• Khatte Meethe Desires conceptualize new quirky gifts

    Submitted by ITV Production on Sep 04, 2015
    The online gifting alternative, Khatte Meethe Desires has come up two new quirky home decor products that can be an amusing housewarming present.
     

    Ideal for family and friends who are renovating their house, these products are finely hand crafted and spell indigenous. They reflect meticulous planning and deep understanding what people prefer and hold close to their heart.

    One of the product from the collection is  ?Message in a Bottle,' which is designed around the bottle and the presentation is profound. It is a perfect gift for those who have a thing for beaches, sand and the sea, as those elements form a key part of the design. Sea shells and sand are used as part of the complete presentation.
     

    One can customize what will be written in the scroll inside the bottle that has a lovely ribbon bow tied around its neck. Priced at Rs 899, the gift's aesthetics highlight the painstaking efforts being put behind the thoughtful expression.
     

    If your friend or loved one is a believer in Zodiacs, then 'Personality Pillars,' another product from Katte Meethe Desires will be the ideal gift. It has 12 white pillar candles with all the 12 sun signs and their traits customized on them. The concept behind the gfift is to appreciate the many differing qualities in people. The price range is Rs 349 per piece and Rs 3499 for a pack of 12. 
    FunZone
    Khatte Meethe Desires
    Gifts
    Home Decor
    indiantelevision.com Team
    Features
    exec_life_image

  • Ties of the Raksha Bandhan kind

    Submitted by ITV Production on Aug 28, 2015

    By Papri Das

    For years Raksha Bandhan has been a symbol of how India upholds the bond between brothers and sisters. This ancient tradition allows sisters to tie decorated threads around their brothers wrists in return for a promise to protect them. It was later relaunched by scholar and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore with a renewed gusto to propagate brotherhood amongst men and women from different religions, and then later the festival got a whole new makeover as we got more and more consumeristic.

    But in essence, Raksha Bandhan remains the same as anticipatory fervours of the festival are felt weeks in advance as shops pop up decking the Indian streets with colourful Rakhis and sweet shops rev up their preparation for the day. It is the perfect time for immediate and extended families to get together and have fun with cousins.

    But luck doesn?t favour all in this regard, especially our busy media executives who are so caught up in their schedules that their chance of a full fledged Raksha Bandhan holiday looks bleak. Take the popular brother sister pair Sajid Khan and Farah Khan from the film industry for example. Farah Khan, who has been religiously tying a Rakhi to her brother as well as Sajid Nadiadwala for years, had to leave the country to shoot a song sequence for Dilwale in Iceland for her upcoming movie this year. And so she celebrated the festival a week in advance before leaving for the shoot. ?It?s unfortunate that Farah won?t be with me this Rakhi but she has already tied Rakhi on my hand a few days back before going for the shoot,? Sajid Khan tells Exec Lifestyle.

    When asked about how he typically celebrates the day, Khan shares, ?Apart from my immediate sisters, I have many Rakhi sisters. While it's true I might not be able to meet them regularly, I do keep in touch with them on a daily basis. I make sure I catch up with them on Rakhi and go out for lunch or something. ?When it comes to Rakhi gifts, Sajid prefers to keep it simple and go with the classics. This year Sajid has gifted Farah a couple of perfumes from her favourite brands.

    Buying a gift remains a complicated process for adman and co-founder of Sideways, Abhijit Avasthi, who has twenty two sisters from either sides of his family, including his Ashima Avasthi - senior creative director at BBC Worldwide. But that doesn?t stop Abhijit from going out of his way to handpick gifts for each of them in accordance with their taste, style and preference.

    ?Raksha Bandhan has always been a special festival for me, since I am the oldest amongst all my sisters. The day usually plays out like a family feature film with all brothers and sisters gathering under one roof and enjoying to our hearts content!? shared Abhijit, jokingly thanking Exec Life for the reminder as he now has to start buying gifts.

    As a child, television producer from Playtime Creations Hemal Thakkar too spent hours deciding on what to gift his sister, Vaishali, who is a popular actress in television industry. Now that she is all grown up, Hemal does it the smart way and instead gifts her in cash. ?Finding a gift that suits their taste is a hard nut to crack and it gets more and more difficult each year. My sisters have all grown up and become independent. I know they appreciate it more when I leave it to them to choose what they want. "When asked what he likes as a return gift, Thakkar shares, ?I have a sweet tooth so my sisters bring me all sorts of sweet dishes and that totally makes my day.?

    Other brother - sister duos in the industry who are known to share a close bond include advertising honcho Piyush Pandey and actress - singer Ila Arun, BAG Films managing director Anurradha Prasad and Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad, actor Tushar and Balaji Telefilms? Ekta Kapoor and Rose Audio Visuals? Shrishti Arya and filmmaker Goldie Behl amongst others. We wish them all a very happy Raksha Bandhan from the team of Indiantelevision.com.

    People
    Raksha Bandhan
    BBC Worldwide
    Sajid khan
    Farah Khan
    Sajid Nadiawala
    Dilwale
    Shah Rukh Khan
    Abhijit Avashti
    Ashima Avasthi
    indiantelevision.com Team
    Features
    exec_life_image

  • Five brands riding the Raksha Bandhan wave

    Submitted by ITV Production on Aug 28, 2015

    Come any festival and brands are quick to jump the ?special promotion? bandwagon of how to colour themselves in light of the occasion. And the unique Indian festival Raksha Bandhan that celebrates the bond between a brother and sister gives brands that perfect opportunity. 

    From special product launches on online shopping portals, to coupons, limited edition offers, free gifts and hampers to marketing on special concepts for the season, brands have gone all out this year to make Raksha Bandhan a special affair.

    While this is a common practice, there are many brands who stepped above the noise and used a sensible and thoughtful approach to their promotions. Here are a few of them:

    1. Cadbury: When it comes to special family occasions there is no product better placed than Cadbury in bringing out the festival?s flavour, especially for Raksha Bandhan. Time and again, Cadbury Celebrations, has been the saviour for those forgetful brothers, who remember to buy a gift for their sister in the very last minute. This year, the brand has focused on the ?khatta meetha? or love hate relationship between brothers and sisters.

    The new Cadbury Celebrations TVC from Contract Advertising sheds light upon the fact that the aim of the festival has shifted from just being about protecting sisters, to deepening the bond between brother and sister through playful banter.

    2. Blue Dart: For those brothers and sisters who are separated by distance and cannot reach each other physically, Blue Dart has come up with a unique service called the ?Rakhi Express.? With a wide network of 34,285 locations across India and 220 countries and territories worldwide, every sister can now send Rakhis anywhere in India or internationally and be assured of timely and secured delivery. What?s more, apart from their return gift from their brothers, they can now expect exciting gifts from the delivery service provider as well. Lucky girls can win an iPhone 6 and 50 Titan Wrist Watches on domestic shipments and Rs 1000 worth talktime for two winners daily on international shipments. All they have to do is fill a slogan form that makes them eligible for a lucky draw.

    3. Best Deal TV: The home shopping channel, which is known for getting popular actors on board as brand ambassadors, has stressed on the time factor this Raksha Bandhan. Understanding how busy lives get post childhood, and how little we get to spend with our sibling, this Rakhi, the channel encourages its viewers to treasure the time they get on the day with their sibling. To reinforce the idea, Best Deal TV launched their special offer on the theme ?Rishton Ki Ghari, Ghari Ke Saath.? The channel is giving away wristwatches from the house of Tim Berto with every purchase of over Rs 1999 from their channel or site.

    4. Foodpanda: Food is an intricate part of any festival and Raksha Bandhan is no exception. In fact, Rakhi would be incomplete without the delectable dishes and sweets that are associated with the festival. In order to make your gastronomical experience better this Rakhi, online food delivery portal Foodpanda has come up with several offers, wherein customers can avail of discount up to 30 per cent from eating outlets across cities if they order via Foodpanda.

    5. When everyone is cashing in on this festive occasion, why should social networking giant, Facebook be left behind? This Raksha Bandhan, Facebook has come up with a shopping festival with a ?Tied Together? initiative that works perfectly for the occasion. According to a media report, Facebook has set up a website in association with GroupM, wherein Facebook would use its subscriber base and platform to drive traffic to the shopping site. While not entirely thoughtful, it is a clever way to launch the shopping festival at an appropriate time.

    FunZone
    Cadbury
    Raksha Bandhan
    Blue Dart
    Foodpanda
    Facebook
    indiantelevision.com Team
    Features
    exec_life_image

  • Weekend Watch

    Submitted by ITV Production on Aug 28, 2015

    Exec Lifestyle?s Weekend Watch recommends and previews television shows, films and live events that you simply cannot miss! Check out our recommendations for this weekend (28 to 30 August).

    About Town:

    A popular Malayalam proverb goes like ?Kaanam Vittum Onam Unnanam? which means that one must have the Onam lunch even if he is forced to sell his property. And an Onam lunch is incomplete without Onam Sadya, a grand feast which is traditionally served on a Banana leaf. Now if you are a world removed from kerala and still have the desire to not miss this feast, check out these speciality restaurants in the heart of Mumbai.

    If you prefer a fine dining experience, South Of Vindhyas - The Orchid in Mumbai would be the perfect place to unwind on this festive day. Famous for their Malayali cuisine, there pocket heavy menu totally makes up with the tasty and authentic south indian food. If you want to experience a more cosy and laid back environment where you can bring a gang of friends and rave away, check out Kerala House in Vashi in Mumbai.The average you will spend there for two will be less than Rs 500.

    Live Act:

    blueFrog brings back theater owing to popular demand but in  a new redefined style, this time featuring Vickram Kapadia?s Bombay Talkies. Join them in an evening of memorable stories, told by people we see around us in the city of Mumbai, once known as Bombay. It wonderfully articulates and celebrates the diversity in this city. The cast includes Mansi Multani, Ratnabali Bhattacharjee, Rasika Dugal, Ajay Jayram, Utkarsh Mazumdar and Vickram Kapadia. So come grab some food and drinks and watch this play take you on a nostalgic trip at blueFROG in  Mumbai this August 30 at 7.30pm

    Entry : Rs. 350

    Television

    Zee TV


    The festive fervour for Raksha Bandhan has not left the tele-world untouched. In fact, Zee TV's popular show Neeli Chhatri Waale are dedicating a special episode to the colourful bond between brothers and sisters. The episode will also see TV actor Prachi Thakker, who was on a break for a while, making her come back. Watch the Raksha Bandhan special episode of Neeli Chatri Waale this Saturday at 8 pm on Zee TV.
    Culture & Entertainment
    Onam
    Vickram Kapadia
    Bombay talkies
    blueFROG
    indiantelevision.com Team
    Features
    exec_life_image

  • Quirky socks, skydiving & marathons

    Submitted by ITV Production on Aug 28, 2015

    ?To know what life is worth, you will have to risk it once in a while? ? Jean Paul Sarte. These exact words define Sunil Lulla?s feisty, yet grounded personality. Skydiving may be a daunting foolhardy stunt for many, but for the chairman and managing director of Grey Group India, it is just another tick mark on the list things he enjoys doing.  

    Plummeting thousands of feet in a free fall towards the earth, with the wind roaring around him, followed by a slow drift downwards after his parachute opens, is something that gives Lulla the much needed excitement to keep him going.

    Clearly fond of taking risks and trying out new experiences, Lulla?s recent comeback in advertising after nearly two decades proves that he has the zest for treading where few have gone before.

    Having graduated in commerce from the University of Mumbai with a management degree from SP Jain Institute, Lulla?s early years were spent in sales at Forbes, Forbes & Campbell. He then hopped onto advertising, as an associate account director with Hindustan Thompson Associates (now J Walter Thompson India). Clients such as Hindustan Lever (now Unilever India) loved him and it was not too long before he was promoted and sent overseas to work as the client service director at JWT Taiwan. 

    When the offer came to spearhead the music channel MTV India, which was a late entrant in the Indian satellite television space, he took up the challenge most willingly. Once again, his savvy marketing skills ensured that MTV India zoomed its way to becoming the numero uno in its category, ahead of the much older and well entrenched Channel V.

    Lulla?s experience spans across communication, media, consumer goods and the digital space with companies like Diageo, Microland, Sony Entertainment, Miditech, the Turner joint venture Real Broadcasting as well as the Times of India?s television venture ? Times Television Network where he was MD & CEO.

    A people?s person to the core, folks in the industry are not surprised that he takes the trouble to greet almost everyone on their special days, whether it is their birthdays or anniversary or the passing away of a relative. Some special ones also receive gifts or a special condolence card. And this includes juniors, seniors and peers alike.

    Just like his professional portfolio, his diverse set of pastime includes cooking, playing squash and possibly the most unusual of the lot - collecting socks. Lulla unarguably has one of the wackiest collections of socks. It was in the mid 90s that he got into the habit of collecting feet innerwear and today he is the proud owner of almost a hundred pairs.

    Totally defying the safe dressing habits of executives, Lulla takes pride in his sartorial sense, and is sporting enough to show off his multicoloured, multi-patterned socks to those who wish to see. He enjoys spending time with wife Vinodini, who is active in the social services space and his daughter Ayesha, who recently graduated in Psychology from the University of Mumbai.

    As someone who loves sports, for Lulla there are no lulls in life. He can often be seen running marathons locally and internationally ? testing his limits time and again. The zeal to strive tirelessly in life?s long race and to be doing exactly what you envision is not everyone?s cup of tea. But Lulla has made that a fine art: continually strive for excellence.

    Beat the clock, get your time down is something he constantly endeavours to do at every outing when he beats the roads pounding away at the tarmac in long strides. Running the half marathon just as 2014 dawned, he managed to clock a time of 1 hour and 54 minutes, his best so far. Recently, he completed the Goa River Half Marathon of 21 km despite being injured. He even ran the Norway marathon in late-June, a few days before he announced that he was going back to advertising and leading Grey in India.

    Clearly, Lulla is a man who likes going the distance.

    Fitness
    Sunil Lulla
    Grey Advertising
    Jean Paul Sarte
    Adventure Sports
    indiantelevision.com Team
    Features
    exec_life_image

  • ?The key to success is to live in the present:? Dr. Subhash Chandra

    Submitted by ITV Production on Aug 21, 2015

    The 4th Indian International Model United Nations saw Essel Group and Zee chairman Dr. Subhash Chandra address over 3000 student hailing from 30 different nations as part of a mega episode for Dr. Subhash Chandra Show.

    Dr. Chandra took the audience by awe as he strongly pointed out ?There is no shortcut to success.? ?All of us want to become capable enough to give back to society. To do that, we need to work with passion, purity and patience. Purity, for me, is living in the present. If we do this, our actions are dynamic and we get a positive reaction. Often, when we are working, our minds are distracted by either the past or the future, with the result that the action at that moment is neither pure nor dynamic. Hence, the first key to success is to live in the present,? he said.

    Elaborating on the topic, Dr. Chandra said, ?Sometimes, in our lives, despite our best efforts, we meet with failure. However, failure is a part of success. We feel failure only when we accept it and make it a part of our lives. At times, we need to realize that certain things are not going to be successful and just move on with our lives. Failure, in fact, teaches us more than success.?

    A self-made man, Dr. Chandra has consistently demonstrated his ability to identify new businesses and lead them on the path to success. From trading goods, setting up a packaging industry to opening up theme parks and multiplexes, and creating India?s largest and most profitable TV media group, Dr. Chandra has travelled a long way. It was Dr. Chandra's vision that helped give birth to the satellite TV industry in India with the launch of Zee TV in 1992.

    Hinting upon the subjectivity involved with the concept of ?success,? Dr. Chandra further observed from the lives of successful individuals that there are certain qualities like happiness, dedication, alertness alertness, positivity, honesty and humility that we all possess. ?When these important qualities work together, they make the person successful in every sphere of life,? he said.

    Dr. Subhash Chandra (DSC) Show is aired every week on Saturday at 10 pm on Zee News and 7 pm on Zee Business and on Sundays at 11 am on both Zee News & Zee Business. This show is also aired on other channels of Zee Media Corporation Limited.

    People
    Dr Subhash Chandra
    Dr Subhash Chandra Show
    Essel Group
    Zee
    indiantelevision.com Team
    Features
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