Rahul Bose reaches out to help

Rahul Bose's adopted children from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for his charitable trust The Foundation will be participating in the Mumbai Marathon to be held on the 18^th Jan 2009. Rahul's trust runs to eradicate any sorts of discrimination from the society. He feels that these children from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands don't feel themselves to be a part of the mainland India as Indians don't really think Andamans to be a part of India. These kids are a part of the scholarship provided by Rahul and are currently studying at the Rishi Valley School in Bangalore. Last year too they were a part of the Marathon but could not participate in the run as they were legally below the age bar required for the participation. But this year after their experience in the mainland India these kids today feel proud to be citizens of this country. The recent attacks have really hit the morale of the children. As a result they too want to participate in the run this year as they can now legally be a part of it. The kids want to show their solidarity and support to Mumbai. Says Rahul, "I want to leave the children of tomorrow in a country which is harmony based and a community of million minds and ideologies,
aspirations and opinions, but a community all the same."

Album 'MUQABALA' remix by Shifanjali Shekhar Launch at Rock Bottom......

Shifanjali Shekhar released her second album MUQABALA at rock bottom with close friends and media.The event started at 10pm and went till 12 midnight.Viren Shah was the first to come with Shifanjali for the event.DJ Sheizwood was very happy on launch as this is his 51st album as music director .Ajay and Lovell who are the director of video came on time with Tarranum(singer) and Arvind(choreographer) of the video.other guest who came for the event were Kamaal Khan,Yogesh Lakhani,Brinda Parekh,Rohit Verma,Bobby Darling,Rehan,Gary Richardson,Vasant Bhandari Ratnakar kumar.After the release of the video Shifanjali performed with Viren Shah and Gary for the media and freinds.

Rahul Bose roots for the Mumbai Marathon!

Rahul Bose feels that the Mumbai Marathon is the best community event to happen in the society today especially after the recent terror attacks. He feels that even after the recent attacks the city should not let its spirit die and infact come forward more aggresively to show their support and demand for better goverance which we actually and truly deserve. He feels that this is the only opportunity that we have to come together and let all the differences melt away. The city should come together to show and share the spirit of oneness.It is not surprising to see street girl without shoes running along with an actress wearing designer shoes. A Muslim shares water with a Hindu. This is the only time when we can demand governance we deserve. We can demand to have a cleaner and a corrupt less Mumbai," he said.

Rahul said that the Marathon was an event that did not demand any investment. "It just demands a heart." The actor also said that in times where the atmosphere seemed uncongenial we needed to think in terms of WE. "I want to leave my niece Aalia a city that is a community of million minds and ideologies, aspirations and opinions, but a community all the same."

Raj Thackeray paid his friend a surprise visit!

Vinay Kore, Minster for Non-Renewable Energy and Horticulture, had a true friend in Raj "Thackeray yesterday. Thackeray along with celebs of the likes of Mohammad Azharuddin, producer Rajeev Kore, composer Abu Malik, renowned playback singers Suresh Wadkar, Prashant and eminent journalist-director S Ramachandran, and Marathi film and theatre personalities among others graced the Prati-Kolhapur Festival at Shivaji Park on Jan 12. The evening was marked with cultural programmes that brought to light the rich cultural heritage of Kolhapur set in the backdrop of the Kolhapur monuments.

While Raj Thackeray was his usual fiery self, Vinay Kore seemed content with the success of the programme that saw over one lakh visitors the first day and was as crowded on the second day, though Raj Thackeray came to pay a special visit to compliment the effort of his friend Vinay Kore.

The guests enjoyed the cultural fare at the Prati-Kolhapur Fest from misal to tamra-panra rassa.

Cresting on the Weaves!

The National Lalitl Kala Akademi winner and the Gold Medal UNESCO, Repalli winner, who has also been awarded the Fellowship for Mural Design by the British Arts Council & Charles Wallace Trust – Surendra Pal Joshi had inauguration of his paintings' exhibiton Memory Lines and an amazing installation Tana Bana at the Auditorium Hall of Jehangir Gallery, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai.

The inauguration was done by shri Kamal Morarka in the presence of Laxman Shreshtha, singer Hariharan, Shaina NC, Prafulla Dhanukar, maharani of Jaisalmer Hemant Kumari, Vijay Kalantri, Sangeeta Kathiyawad, Chintan Upadhyay, Vinod Sharma, Kiran Chopra, Padmanabh Bendre, Daxa Khandwala, Prithvi Soni, Amisha Mehta, Vipta Kapadiya, Renu & Bharat Shah, Veronic and many other who's who from the art world graced the event.

Joshi says, 'In my paintings, all the memories from my childhood till date have taken a shape of a line and woven a texture just as a weaver does. And through my installation Tana Bana- I tried to show the balance in the society, our day to day life and within ourselves too. It seems like a 'Tana Bana' so intact that keeps everything contained and held."

When asked to the gallery owner of Art Desh the Studio Bharat Shah about his view as a gallery owner, he said, "I liked the collage effects in the background and the concept is really unique. I found him a very promising artist."

Mr Morarka was stunned with the mystique installation, "It has a magnetic pull and I found the philosophy behind it more amazing."

Joshi dedicates his current works to the Texture and textile weavers from the past helped him to create his works.

PC Jewellers MISS INDIA Worldwide - India 2009

PC Jewellers, the leading name in the jewellery industry, in association with Tijori Entertainment and Kaleidovision, hosted the much awaited auditions for the truly International beauty pageant, PC Jewellers Miss India Worldwide – India 2009 in Mumbai today. The city saw an overwhelming response from the pageant aspirants with a lot of contestants taking part in it. The finalists from each city would be competing with their other counterparts from across the country .

Mukul Dev & Bhairavi Goswami , the judges at the Mumbai auditions were pleasantly surprised to see the immense talent that the Mumbai's participants showcased. This contest has undoubtedly proven to be one which emphasizes more on the contestant's talent, intelligence and over all caliber rather than just concentrating on their aesthetic beauty.

The first step in the contest was the open house form distribution and filling with the second step being completion of forms with transcripts and photos with multiple submission options; online, drop box and mail ins. A national multimedia campaign was rolled out to announce the multi-city auditions. Today, in the third phase of the contest, introduction and talent rounds where the contestants had to prove their mettle in front of celebrity judges, took place. After this round, 20 deserving finalists would undergo specially designed exclusive grooming sessions by the Mehar Bhasin Academy which would entail a rigorous training program in Delhi. After their training session, they would compete in the grand finale where a winner would be crowned to represent India on the global stage of the Indian Diaspora.

This year, the grand pageant finale would take place on 31^st January, 2009 in New Delhi which would showcase sizzling performances by the Bollywood mainstream stars like Kareena Kapoor.

Palash Sen, the celebrated singer, has specially composed a song for the pageant to encourage and boost the morale of the participants.

About the contest:

Miss India Worldwide commenced 17 years ago and was meant primarily for the NRI populations settled abroad to select a beauty queen from the Indian Diaspora. In 2008, Mr. Dharmatma Saran, Chairman and Founder of the Indian Festival Committee (IFC), decided to take the pageant one step further and added Indian Chapter Miss India Worldwide India Pageant in association with Tijori Entertainment and Kaleidovision. It is indeed, the only international Indian Pageant- which affiliates in over 30 countries and an audience of over 300 Million people worldwide.

PC Jewellers in association with 'Tijori Entertainment & Kaleidovision' proudly & successfully presented the First Annual ' PC Jewellers Miss India Worldwide – India 2008', the most glamorous Indian function in the World, in Delhi on the 15th of February, 2008 where the winning beauty Ms. Shagun Sarabhai went ahead to win the International title in South Africa.

Vidya Balan celebrated her special day with family

Birthday gal Vidya Balan celebrated her special day with family and friends. She had organised a small party at Panchgani's Ravine Resort. Beisdes her mother, aunt and sister, other family members had especially flown down from Delhi to ring her birthday. "Panchgani is Vidya's favourite place. Like Aamir who owns a big house in Panchgani, Vidya too wants to buy a weekend home there. She was glad that she got to celebrate her birthday in Panchgani," said a friend of Vidya's. Vidya has been shooting in Wai for Vishal Bharadwaj's Ishqiya. "While shooting Vidya discovered Wai and Panchgani. She loved the unpolluted
atmosphere. Vidya enjoyed boating with her staff. She was glad to celebrate her birthday there too which was unusal because Vidya celebrates her birthday at home," said a friend.