Pinjore Heritage Festival in Haryana from October 5

The Haryana Tourism Corporation is all set to organise the first five-day "Pinjore Heritage Festival" from October 5 at Yadavindra Gardens in Pinjore near Chandigarh to showcase the recently restored and revitalised ancient and medieval heritage of its town and gardens.

Part of Panchkula district of Haryana, Pinjore assumes added significance as it is an ancient place that derives its name from Panchpura, where the Pandavs stayed for a year during their exile.

Built in the 17th Century by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's architect and foster brother Fidai Khan, the Yadavindra Gardens have been restored to their pristine beauty and grandeur by Haryana Tourism in association with the Union Tourism Ministry and consultant M/s Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative. Extensive conservation of the gardens has been undertaken to attract domestic as well as foreign tourists.

Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, Haryana Tourism Minister Kiran Choudhry said: "We are starting the heritage festival to restore the gardens to their original beauty. As restoration work requires highly skilled masonry, we brought in masons all the way from Rajasthan. We are working on the preservation of some of the old sculptures at the ancient Bhima Devi temple. All this has been done to generate revenue, employment opportunities and make Haryana a favourite tourist destination."

A special feature of the cultural bonanza will be a wide assortment of performances. Besides a bazaar reminiscent of the Mughal era that will be created with shops and clusters of food stalls, tented pavilions and an amphitheatre that will host cultural performances by noted ghazal singer Jagjit Singh, Bharatanatyam dancer Pratibha Prahlad, classical vocal singer Begum Parween Sultana, dance ballet group of Daksha Sheth and concert by Euphoria.

Designed on the same pattern as the famous Shalimar Gardens of Kashmir, the Yadavindra Gardens are spread out at seven levels on a descending scale. The complex comprises a central water channel, three principle terraces and palaces -- Sheesh Mahal, Rang Mahal and Jal Mahal -- along the central axis.

Diwali shopping festival kicks-off

New Delhi, Sept. 22:

The Delhi Diwali Shopping Festival 2006 started here on Thursday on the lines of the famous Dubai Shopping Festival, with an eye on the upcoming festive season.

The month-long festival would be held in various markets and shopping malls across the city and in the NCR region.

The festival would culminate on October 20 at the National Stadium.

"It would be a city-centric festival, which derives inspiration from Dubai and Hong Kong shopping festivals," said Deep Bajaj, director of 'Thyme Advertising and Services Pvt. Ltd.,' the organiser of DDSF.

The DDSF would begin with a cocktail festival Thursday evening and include events like civic beauty contest, ghazal night featuring Jagjit Singh, kids' carnival, laughter show, DJ night etc, he added.

"The idea is to get Delhiites together in a harmonious, festive spirit."

According to organisers, 700 Residents' Welfare Associations, 1,200 retailers, 12 major markets, 11-12 malls, 200 schools and almost 100 corporate houses have come forward to participate in the DDSF. The civic beauty contest would be held with the cooperation of the RWAs. The best maintained locality would bag the award, he mentioned.

Major markets like G-K I and II, Sarojini Nagar, South Extension I and II, and malls in Delhi and NCR would house the festival.

Talking about the attractions of the festival, Bajaj said discounts and other attractive offers would be given to shoppers.

‘‘Jagjit singh requires a base harmonium’’

Year after year, why Palitana is sweet music to industry's ears
From 2 blacksmiths who in 1901 made a harmonium based on German model, Palitana only place in India to get quality reeds
PALITANA, SEPTEMBER 15: The story goes that in 1901, Maharaja of Bhavnagar Krishnasinhji Gohil called two blacksmiths from Palitana to repair a German-made harmonium. Jivanal Kanji and Mohanlal Mistry not only fixed the musical instrument, which they had never heard about leave alone seen, but carefully studied its design and structure. Within a couple of years, they began making reeds of the harmonium and their sons and relatives carried the tradition forward. The rest is history. Today this small town in Bhavnagar district, linked only by roads and known as a pilgrim centre for Jains, is the only place in India where quality harmonium reeds are manufactured. So much so that harmonium from Ludhiana or Kolkata will have reeds only from Palitana. With seven such small-scale units, the third generation of those two blacksmiths, offering innovation and variations, has taken the business ahead. In the cramped bylanes of Palitana, these units can be easily mistaken for big houses. All leading harmonium manufacturers in the country come to Palitana for the reeds, be they Paul and Company (Kolkata), or Mumbai-based Pakarashi and Company, D S Ramsingh or Haribhav Vishwanath. The demand is so high for the seven units too to meet deadlines for orders. ''Reeds are the backbone of any harmonium. The quality of reeds made by Mohanlal J Mistry in Palitana is unmatched. We would prefer to wait rather than procure them from anywhere else," says Ashish Diwane of Haribhav Vishwanath. This harmonium manufacturing company, has since its inception in 1921, been procuring reeds from Palitana. These seven units together make 200 sets of reeds, each containing 46 pieces, per day. Directly or indirectly the units employ about 500 people in Palitana. From 3 sets a day two decades ago, each unit makes 15-20 sets daily today. ''The way this industry came into existence is purely accidental. But thanks to hard work, insight and vision of our forefathers, it is going strong even after 100 years'', says Raju Mistry, grandson of Mohanlal J Mistry, adding, ''When our grandfather started in 1921, harmonium was a little known instrument and hardly any market for it." Jivanalal and Mohanlal designed, marketed and formed a base for their products, while remaining in Palitana. ''Even today we do not earn a single penny from Gujarat. All our clients are based in Kolkata, Mumbai and Ludhiana. Most of these clients, also hundred years old, have been doing business with us since years'', says Bhavesh Misty, great grandson of Jivanlal. While Jivanlal and Mohanlal travelled to Mumbai and Kolkata to market their products, those companies now come to Palitana. Their business grew only after World War II which put an end to import of harmonium from Germany and Paris. One of the more famous Mistrys in Palitana is Manohar Mistry, who graduated from making reeds to producing harmoniums. Today, his clientele list reads like the who's who of the music industry in India. He has designed and supplied musical instruments to ghazal singers Jagjit Singh and those legends from across the border, Mehdi Hassan and Gulam Ali. Music maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar and Bollywood music composer Anu Malik have also bought harmoniums from Mistry. ''Jagjit singh requires a base harmonium'', remarks this 53-year-old while tuning a harmonium. ''His voice and tone is heavy. There should be no madi (female) scale on his harmonium. So one which I am making for him has two nar (male) and a kharj (base) scale'', he adds. It takes him around 20-25 days to make a special harmonium, against 8-10 days for a regular one. In a single harmonium he offers up to 11 different arrangements. With demand has come dependence on machines. ''Making reeds is now 70 per cent manual job, earlier it was 100 per cent' , says Parag Mistry. If this small scale industry has failed to developed anywhere else there is a reason. ''We need skilled workers. And that is the reason we have not been able to expand. It is the same reason that other centres like Ludhiyana, where one or two units do make reeds for domestic use, have not been able to grow'', says Raju Mistry. Harmonium manufacturers say Palitana has acquired mastery in scale changers. These units offer as many as 25 variations in reeds and perfect tuning, says Diwane.

Delhi as a shoppers paradise

It's shopping festival time, and you needn't pack for either Singapore or Dubai. An event management outfit, Thyme, is organising the first ever Delhi Diwali Shopping Festival (DDSF) from September 21 to October 21, 2006.

Some 20 shopping centres and 10 malls across NCR are participating in this festival, and Thyme promises many events and entertainment activities as well across the city.

The primary idea is to get Delhiites together. "This year," says Deep Bajaj of Thyme, "we are looking at building recall value for the event and getting the city together during the festive season."

Attracting NRIs who visit Delhi just before Diwali is another goal, though a campaign to pull in others from overseas will be mounted only next year.

The festival will be dotted with about 25 events with artistes such as Jagjit Singh, Indian Ocean and many others. There will be rock shows and fashion shows, a jewellery festival, as well as a food exhibition among other events. And of course, prizes too.

"We are going to leverage the existing discounts that are offered during this period before Diwali. Discounts though will be similar across the city during the period," says Bajaj. Incidentally, the pre-Diwali month accounts for some 30 per cent of white goods sales in Delhi.

Thyme claims to be spending Rs 8 crore on publicity and events, and expects overall sales of at least Rs 150 crore during the festival.

Internationally, cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai have managed to use shopping festivals as brand building opportunities.

Kenneth Lim, area director, Northern-Eastern India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), says that the Great Singapore Sale has positioned the city-state as a preferred shopping destination in the region and has also increased their visitor arrivals and tourism receipts.

Done well, the idea works. The 2006 Hong Kong Shopping Festival which just got over on August 31 attracted industry-wide participation, with a record of more than 8,000 retail and dining outlets joining in. In 2005, the festival attracted 4.6 million visitors from June 25 to August 31, bringing in about HK$1.85 billion in spending.

Malaysia too has an annual Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival, directly supervised by the Prime Minister's office.

Sunirmol Ghosh, managing director, Indo-Asia Tours, lauds such efforts for their tourism spurring potential. Even if availability of rooms in the city during the festival is a problem, it could go a long way towards giving people a reason-to-visit.

Ghazal king Jagjit wows Bangalore

September 11, 2006
Bangalore is commonly known as the hub of rock music in India. But this weekend they were treated to a soft, soothing ghazal concert—by none other than the king of ghazals , Jagjit Singh.

The ghazal maestro sang to music enthusiasts this weekend at Ambedkar Bhavan in the city.

Besides getting a chance to hear him sing, the fans also picked up some tips from the legend at a ghazal workshop that followed.

Some of them could barely conceal their excitement. "I have been singing ghazals and I have been brought up listening to his voice, it was always about Jagjit Singh," said one of the participants.

"In this workshop, he made us do riyaz (practice) and learn how to sing a ghazal ," said another participant.

Clearly the students were thrilled but what about the teacher? "The students were very good," praised Singh.

In the end, the session seemed to be as rewarding an experience for the ghazal king, as it was for his followers.

"Yes, my music is very simple that is why it appeals to the young people. It is not complicated otherwise you cannot communicate," explained Singh.

The melodymaker

IT was a night of mystique, magic and music, as ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh performed to a packed house at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch on September 5, the last day of the Pune Festival. Starting with a spiritual offering celebrating the birth of Lord Ganesha, the ghazal king proceeded to give soulful renditions of all-time hits like Tere Bare Me and Hoshwalon Ko Khabar Kya among several others. Singh floored the audience with an almost three hour-long uninterrupted performance. Adding spirit to the evening were the talented musicians, who drew wild applause for their feisty and entertaning jugalbandi.

Complaint against Siri Fort caterer after many fall sick at function

New Delhi, September 6: National Fertilisers Limited, which had organised a Jagjit Singh ghazal nite last Friday at the Sri Fort auditorium on the eve of its foundation day, has lodged a complaint with Hauz Khas Police Station alleging that many people suffered food poisoning after eating food supplied by the caterers. The organisers have also written to the DCP South District to look into the matter.

The food to the auditorium, which does not allow outside food to be taken into the theatre, was supplied by Standard Catering Service. Police will soon question Siri Fort auditorium officials as well.

More than a dozen people who attended the function had to be hospitalised after complaining of severe food poisoning. Vimal Sharma, who was at the function, said: "... I and my wife consumed a sandwich after which we started feeling sick. Doctors say it was a severe case of food poisoning and we have been admitted ever since at Ganga Ram Hospital."

Yash Kumar and his wife had to be rushed to Kailash Hospital and even though they were discharged yesterday, they have not fully recovered.

"We had a sandwich... and the next morning both of us had a severe stomach ache and vomiting. Our condition became so bad that we had to be admitted to hospital," Kumar said. Most of those who had sandwiches and chowmein reported falling sick.

"An inquiry is on. We are looking at various aspects which could help us solve the case. We have started interrogation of the caterers and if need be, will also question the officials in the auditorium. After we are through with our inquiry, an FIR will be registered," an investigating police official said.

Friday's ghazal nite was attended by over 1,500 people including senior employees and officials from various government departments.

K B Verma, one of the organisers, said: "Even our employees have fallen sick. We got several complaints from various people who attended the function... (since) people consumed only such food as provided by the authorised caterer.. the question of people having food from outside does not arise..."

Ashwani Kumar, a manager with NFL, said: "I too had a sandwich. The next day... I was taken to hospital... Doctors say I will take some more days to get alright."