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.

AIT’s Faculty Development Program commences

• Week long program to act as a unique platform for sharing innovative ideas, approaches, and development of research projects in the area of Machine and Deep learning

Pune, 05 December 2017: Information Technology Department of Army Institute of Technology (AIT) today officially announced commencements of its week long state-level Faculty DevelopmentProgram (FDP) on “Probability and Statistics for Machine learning and Deep Learning” in association with IEEE, Computer Society Of India and The National Program on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL).

The program was inaugurated at Dighi campus today in the presence of Honorable Vice-Chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), Dr. Nitin Karmalkar along with Maj. Gen. Jalaj Bhola who is the chairman of AIT and CSO of HQ Southern Command. The week long program will continue till 9th December 2017 under Quality Improvement Program of SPPU.

This FDP is being hosted by AIT under the guidance of Director Brig Abhay A Bhat (Retd), and Principal Dr. B P Patil. The Convener of the Program is Dr. Sangeeta Jadhav, HOD of Information Technology Department. The honorable vice chancellor also inaugurated “FT Forty Two – AIT Innovation lab”, in the Department of Computer Engineering.

Speaking on this occasion, Dr. Nitin Karmalkar, Vice Chancellor of SPPU said, “I’m honored to be here on this occasion to inaugurate the FDP. It is a wonderful initiative taken by AIT and the topic that has been chosen is very apt as it plays a vital role in IT technology sector. Also I feel that the technology should play a helping hand and balance out role between Man and Machine in today’s world of technology.”

AIT Chairman Maj. Gen. Jalaj Bhola said, “I thank Dr. Karmalkar for raising the fund for FDP on behalf of AIT and such FDPs should be conducted in various colleges because learning should never stop. Faculties don’t upgrade themselves as much as the technology upgrades itself so it will help the faculties to advance their knowledge. It is important to keep the base in technology.”

During a week long program participants will gain the basics of machine learning required to apply the well-known techniques to new problems using specific mathematical model. Machine Learning and Deep Learning are recent research domains which require probability and statistics concepts as prerequisites.

The FDP will cover mathematical models of classification, regression and clustering algorithms. The hands-on sessions will enhance the understanding of these techniques. Also the FDP will act as a unique platform for sharing innovative ideas, approaches, and development of research projects in the area of Machine and Deep learning. The program is structured in 11 different sessions conducted by experts in the respective domain, Dr. Aditya Abhyankar, Dean, Faculty of Technology, and SPPU, being one of them. The FDP aims at facilitating interaction between researchers, academics and industry professionals.

Following are the few key sessions of the event

• Geometry of Multivariate Data and Primary Objectives of Machine Learning
• Hands-on Session — Basics of Linear Models for Regression and Classification
• Partition and Coloring — Tree-based Models for Regression and Classification

Phoenix Marketcity’s ‘Style Icon 2017’ Grand Finale

A platform for city’s fashion forward people to kick-start their journey to fame and glamour

Pune, December 2017: Season 5 of the most sought after fashionable event of the year – Style Icon 2017 by Phoenix Markertcity Pune concluded with glitz and glamour, last evening. Noted personality Honorable Ms. Amruta Fadnavis, Bollywood actresses Richa Chaddha and Mugdha Godse, Marathi actress Prajaktaa Mali along with handsome and popular TV actor Vishal Singh encouraged the contestants and judged the grand finale event. Style Icon 2017 was in association with Channel Partner –True Sports, Entertainment Partner- Four pillars entertainment.

Rigorously trained and groomed for two months by fashion director Sandeep Dharma, catwalk curator Alesia Raut and various other experts from the world of fashion, 28 most stylish and chic contestants out of the 3000 entries for 2017 edition walked the runway with confidence and poise. These aspiring models were selected from across varied age groups (20-50 years) and professions.

After three sequences – Indian wear, Casual wear and Evening wear by three groups A, B and C to showcase each participant’s style and personal appeal and a Q&A session by our celebrity judges, best six (2 from each group) were bestowed with the Style Icon 2017 title. The winners and runners-up namely Zainab Ujjainwala, Saranjeet Singh, Sandhya Khaire, Shikhar Gupta, Nikhil Singh Thomar and Jatin Parmar received award prize worth Rs. 30,000/- and Rs. 10,000/- respectively from Phoenix Marketcity, Pune for shopping at the mall.

Speaking about the show, Rajiv Malla, Director, Phoenix Marketcity, Pune said “Great fashion never goes out of style. Punekars have a great sense of style, but lacked an apt platform of self- expression. This mega event provides a perfect avenue to just about anyone who has the desire, confidence and aspiration, to take a shot at the coveted crown. Looking at the tremendous response we have been receiving over the past five editions including this one, we are certain that this is a much needed platform in the city for our aspiring fashionistas and we take pride that we have instituted this”.

Over the years, increasing number of retailers showing interest to associate with the event reiterates its success and growing acceptance. This year Phoenix Marketcity got big brands like H&M, ZARA, GAP, Lifestyle, Aeropostale, Diesel, Forever 21, Superdry, Marks & Spencer, Splash, GAS, Promod, Vero Moda, Only, Jack & Jones, Aldo, Steve Madden, Charles & Keith, Clavin Klein, Forever New, Balance by Rohit Bal, Satya Paul, Label by Ritu Kumar, Pantaloons, Trends, Park Avenue and Ethnicity as style & merchandise partner and MAC, Clinique, Sephora and Bobbi Brown for providing cosmetics for make-up.

DoubleTree by Hilton Pune celebrated the arrival of Christmas with a uniquely designed eco-friendly tree

Pune - 2^nd December’17

DoubleTree by Hilton Pune hosted its annual tree-lighting ceremony this weekend marking the onset of the Christmas festivities in the city. Thespecial attraction this year was a uniquely designed, eco-friendly Christmas tree put together by the team with only a few natural elements.

Sharing his thoughts behind the ideation of the tree, General Manager, Aditya Shamsher Malla said – “Together the team at the hotel came up withthis initiative as a demonstration of our deep-rooted commitment to the environment. The end product was a beautifully designed tree, put togetherwith just a few natural elements like bamboo, jute and string. It’s a wonderful work of creativity by the team and has become a special attraction atthe hotel.”

Adding to the theme of social awareness, the hotel associated with a local NGO inviting a group of underprivileged children to be a part of the tree-lighting ceremony. The children were seen enjoying the evening and interacting with the hotel staff. A short set of Christmas carols was also performed by the group adding to the festive cheer. This was followed by the lighting of the wonderful tree and a special appearance from Santa Claus who delighted all with a bag of special treats.

The evening came to a close with a warm send off to all the invitees and a vote of thanks from General Manager, Aditya Shamsher Malla.

DoubleTree by Hilton Pune celebrated the arrival of Christmas with a uniquely designed eco-friendly tree

Pune - 2^nd December’17

DoubleTree by Hilton Pune hosted its annual tree-lighting ceremony this weekend marking the onset of the Christmas festivities in the city. Thespecial attraction this year was a uniquely designed, eco-friendly Christmas tree put together by the team with only a few natural elements.

Sharing his thoughts behind the ideation of the tree, General Manager, Aditya Shamsher Malla said – “Together the team at the hotel came up withthis initiative as a demonstration of our deep-rooted commitment to the environment. The end product was a beautifully designed tree, put togetherwith just a few natural elements like bamboo, jute and string. It’s a wonderful work of creativity by the team and has become a special attraction atthe hotel.”

Adding to the theme of social awareness, the hotel associated with a local NGO inviting a group of underprivileged children to be a part of the tree-lighting ceremony. The children were seen enjoying the evening and interacting with the hotel staff. A short set of Christmas carols was also performed by the group adding to the festive cheer. This was followed by the lighting of the wonderful tree and a special appearance from Santa Claus who delighted all with a bag of special treats.

The evening came to a close with a warm send off to all the invitees and a vote of thanks from General Manager, Aditya Shamsher Malla.