Chef Shazia Khan Demystifies ‘Nouvelle Cuisine’ for the Home Cook

MasterChef runner up and Bangalore celebrity chef Shazia Khan has demystified ‘nouvelle cuisine’ for the home cook at a food tasting event. The event hosted by TTK Prestige, showcased Chef Shazia demonstrating the ease of recreating Michelin star quality food at home and reiterating the importance of sourcing fresh local produce and quality ingredients for fine tasting food.

Chef Shazia conceptualized a fusion menu for the event comprising: dukkah crusted paneer with creamy beetroot, the brinjal affair, grilled figs with almond crumble and vanilla mousse, chilly mutton sliders, Cuban chicken skewers and specially concocted grape juice puchka shots. During the preparation of her dishes, she used a range of innovative kitchen tools and gadgets from TTK Prestige that included: Prestige Air-Fryer, Prestige Slow Juicer, Clip on pressure cooker, Schott glass gas hob top, Automatic mixer grinder, Induction cook top, Gold cookware and the Veggie cutter.

Commenting on how TTK Prestige as a brand caters to the Indian consumer,  Chandru Kalro, Managing Director, TTK Prestige said, “Cooking has evolved into an art form. It is important to have the right cooking tools and gadgets to recreate the perfect dish. In fact, for the home cook, a well equipped kitchen can dictate and have an impact on what he or she eats on a daily basis. Now, with the help of TTK Prestige, it is easy to re-create nouvelle cuisine from the comfort of your home.”

Speaking at the event Chef Shazia Khan said, “The palate of Indians is becoming increasingly sophisticated. People are open to trying out different cuisines as they are now being exposed to high end restaurants mushrooming across the country, shows like MasterChef as well as widespread international travel. Such events enable me to inspire, teach and motivate home cooks to create delicious Michelin restaurant quality food in their own kitchens.’’

Neeti Mohan, DJ Siana & Sorabh Pant to Perform at NMIT’s Anaadyanta-2017 on March 11

It is that time of the year again, the college festival season has begun and the next one on the horizon is Anaadyanta. Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology - Yelahanka, Bangalore will be holding its three day techno-cultural fest from March 9-11, 2017. 

Among others events, Neeti Mohan, DJ Siana and Sorabh Pant to Perform at NMIT’s Anaadyanta-2017 on March 11, 2017 at the college campus.

Anaadyanta is Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology’s annual techno cultural fest. The fest that began with a humble beginning in 2003, having delivered consecutive successes went national in 2013. With over 200 colleges participating in 80 plus events and a foot fall exceeding 30,000 people the fest has grown from an intra college event to a national level college festival making it one of the few privileged colleges in India to have such a big college festival.

Anaadyanta has had various themes over the years, trending from “World’s End” to “Celebrating India”. They have also championed social causes like ‘Women Empowerment’ and ‘The Conservation Project’ previously and this year’s theme happens to be “Underwater” to highlight the importance of life beneath the ocean and create an awareness to protect them. It also aims to bring to the fore, the various art forms, architectural genius and scientific powers of our nation.

Crowd pullers like Battle of the Bands, Fashion Show, Choreo Night, Street Dance and Robot Wars are slated to rock the fest on all 3 days. Day 1 is dedicated to technical events and “The Bonfire Night” which showcases unique art forms of our nation and following days are jam packed with myriad cultural events.

Anaadyanta 17 is proud to be associated with MTV Campus Diaries, VH1 Supersonic and Comedy Central who will be airing and covering the entire fest on their respective channels. Neeti Mohan will add glitz to the show as the Pro Show artiste and is sure to keep the crowd captivated throughout her performance on the 3rd day. The event will also have a comedy show by Sorabh Pant whose rib tickling comedy will surely send ripples of laughter through the crowd on the 2nd day and end of the 3 day festival with an electrifying EDM Night by DJ Siana Catherine.

Anaadyanta 17 promises to be a bigger, better and more colorful fest this year. So, pull up your socks and keep yourselves free on the March 9, 10 and 11.

National Exhibition of Art Hosts 111 Exhibits by Eminent Artists at NGMA, Bengaluru

A Press Meet was hosted by Lalit Kala Akademi, India’s National Academy of Art to announce the 58^th National Exhibition of Art, which is being held at National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru from Friday, February 24^, 2017 and will continue for a month.

To reflect its truly national character the National Exhibition of Art is customarily held in various cities of the country so as to give the interested public in these cities a chance to savor quality production.

It has returned to Bengaluru after a lapse of 16 years, as the last time it was held here was in 2001, at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bengaluru.

The current exhibition has 111 exhibits chosen from 6000 works through a competitive process, of these 15 have been conferred the Academy’s National Award. The award is much coveted among artists as it earmarks the future potential of the individual artist in the art community and many of the earlier awardees, such as M F Husain and SH Raza, are today’s icons of Indian art.

The works for the 58^th National Exhibition of Art have been chosen on grounds of their artistic merit. They reflect innovative use of mediums, diversity and relevance of subject matter as also a high level of creativity.

CS Krishna Setty, Administrator, Lalit Kala Akademi remarked: ‘Besides upholding and steering forth a great tradition of giving Indian art its due importance, the National Exhibition of Art is also a window view into future trends in Indian art. The works of the awardees have expressed a spectacular range of subjects to express their creative abilities and carry in them an unwritten history of development, emerging trends and even influences that have pivoted the art movement of the country.’

The award presentation to be held on the of February 24^, 2017 at Hotel Shangri – La, Bengaluru will have  Governor of Karnataka, Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala conferring the National Academy Award to 15 Awardees.

The Award ceremony coincides with the opening of a month-long National Exhibition of Art being held at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru, comprising the 111 selected artworks, of the 58^th National Exhibition of Art. The display is open to the public on all working days, except Mondays.

The Awardees have been choosen by a Two Tier Jury system of eminent artists and art personalities who in the first stage had selected 111 artworks which are now on display at the national exhibition.

The members of the First Tier Selection Jury consisted of Anandmoy Banerji, Kanchan Chander, Harshvardhan Sharma, Nalini Malaviya, and Vijay Bagodi. Thereafter, the second jury selected 15 National Awardees from the cache of 111 exhibitors, for conferring the National Academy Award. The members of the Award Jury consisted of Adwaita Gadanayak, Chandranath Acharya K., Prof. Pranam Singh, Yusuf, Venkatachalapathi. Each of the Awardees will receive a plaque and a cash award of Rs 1 lakh, along with a certificate.

As a follow-up of the said exhibition, a number of ancillary art activities are also arranged simultaneously, of which a National Art Conclave meet is the highlight. This meet provides the said artists a platform for interaction through slide shows of their works, lectures, demonstrations and other means. This year, the National Art Conclave is scheduled to be held on Saturday, February 25, 2017, at 11.00 a.m. at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bengaluru. Siddaramaiah, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka, will inaugurate the Conclave. The Guests of Honour at the said function include Anjolie Ela Menon, the eminent artist, and Dr. B L Shankar, President, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bengaluru.

NetApp Invests Rs 1000 Crore for a 55,000 Sqft New Tech Campus in Bengaluru

NetApp, the $5.55-billion global major in storage and data management, has inaugurated its independent campus in Whitefield in Bengaluru. Set up with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore and built on 55,000 sqft of space, the new campus is a 15 acre campus and was inaugurated by the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah along with the state Industries Minister R V Deshapande.

The centre is NetApp's largest in the world in terms of engineering strength. Out of its eight such sites, seven are in North America. The tech major currently employs 2,000 people in Bengaluru and has the capacity to accommodate 3,500 people. NetApp employs over 10,000 people globally.

George Kurian, CEO of NetApp said a substantial investment has also gone into expanding other capabilities and this includes a shared services centre and a customer support centre. "We have been in India since 2000 and the operations here was led by our research and development centre. The success we have had leading global teams and building breakthrough innovations from India has caused us to invest much more broadly towards this entire business centre based here in Bengaluru.”

Kurian said the innovations that will come from our Bengaluru Global Centre of Excellence will help customers around the world get ahead of the competition by enabling their data-powered digital transformation strategies.

NetApp has been in India for 15 years, fueling advancements in the company’s portfolio of flash, cloud, and next-generation data center solutions that help manage and protect the world’s data. It has caused us to invest much more broadly towards expansion of other capabilities like global shared services centre, customer support centre, global service delivery centre, and others,” adds Kurien.

Startup Escape Velocity Program

NetApp, a $5.55 billion company, has also launched a startup accelerator programme called Escape Velocity in Bengaluru. This will nurture startups, especially those aligned to the company's vision of what it calls data fabric. The company wants to simplify the use of enterprise-grade data management solutions. Its data fabric connects different data management environments across disparate clouds to manage, secure, protect, and access data, no matter where it is.

On the startup accelerator programme, Kurien said the company can bring its expertise and infrastructure to enable a range of storage and data management capabilities through the startup ecosystem here in India.

SPJIMR and TCLL Unveil ‘Program in Strategic Media & Entertainment Management’ for Working Professionals

Times Centre for Learning Ltd. (TCLL), has announced its academic partnership with one of India’s top 10 ranked management schools, SPJIMR [S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research] for a ‘Program in Strategic Media and Entertainment Management’ (PSMEM). The program will be delivered through Times Centre for Learning Ltd. (TCLL) in a blended mode.

The program is India’s first focused program for working executives and comes as a very valuable input to the fast changing and growing media and entertainment industry. With this program, working professionals [who will not have to take a year off from work], will not only get a good grounding of the fundamentals of management but also gain insights that can help build a rewarding career in Media and Entertainment.

Conceived after analysing existing skill-gaps and the growing demand for managerial talent, the programme aims to aid professionals to tackle the unique challenges facing the industry. Designed to benefit the industry at large, the programme will be involving important industry leaders to provide necessary oversight and perspectives to guide its design and roll-out.

Speaking about the association, Ranjan Banerjee, Dean at SPJIMR said, “India is at a very opportune moment today, where media and entertainment are growing to become substantial businesses, with career opportunities for executives and opportunities for entrepreneurs.  This collaboration with TCLL brings together our experience in business and management studies, with the Group’s expertise in media and entertainment. Together, we will meet the need of this sector for high quality, well trained professional managers.” 

SPJIMR is counted among the top 10 management schools in the country. SPJIMR will bring its expertise into the formation of course content and would help evaluate students throughout the program. The course will be run by TCLL with SPJIMR as the Knowledge Partner and will be offered through a blended mix of campus / classroom and online learning.  The rigorous program consists of 2-week on-campus immersions modules, 20 key courses covering all aspects of management and media / entertainment, creativity workshops, career orientated projects and thought leader lectures, apart from classroom sessions and guest lectures.

Speaking about the strategic partnership, Anish Srikrishna, President, Times Centre for Learning Ltd. said, “Media and entertainment is a vibrant industry that reaches out to millions of people, and impacts them in a big way. At the same time, it is a challenging, fast-paced industry to be in, and one has to be well equipped to be able to face the future challenges. This programme partnership with SPJIMR offers aspirants the opportunity to prepare to be part of this high profile sector. Besides ensuring an enabling learning environment and best in class pedagogy, TCLL will offer aspirants the necessary support to build a career in media and entertainment”

Guided by high-profile advisory and academic councils, the curriculum is a judicious mix of media / entertainment topics and management components. Designed by industry veterans and seasoned academicians the course runs through a period of 11 months. The program coverage would include, inter alia, the business drivers of music, film, print and digital media and entertainment formats. The participants will attend classes at TCLL’s state- of- the- art remote learning centres in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, along with interventions at the SPJIMR campus.

IRCTC Launches Bengaluru-Tirupati Package Tour by AC Volvo Buses

IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd) has launched Package Tour to Tirupati by AC Volvo Bus: The highlights/details of the package are

*Two buses daily with fantastic unbeatable price of Rs 1800 only per pax
*Package includes Freshup accommodation, travel Insurance and all taxes

Travel Tour Details
Tirupati By Volvo Bus 
Day 01: Departure from Bengaluru City (Race Course Road) at 09:30 pm.
Day 02: Arrival to Tirupati by 03.30 hrs, freshen up at hotel.
Proceed to visit Tiruchanur temple. Darshan of Goddess Padmavathi, Alamelu Mangapura.
Proceed from Tirupati to Tirumala in link Non A/c APSRTC bus by 08.00 am. Leisure time for head shave (If time permits).Have seegra darshan of Lord Venkateswara between 9.30 am to 12.30 pm. Later collect Laddu Prasadam and travel back to Tirupati around 01.30 pm. Leisure time till 02.30 pm. Return from Tirupati around 03.30 pm and arrival to Bengaluru City (Anand Rao Circle) around 08.30 pm. Tour ends.

Occupancy Price

Adult Rs. 1800/-
Child (5-11 yrs)  Rs. 1800/-
By A/C Volvo , Frequency: Sunday to Thursday 
Non A/C accommodation for wash and change in the morning 
All Inclusive Package (Services of Tour guide, Travel Insurance)
Assured Sheegra darshan of Lord Venkateswara-Tirumala

Over 125 Benefit Free “Jaipur Foot” Distribution for Humanitarian Cause

Karnataka Marwari  Samaj in association with Bhagwan Mahaveer Vikalang Sahayata Samiti (Jaipur Foot)continued the process of serving to the society by distributing  free artificial limbs, calipers and crutches for the handicapped. It is a clear social, and humanitarian vision of the organization to commit towards helping the disabled regain their mobility and dignity through these high-quality, durable artificial limbs, aids and other appliances. 

The distribution function was conducted on 13^th Nov 2016  at  Maharaja AgrasenBhavan, No.340/8, 2nd Cross, 1st Block, Near Ashoka Pillar, Jayanagar, Bengalouru -560011, Time 10:30 am in the presence of  Subhash Bhansal, President- Agarwal Samaj along with Bipin Ram Agarwal, past president of Agrawal Samaj.

‘‘As we stood amongst the poorest of the poor in Jaipur, some of them coming from thousands of miles away, we realised this was not just about fitting limbs but also about restoring dignity to other human beings, and in the process to ourselves, for it is in giving that we receive. There may be other places in the world where compassion is that tangible; it is just that we had not seen any’’. said Bimal Kumar Saraogi, Project Director,  Karnataka Marwari Samaj.

Anil Kumar Alampuria, President, Karnataka Marwari Samaj said  ‘We are very proud to continue our social services every year , so that more and more people can be benefited’ dand applauded support of all the KMS members, KMS youth wing members and KMS Mahila Mandal Members present in the function.

The artificial limbs provided by Karnataka Marwari samaj uses Jaipur Limb Technology. This technology has been developed and further refined by the research and development team of the society. The Jaipur Limb is a one-stop solution for the patients who come for the customized requirements of their limbs/caliper as per their measurements and fittings. The process is carried out in such a manner and in one single shot so that the patient doesn’t need to visit the second time. It is so efficient that after this limb is fitted, a person can walk like a normal person without a stick or support, even run, ride a bicycle and climb a tree. After the fitment many of the patients can go back to work in the field, factories, shops and offices.