water level indicator

o    One-year onsite Warranty

Reverse Osmosis is a water purification technology that uses a semipermeable membrane with capillaries as small as 0.0001 microns to remove dissolved impurities such as salts, contaminants, and heavy metals from water. Reverse Osmosis is capable of removing up to 99%+ of the dissolved salts (ions), particles, colloids, organics, bacteria and pyrogens from water. However, while removing dissolved impurities, RO Purifiers also remove some essential minerals from the drinking water and make it acidic in the process. The KENT–QNET Water Purifier addresses this with its unique Alkaline-Mineral RO feature that helps the purified water retain its natural minerals and maintain an optimum 8+ pH level, the ideal recommended by doctors for health and wellness.

Commenting on the launch of the new product, Trevor Kuna, Global CEO of QNet Ltd. saysQNet strives to develop unique products

KENT’s Save Water Technology:

The KENT–QNet Water Purifier also helps conserve water with KENT’s Save Water Technology. In conventional RO Water Purifiers, only 20% of water is recovered as purified water while 80% is rejected. KENT‘s Save Water Technology employs a computer-controlled process that recovers more than 50% water as purified water. The rejected water is stored in a separate tank that can be utilised for mopping and washing, resulting in less water wastage.

The new KENT QNET Smart RO Water Purifier is available through QNet’s network of Independent Representatives.

Do not see a liability of more than a rupee: IRB MD Virendra Mhaiskar on Maharashtra land scam

Accusations against the road building company IRB Infrastructure piled up pretty fast. The controversy revolving around the road developing giant IRB is ‘illegal land acquisition’.The company has been dragged into this dispute by the CBI. However; the instance does not have a valid point to stand in the court of law.

On December 6, the anti-corruption branch of CBI filed a charge sheet against Virendra Mhaiskar, the chairman and MD of IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited for alleged association to a 10-year old land scam in Maharashtra. Besides, 17 other people who were linked to the company, have been named in the charge sheet.

Under the sections 120(b), 420, 511 of the Indian Penal Code and sections of Prevention of Corruption Act,a charge sheet has been filed in a court in Pune. Aryan Infrastructure Investments Private Limited(AIIPL), a subsidiary of IRB Infrastructure,is accused of trying to grab over 73.88 hectares of the Maharashtra government’s land.

But the case is far-fetched from reality. It was in 2007, IRB’s subsidiary AIIPL acquired the land from the farmers in Pune’s district Pimpoli village that summed up to 1,200 acres. Furthermore, by 2009, AIIPL discovered that 5% of the total land acquired by them belongs to Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), and they have been robbed by the farmers. The farmers faked the deals, to make some quick money. Upon realization, the company forfeited the agreements to sell these land parcels.

The CBI now questions the price of that 5% land, which is just Rs 6 crore. Moreover, the big question is, how could IRB infrastructure be involved in the ‘land scam’ since there was no real agreement of land parcels, and the agreement stood nulled?

While there are continuous claims being made against the filing of chargesheet by media houses, only few actually know the root cause. The present scenario where most builders are under the government’sobservation, the chargesheetagainst VirendraMhaiskar seems just like a part of the drill.

MD VirendraMhaiskar denies being associated with the scam.He calls it an unnecessary extension of the 10-year-old forbidden case. “We fail to conclude how IRB ‘cheated’ when all rules and regulations were followed closely while purchasing the land parcels,” he said.

The acknowledgement has already been filed by the company with the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock exchange on Wednesday. Also, in reply to Aditya Mongia from Kotak Securitiesabout financial liability concern on the organization, VirendraMhaiskar said: “Zero, because nothing has happened. We do not see a liability of more than a rupee.”

The chairman of IRB Infrastructure added, “We understand that the investigations now stand concluded, and the charges filed in the charge sheet would be argued and contested in a court of law.”

SYMPOSIUM ON “Decoding the landscape of BFSI”

India has sprung into the era of innovation in financial services by adopting the latest technology and business restructuring through consolidations. Today the digital environment has swayed the financial sector to reorganize their operations to be in competitive forefront. Digital technologies are developing at an unprecedented rate, and so is the customer adoption rate. Emergence of payment solutions, artificial intelligence and big data are the causal technological disruptions in building the bedrock architecture of sustainable financial service industry. In sync with this the uprising initiatives of small finance banks, payment banks and mergers have led to a revolutionary transformation in the financial industry. Besieged with multiple technological innovations and structural changes in the financial sector, here we at SSBF intent to host deliberations on “Decoding the landscape of BFSI” on Saturday, 09 th December, 2017

1. Financial Ecosystem in Digital Era (Theme for First Half) 

Over the decades banks have been leveraging the Fintech players for addressing the increased customer demands on one hand and driving down the cost of financial intermediation on the other hand. India is becoming a digital economy at a fast pace. Financial players can leverage these platforms to experiment new business models in an attempt to increase revenue margins. The discussions aims to deliberate on digital advancements in the BFSI sector for enhancing business propositions.

2. Growth through Innovations (Theme for Second Half)

Changing customer demographics and expectations are driving the need for disruptive innovation in the financial sector. Value creation realized through acquisitions, mergers, new markets and new product offerings are likely to be short lived. Manifesting disruptive environment through technology and collaborations will define the success and sustainability of the financial system. The panel would comprise of veterans from diverse facets of the financial system to discuss on the changing business models, financial service design and delivery.  

SSBF endeavors to empower its students in building resilient base in their domain and to be an asset for the corporates they join. The institute also initiates in nurturing relationship with the corporate entities for knowledge sharing. In this parlance, we propose to host this Symposium to bring together learned deliberations by eminent personalities and practitioners from the diverse sectors of finance. This event is an ideal platform for understanding the current developments in the finance world.

India Intimate Fashion Week (IIFW) Season 2 to Be Bigger and Splendid

Boo The Taboo! International Jewelry Designer Mona Shroff to Open IIFW Season 2.0

Post a sensational debut this year, India Intimate Fashion Week (IIFW) has geared up for Season 2.0 to be held early summer next year in 2018 in Mumbai, Maharashtra.  

IIFW, the first ever Fashion week of its kind in India, dedicated to lingerie and intimate wear has already created a buzz during its first season. Finest intimate wear designers and brands showcased their best of the collections during the first season. Lingerie, loungewear, sleepwear, legwear, lingerie accessories, sportswear, swimwear, beachwear, shape wear and more for both men and women were showcased on the ramp. IIFW Season 2.0 promises to be even bigger and grandeur this time with an objective to provide India with a big platform for the intimate apparel industry – an industry which is amongst the largest in apparel fashion across the globe.

IIFW’s season II will witness Hong Kong based International Jewelry designer Mona Shroff for its inauguration.

On her association with IIFW, Mona Shroff said, “In its opening season only IIFW has gathered immense attention and appreciation from the intimate fashion industry in India & abroad with its ‘Boo the Taboo’ move. I am really glad to be the opening designer for the Season 2.0 of IIFW which has really created a platform and a new hope for the Intimate wear industry in India.”

Niraj Jawanjal, Founder & Ideator, IIFW said, “The success of first season of IIFW has opened many doors of opportunities for brands and designers across the country as well as for the foreign players who were looking forward to exploring such opportunities in India. We are getting immense response and multiple queries for Season 2.0 of IIFW both from Indian, international brands, and designers.”

“This year we are coming up with the prestigious India Intimate Fashion Awards which will rope in veteran industry experts in the jury to honour the stalwarts in the field of intimate, beach and sports lingerie business. While, IIFW season 1 witnessed the participation of eminent brands and designers including Triumph, Mona Shroff, Nidhi Munim, Karishma Jumani to name a few, we are confident that Season 2.0 will be even bigger and better with more designers and brands participating this year. In addition to that, Bollywood celebrities will add to the glamour quotient of the show as showstoppers,” added Niraj.

Elaborating further Amit Pandey, Media Head and Associate Partner-IIFW said, “It gives me an immense pleasure to announce about the upcoming season which would bring in lot of innovation on the ramp and new initiatives that will place India on the global intimate wear stage. Our social media outreach ‘Boo the Taboo’, ‘The Right Cup’, celebrating ‘India Inner Confidence Day’ on 27th Aug on the International Lingerie Day were a success. We are focused towards launching ‘Black Magik’, India’s first ever high fashion intimate & beach fashioncalendar this December. We will run unique social media campaigns focusing at breaking the mindset barrier and facilitating open conversations around the category.”

The registration of brands and designers for IIFW Season 2.0 has already begun. This ultra extravaganza is planned to happen in the early summer of 2018 and it seems that the industry would be keen to get more details and updates about it in the coming days.

Renault MTV Roadies Xtreme hits the ground running for the most XTREME season ever in Pune city

~The original Roadie, RannvijaySingha along with gang leaders- Neha Dhupia, Prince Narula, Nikhil Chinapakick start the Roadies audition frenzy ~

Pune, December 7 th , 2017: MTV, the iconic youth brand, is back with the country’s longest running reality show’s fifteenth and most XTREME season ever, Roadies Xtreme. Bringing in a tinge of adventure and surprise for the audience and gang leaders, the original Roadie, RannvijaySinghawill be ushering in the ‘unexpected’ this time around. Joining in the Roadies madness along with the adventure squad – Girl Boss, Neha Dhupia, Indian Television’s heartthrob, Prince Narulaand seasoned Roadies judge, Nikhil Chinapa. All the gang leaders along with RannvijaySingha were present at the auditions held in Pune city enabling aspiring Roadies to embark on the most exciting and adventurous road trip of their lives.

Pune city has time and again given the country some of the most competitive contestants on Roadies and this time around too the gang leaders kicked off the hunt for the most extreme season as they drove down to Pune city. As always, the true Pune spirit did shine through as the contestants turned out in huge numbers for the auditions. Known as the ‘Oxford of the east ‘due to its rich educational legacy, a lot of students auditioned to brave the ultimate test of courage.

Commenting on the most extreme season of India’s cult reality show, Ferzad Palia, Head – Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Viacom18 said, “It’s the 15th season and yet it feels like the first. The excitement of the fans that leads up to the auditions is contagious and this drives us to make every season the very best. This year the show is going to be extreme in every aspect and if there is one thing the Roadies fans expect, it’s the unexpected. We are thrilled to kick off this season in Pune, a city that lives and breathes the Roadies spirit and are confident to find some interesting contestants for the show this year from this city.”

Speaking about the new season, the original Roadie,RannvijaySingha said, “As the name suggests, this time Roadies will get extreme and the audience will be in for a major surprise for sure. My role won’t be that of a gang leader, but that of somebody who will be bringing in twists and turns at every level possible. I have been associated with the show for 15 years now and do know what it takes to be a Roadie. Right from the auditions to the journey, I will be making sure that the contestants and gang leaders, both face extreme challenges and emerge stronger than ever.”

Neha Dhupia, who will be returning for the third time on the show, said “Roadies is a cult show which is part of every youngsters life in the country. Personally, I am very intrigued by the concept of the show and I love the passion that the contestants emanate, their dream to become a roadie and willingness to do anything to achieve that. That spirit, to me, is phenomenal. Every year through Roadies we hope to present some inspiring and passion filled journey’s and this year as well we aim to do the same. Apart from all the hard work, I am looking forward to pushing the limits and living upto the name of the season… EXTREME!”

Roadies prodigy, Prince Narula said, “Roadies is my alma mater. It was a great kickstarter for me and owe it all to Roadies! When I was first approached to be a gang leader on Roadies, I felt like life had come full circle for me. My main aim is now to win the show and this time around I will make sure to strategize better and fight it out with full force. I will ensure that my gang wins Roadies Xtreme!”

Explaining his views on the new season, MTV VJ Nikhil Chinapa- “Being a gang leader on Roadies involves one to be extremely calm, composed and motivated at all times. In the upcoming season I am excited about choosing my own gang members and motivating them to win the show. We were extremely close to winning the previous season and this year I will make sure to strategize well and keep the spirits high so that we definitely kill it. They say this is going to be an extreme season, but I am all set with my game face on.”

Roadies Xtreme has gone all out with its promotional activities by leveraging all the platforms through an extensive 360-degree campaign. The fifteenth season of Roadies unarguably promises to be the most extreme season ever with gang leaders facing the test of bravery along with their respective gang members.

The Pune auditions began today starting with group discussions being followed by one- on- one interaction with the gang leaders. The auditions were filled with an abundance of excitement and more horsepower than ever!

Discover the true Roadie within you and join forces with your favourite gang leader on the

ultimate road to success with the all new, Renault MTV Roadies Xtreme!

Shadja & Antaranga to take place between 13th to 15th December

• ‘Shadja‘, a short film festival to showcase 6 films related to different musical instruments & maestros in music
• tête-à-tête with renowned artists in ‘Antaranga‘
• 13th edition of ‘Vatsalabai Joshi Puraskaar’ to be given to veteran Tabla Player Pt. Nana Mule
• ‘Glory Of Strings’– A unique photo exhibition is the attraction for music lovers

 Pune, December 5th : ‘Shadja’ & ‘Antaranga’, two special programs that have been a part of ‘Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav’ since past 10 years, shall be organized this year between Wednesday,13th December to Friday, 15th December 2017. Both the events – ‘Shadja’ & ‘Antaranga’ will take place at ‘Sawai Gandharva Smarak’ on Ganeshkhind road near Rahul Theatre at Shivaji Nagar between 10.00am and 12.00pm. Entry to both these programmes will be free on first come first serve basis. Some seats will be reserved for invitees.

Details of ‘Shadja‘ & ‘Antaranga‘ and other initiatives of this year’s ‘Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav’ were announced by Shrinivas Joshi, Executive President, Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal during a Press Conference held in the city today. Noted photographer Sateesh Paknikar was also present on the occasion.

‘Glory Of Strings’- An exceptional photo exhibition :

Photo exhibition on various themes and various artists by Pune’s renowned photographer Sateesh Paknikar is always one of the major attractions at the Sawai Festival. This is the 11th year of this exibition, which is titled as ‘Glory Of Strings’. As the name suggests, this exhibition will feature great artists playing string instruments.

Hindustani Classical Music gives immense importance to instrumental music along with singing. Each musical instrument gives a different experience toaudience, and String instruments have a special place In this world. Rudraveena, Satar, Sarod, Santoor, Mohanveena, Guitar, Mandolin, Violin are the few tomention. Indian Music has a great tradition of string instrument players, followed by the young talent, those who mix the tradition with new technology. In this years exhibition, over 70 black & white photos of string instrumet players will be featured at the Sawai Venue.

Day 1 – Wednesday, December 13th

On the first day of ‘Shadja’ three documentaries will be shown, which includes a documentary- ‘Music Of India’ (Instrumental) (10.34 min) made by Bhaskar Rao, followed by ‘Ravi Shankar’ (27 min) made by Pramod Pati- a tribute to Sitar maestro Pt. Ravi Shankar will played. A documentry on Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar (20.31 min)- A great singer and musician in Hindustani Classical Music, made by S. B. Nayampally will also be shown on this day. In the second half of the program- ‘Antarang’, music lovers will get an opportunity to witness a conversation with famous vocalist of Patiyala Gharana Kaushiki Chakrabarty, disciple & daughter of vocalist Ajay Chakrabarty.  Shriniwas Joshi will interview him.

Day 2 – Thursday, December 14th 

As a part of ‘Shadja‘, a documentary ‘Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur’ (57.59 min) by Prajana Parimita Parasher will be shown. The documentary showcases contribution of the great Khayal vocalist. On this day, in ‘Antaranga‘, the audience will get to witness an interview with veteran Tabla player and this year’s ‘Vatsalabai Joshi Puraskaar’ awardee Pt. Nana Mule. Shriniwas Joshi will interview him.  

Day 3 – Friday, December 15th

In ‘Shadja‘, a documentary by Rajat Kapoor- ‘Tarana’ (25.07 min), followed by P. K. Saha’s documentary ‘Sarangi- The Lost Chord’ will be featured. In ‘Antaranga‘, a program ‘Swara Samvad’is organized. On the occasion, Aarti Ankalikar-Tikekar, famous vocalist of Jaipur Atrauli Gharana, Mahesh Kale,disciple of Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki & Shriniwas Joshi,  vocalist of Kirana Gharana and disciple and son of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi will speak on ‘Creative Challenges’ (Sarjanachi Awhane).  

‘Vatsalabaai Joshi Award’ to noted Tabla player Pt. Nana Mule

Each year ‘Vatsalabai Joshi Award’ is given to the artist for his/her precious contribution towards Indian Classical Music. This is the 13th year of this award and it has been announced to veteran Tabla player Pt. Nana Mule. Pt. Mule has lend an outstanding support of Tabla to many legendary vocalists for years, including Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. The award will be in the form of cash prize of Rs.51,000/-,a citation and a memento.

PMPML Special Bus Service

Like last year, PMPML will offer their special bus services for the convenience of music lovers. The routes decided are Ramanbag to Katraj, Ramanbag toDhayari via Anand Nagar, Sinhagad Road, Ramanbag to Kothrud depot and Ramanbag to Karve Nagar. The timings of bus service will be announced during the festival.