Stills from Next Gen Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 launched by Maruti Suzuki:
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Miss Diva Universe 2014 at Yamaha good luck party
Stills of Miss Diva Universe 2014 Noyonita Lodh at the Yamaha good luck party.
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Actress Sanchita Shetty launches Skeyndor Skin Lightening Facial at Naturals – Chennai
Actress Sanchita Shetty launches Skeyndor Skin Lightening Facial at Naturals – Chennai. Stills from the event:
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Halloween Night at Small World
Here are the photos of the celebrities at Halloween Night party held at Small World, Chennai.
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October ’14 – Designer of Dreams
Owning a Vinita Chaitanya designed home or corporate space immediately catapults you into an exclusive zone. Her design firm, Prism, is 25 years strong and brilliantly reflects her personal branding. Vinita’s own homes and glamorous lifestyle give her an insider’s edge into what ultimate luxury is all about. Combined with a thorough mastery of her craft, she creates livable art. It is a collaboration of her clients’ requirements with her artistic vision that she converts into bespoke, sublime spaces. She delightfully layers different cultures and periods and her travels give her fresh inspiration for each project. Archana Shenoy meets the eclectic designer from Bengaluru.
Vinita Chaitanya’s work ethic goes beyond interior design to a unique vertical that defines her and separates her from the rest – her passionate involvement in each project from concept through to delivery. This holistic vision starts from a bare shell to completing a home with not only furniture and fittings, but with a connoisseur’s eye for art and accessories. This also extends to coordinating fresh flowers with crockery and linen and even lining up the bookshelves.
All that the stress free owner needs to do is walk in and attend his own housewarming party, which Vinita has even hosted on occasion! Over the years her clients have trusted and repeated her, for reinventing their current homes and styling new ones. Today, she is possibly the only top celebrity interior designer in the country to offer such personalised service to her clients.
Having moved around a lot during her formative years Vinita feels it was the lifestyle that her parents enjoyed that actually defined her love for luxury and all things stylish. “My father was with ITC and we lived in beautiful British colonial bungalows, with bearers waiting on us, using the best crockery and cutlery. It was such a huge part of my life and I think it was these impressions that had a lasting effect on me,” she says.
She began her career more than twenty-five years ago in Bengaluru. “I trained for three and half years with the Oberoi Group in their design department in Calcutta and in 1988, when I moved to Bengaluru, Dr. Vijay Mallya offered me a chance to design the McDowells office on Cunningham Road and there has been no looking back since then,” she says.
She has since amassed a client list that includes some of the country’s biggest names – NR Narayana Murthy, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Prakash Padukone, V.G. Siddhartha, Ajit Nambiar, Jitu Virwani, Sudarshan and Reva Maini, Sandeep and Gita Maini, MB Patil (Water Resources Minister, Government of Karnataka) and Ashok Genomal. According to her, working with diverse people can be quite a challenge. “Kiran and her husband John, for example, have a huge collection of Indian and European art,” she says. “While doing up their home, I had over 1,000 pieces of art to select from and group. This was a tough call.”
The home of Jitu Virwani of the Embassy Group from Bengaluru, remains one of her most exciting projects till date. Located on the outskirts of the city with the Embassy Riding School on one side Vinita says that the scale and space of the property completely inspired her. “The client gave me the wings to do some of my best work,” she says, describing how the house is spread over approximately 15,000 square feet of space with extensive gardens. “You can see horses from the riding school grazing around the periphery of the property,” she explains in a delighted tone.
According to Vinita each of the homes designed by her is different and has an individuality and character of its own. “I work with various styles, but contemporary classic best describes my work,” she says. “For me its all about symmetry, balance and proportion. I find mixing contemporary furniture with ‘Indian’ art and artifacts very challenging. I feel this particular style works really well and in India we have a great heritage to choose from.”
She loves to travel and as she caters to extremely well travelled clients who are well aware of international design trends, Vinita does her best to stay abreast. “I travel to the Milan ‘Salone’ fair and the Paris ‘Maison and Objet’ fair every year and also visit London and New York frequently. This exposure is very important and helps me source furniture and accessories from all over the world. I restrict the number of projects that I take up, so I can be personally involved in all of them. I will only work on projects which excite me and fuel my creativity,” she says.
The Icing On The Cake
It was when Vinita designed Deepika Padukone’s Mumbai flat that she was catapulted to the limelight for being the woman who put together a home fit for a star. “I wanted the house to reflect Deepika’s star status. Hence I went for rich tones of Bordeaux and gold and used an eclectic mix of art and contemporary Indian artefacts,” says the stylish 52-year-old interior designer.
According to her, the actress’ home is the reflection of her personality. The entire space of 3,000 plus square feet has been done up to showcase the confluence of western and indigenous ideas and style. “Deepika’s home is modern, yet traditional, much like the lady herself,” tells the designer. So happy with the job done by the designer, the actress took things a step further when she commissioned Vinita to convert her basic bus-like vanity van into a luxury space where she could relax and unwind during shoots. “I met Deepika once on the sets of Chennai Express and she showed me her vanity van – or in this case the bus that she used as a vanity van. It shocked me to see the basic condition of the vehicle – the plain vinyl floors and plastic sides. She wanted me to transform her van into a more luxurious space befitting her star image,” she explains.
It took the talented designer six months to transform the standard 52-seater bus into a plush space for the star. “I knew nothing about buses; I had to sit with the driver and understand the aerodynamics of the bus before I could begin working on it. I have scrounged around in the boonies of Mumbai to source parts, work with welders and window makers etc., before I could give Deepika what she wanted,” Vinita. The end result was a chic, well-compartmentalized vehicle with a soundproofed private space for the actress, a relaxing area for her staff including a pantry and a washroom, a private loo and shower area for Deepika, as well as closet space and a make-up area. “This is by far one of the most challenging projects I have done,” says the designer.
Her Personal Style
Judging by the kind of spaces she designs it comes as no surprise that Vinita Chaitanya’s own home is an accurate reflection of the designer’s personality.
Her apartment on Convent Road, one of the most centrally located residential areas in the city, is classic. With black and white
marble chequered floors, each wall in the house tells a story of its own. Her love for contemporary furniture is evident as the living areas are filled with such pieces – Philippe Starck ‘Louis Ghost’ chairs, a brilliant Barouvier & Toso hand blown chandelier that she picked up in Milan and eclectic pieces of art ranging from charcoal sketches to modern nudes.
She also has an amazing weekend home in Chetalli, Coorg, that comprises a huge part of her life. It is where Vinita loves to take off to relax – she calls it her space where she feels rejuvenated and can get back to nature. Along with her husband, the couple has adopted a government primary school in the area and enjoys the philanthropic work that they indulge in whenever they take a break and head to their sanctuary.
The lady herself is stylish to boot. Her choice in fashion ranges from vintage to edgy contemporary looks. An avid swimmer and fitness junkie, she looks at least ten years younger than she is and has the energy and vision of a youthful free thinker.
Her Family
Married to M.N. Chaitanya, Vinita says that she and her husband dated for eight long years before finally tying the knot. “We were friends first before we became a couple, and to this day, 25 years hence, we remain friends,” she tells.
Her daughter Diya is 24 and has completed her Masters in marketing and merchandising of luxury from Paris. “I enjoy the company of my husband and daughter,” she tells. “Chai is a Kannada Brahmin and me, a Sindhi from Shikarpur, yet the cultural differences didn’t matter at all. But I do love Bengaluru and have many wonderful friends in this city. It’s home to me….,” she ends on a high note.
The Hyatt culinary challenge 2014 – “People Cooking for People” at Hyatt, Bangalore
The Hyatt culinary challenge 2014 – “People Cooking for People”. Celebrating the spirit of joy and festivity at Hyatt Bangalore MG Road. Some of the stills from the event.
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Playboy India Foundation’s The Pink Affair Fashion Show
Playboy India Foundation’s The Pink Affair Fashion Show stills.
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KM Sufi Qawwali Ensemble presents Qawali Night with Javed Ali at Hilton Hotel, Chennai
KM Sufi Qawwali Ensemble presents Qawali Night with Javed Ali at Hilton Hotel, Chennai.
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Best Dressed this week (21st October – 30th October 2014)
Here are some of them who were best dressed this week:
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September ’14 – Woman on Top
Inspiring women CEOs are few and far between, so it is refreshing to see Anusha Ravi as the CEO of the Park Group of Institutions in Coimbatore and Chennai. In an exclusive chat with Richa Tilokani, Anusha shares the details of her interesting journey to the United States and back to her homeland, while she juggled many roles as an engineer, educationist, humanist and environmentalist.
Anusha Ravi wears many hats. She is the CEO of the Park Group of Institutions in Coimbatore and Chennai. She is also an engineer, philanthropist, humanist and environmentalist, all rolled into one. But this was not what Anusha had planned for her future when she went to the United States for higher education.
Elaborates Anusha on her exciting time in US, “I did my early schooling in Tirupur and Chennai. After completing my UG from PSG Tech, Coimbatore, I went to US to do my MS in the Old Dominion University. After that, I worked with Onair communications (an Airbus subsidiary) and Anheuser Busch, USA. I was part of a pilot project at Onair to add internet on planes. I was the only woman engineer on the team and also the only Indian. It was a very exciting time and I was very happy to be part of that pioneering effort. I worked for many airlines like Singapore, Emirates, Cathay Pacific etc. I had already traveled to 25 countries, before I turned 25. With Anheuser also, it was a very prestigious assignment as it is a 150-year old company with about 1 lakh people. I automated their entire recruitment process and streamlined their systems. But my heart was always in India. So in 2007, I came back.”
A pioneering family
Even then, Anusha always assumed that she would be in the IT sector and pitch in to help her parents whenever necessary. Anusha’s parents are pioneers in their own right who started the first English medium in Tirupur in 1973. In 1982, they started the first private polytechnic school in Tirupur and in 1984 the first private engineering college which were till then aided by the government. They were also the first to start the aeronautical course which is a flagship of their college now.
Elaborates Anusha on what happened next, “When I came back, I never thought I would join the education sector. I belong to the IT sector and wanted to concentrate my energies there. But when I saw the potential of the education sector in India, I decided to join in.” And as they say, the rest is history. Anusha dedicated herself to the education sector and has since started 3 schools of her own – the Park Global School of Business Excellence in Chennai and Coimbatore and the Park Global School in Coimbatore. Adds Anusha, “I am thankful to a lot of people who have helped me in my endeavours. I have been really lucky to get to do so much and now I want to do my best to give back to society.”
Socially responsible citizen
Clearly, Anusha is passionate about being a socially responsible citizen. She says, “We used to think education is the solution to poverty, corruption and everything else. But we have seen too many corporate scandals and scams by educated people to believe that now. Many of the major corporates are engaged in polluting activities which harm our environment. This needs to stop. I believe education can achieve that if it can inculcate humanity within the students.”
Thus, all her institutions aim to foster a sense of responsibility to the community. They have many activities wherein the students visit orphanages, local schools, old homes etc. to sensitise them to the needs of the under-privileged. She adds, “Social responsibility is a must. We adopt several children a year and help them in every way possbile. For culturals, we invite visually impaired or hearing and speech impaired children to perform. On World Elders day, we visited a senior citizens’ home and spent the entire day with them. The elders had a good time and the children were able to learn a lot.”
Anusha is also an active Rotarian and was the president elect for 2010-11 for the all-women Rotary Club AAKRUTHI of Coimbatore. She is the trustee of ‘Aravanaippu’ which helps motherless or fatherless children with school and college fees. They have helped 1000 children till date and hope to help 25,000 children over the next five to 10 years. As Rotary president, she donated life-saving equipment for the pediatric wing of the Government Hospital and extended support to Shanthi Ashram, an NGO that works with HIV-positive children.
Excellence – her benchmark
Anusha is also passionate about imparting the best education to her students. Innovation is important to her but she worries
that the Indian education system is not holistic enough. Shares Anusha, “International exposure helped me understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian education system. Of course, a lot of things are good about our system. As a result, Indians have achieved a lot in the global arena. It’s like athletic stamina – you should be able to run as far as you want by training every day. You can’t just get up one day and start running the marathon. So Indians are well-trained by our rigorous academic system. But what we lack is holistic education. This is why 2 years ago, I brought the MIT media lab to give them international exposure. I always try to balance and offer the best of eastern and western education.”
To that end, we also need to support our teachers, says Anusha. “I think it is very important for society to support teachers. We have about 1500 teachers in our schools and we offer them a lot of encouragement and motivation as they are doing a very important job. Earlier, people would love to take up teaching as a profession but now everyone wants out of it. If we don’t have good teachers in the system, how will the students prosper?”
It is very important for Anusha to see her students prosper. She adds with a smile, “Recently, one of our students came first out of 13 schools in an international aeronautical competition. It was a proud moment for all of us.”
Anusha uses the TED community, of which she is an active member to connect with the international audience. She was one of the distinguished speakers at TEDx Tirupur 2011. She spoke about her dream of a green Tirupur by educating people on the effects of pollution and focusing on research to mitigate its effect. She is also an avid supporter of environmental conservation. The engineering colleges of the Park group were built on barren land but are full of greenery today. She is an organizing committee member of ASTIA.org which is a US-based organization entering India for facilitating venture capitalists for women entrepreneurs.
Destiny calls
Anusha also opens up about her private life. “I have two kids, my son is in 11th standard and my daughter is in fifth standard. My parenting policy is to just let them be. I give them a lot of freedom and responsibility. I was brought up like that, so I would like to give them the same upbringing. I don’t believe in forcing them for anything. If you force kids, they face difficulty in adjusting later on in life.”
She also loves to indulge in hobbies, whenever she gets the time. “I play golf and I love reading poetry. I also enjoy reading books on business and motivation. I love traveling – I am planning to go to Rio next month for the Ted Global meeting. I have not been to Rio before, so I am looking forward to this trip.” Anusha also loves to shop during her travels but she is not a picky shopper. “I am not a big shopper but I pick what I like. I like Apple products and love to buy iPhone covers etc.”
Anusha is a very busy woman with manytop schools and colleges to run. There are pressing matters which call her attention so she signs off but not without sharing her exciting future plans, “I am thinking of ways to contribute to the betterment of the IT sector. I would also like to be able to offer help and assistance to entrepreneurs, that will encourage them to pursue their dreams. As for my schools, I dream of making them top ranked internationally.”
Fun and Frolic at Mamagoto!
Having established itself in New Delhi and Mumbai with eight outlets, the yellow door finally opened in Bangalore’s posh suburb – Indira Nagar. Mamagoto is a Japanese word and when literally translated means “to play with food”. It was a Japanese social experiment of sorts, involving infants to use their senses and understand the textures and shapes of food. Borne out of this idea was the Mamagoto concept – to make Asian eating fun, experiential and social. The place has a relaxed and casual atmosphere – the highlights being affordable Pan-Asian fusion food, plus drinks, combined with quirky decor.
Keeping in tune with the existing outlets Mamagoto Bangalore offers just as much in terms of their food and ambiance. Whether you come to dine, to enjoy a few drinks or to help work on your stomach, it is the new ‘in’ place to be.
We walked in through the yellow doors with stylish model and ad-film maker Mariam Begg and pretty jewellery designer Purvi Dhruv.
Mariam, born and bred in this beautiful city, has dabbled in modelling, jewellery design, photography and ad-film making. She’s passionate about what she does but is quick to state that she works to earn a comfortable living so that she can pursue her true passion – travelling. She loves scouring the globe in search of new adventure, old friends and good food.
Purvi Dhruv is one of Bangalore’s most sought-after jewellery designers. Her love for tradition, combined with her eye for fashion, reflect clearly in her stunning designs. She was recently featured on the popular show on TLC, Oh! My Gold, in their episode on Bangalore and its jewellery culture. Despite being a vegetarian Purvi is open to sampling new cuisines and was keen to check out the delights of this new restaurant.
It was an added bonus that our guests were old acquaintances – we were actually able to do just what they expect at the restaurant – relax over conversation, share a few laughs and enjoy some super food.
Mamagoto has created concoctions that they believe are not available elsewhere. Using fresh juices and ingredients where possible, a concise and yummy range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are on offer at incredible value. Fresh fruit cocktails such as the kiwi and mint Collins that graced our table, share the stage with house cocktails such as the Bangkok G&T.
The restaurant has been designed keeping in mind fun and colourful Asian designs that send your mind into visual paradise. The entire space has a loft like quality to it, keeping dining there casual, yet chic.
It worked in our favour that both our guests were fans of Pan-Asian cuisine. Both being avid travellers, Purvi and Mariam were happy to go through the extensive menu in detail before coming up with a list of dishes that they were eager to sample.
Delicate vegetable basil cups was the first dish to hit the table – little cups of lettuce were filled with minced shitake mushroom, zucchini and soya with bird’s eye chilli and hot basil. Then came a bowl of succulent prawn tempura served with a special chilli dipping sauce, along with a Som Tam or raw papaya salad and a unique Asian Summer salad made of fresh rocket, orange wedges, an oriental fungi and red chilli. The dressing for this brilliantly put together salad is a specially created soya infused balsamic concoction, the recipe of which the chef treasures.
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More small plates followed with asparagus tossed in sweet soya and black and white sesame and some delicate vegetable spring rolls that Purvi, being a vegetarian specially enjoyed. Mariam, an avid foodie, tucked into Hunan Grilled Fish served on a bed of sticky rice with spinach and sesame salad.
Since Mariam was just recovering from about of flu, she was keen to try some hot laksa. The famous Chinese-Malay broth was brought to the table in heavy black stone-ware bowls, but lacked the punch that Mariam desired. Though the fragrant dish was filled with noodles, chunks of tofu and vegetables, the taste of kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass and galangal did not dominate the soup as they should.
For the main course the chef brought out dishes from his signature menu – stir-fried udon noodles, stir-fried pakchoy with water chestnuts and bamboo shoots and Mamagoto Goreng – nasi goreng with sambal and peanut sauce, chicken satay skewers and fried egg. We couldn’t stop tucking into the flavourful rice dish, so filled with its variety of spicy and savoury infusions that we nearly ended up finishing the entire bowl!
We had no space to fit in dessert and did only cursory justice to the crunchy nutella mousse that the chef insisted we try. We were loathing to rid our palette of the wonderful Asian flavours it retained that we just dipped our spoons into the slightly over-sweet hazelnut chocolate concoction before ending our meal.
Like owner Rahul Khanna says, “Steel shutters adorn the walls, antique windows make up the façade, signature graphics in faded canvas are hand painted over rugged bricks. The idea was to create a sub culture where creative minds interact in a space filled with a ready energy.” And that’s exactly what Mamagoto has given to this city that is a food-lover’s paradise.
Vijay Amritraj unveils the “Bangalore Raptors” team jersey
The former Indian tennis player, Sports commentator and Actor Vijay Amritraj unveils the Bangalore Raptors team jersey with co-owners as well as CEO of AirAsia India, Mittu Chandilya and Inga Chandilya in Bangalore.
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“Happy New Year” – A Screening for a Cause at Hyderabad
Introducing a First of its kind initiative by B.H Creations, “A Screening for a Cause”- B.H Creations is organizing-A full fledge movie screening of Bollywood movie-“Happy New Year” on 25th October, 2014. The proceeds from the movie screening will be donated Annapurna Charitable Trust to feed poor & destitute people.
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Saad Bin Jung’s “Matabele Dawn” book launch at Bangalore
Launch of Saad Bin Jung’s “Matabele Dawn” book published by Rumour Books India at hotel ITC Windsor.
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Gramiya Virundhu by Chef Damu at Hotel Le Royal Meridien, Chennai
Famous Chef Damodharan (AKA) Damu hosted an event Gramiya Virundhu with Resident Chef Nandha Kumar at Hotel Le Royal Meridien Chennai.
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Smoking Hot 🔥 Raashii Khanna
Check out the latest photoshoot pictures of Actress Raashii Khanna
Dashing Photoshoot Pictures Of Harish Kalyan
Check out the dashing photoshoot pictures of Actor Harish Kalyan
