A Memorable Christmas Eve Comes Alive at Orion Mall, B'lore

With an immensely exciting Christmas Eve celebration, Orion Mall at Brigade Gateway spreads the joy and warmth of the season in a memorable fashion. Held on December 24th, the spectacular Christmas Parade started off the celebrations on a high note. The evening was also embellished by Santa, marching musicians, elves, dancing mascots, icy roller skaters, a tall candy clown, Segway Santa, rolling elf, and tall toy soldiers. Owing to the creativity and novelty in its execution, this Christmas season has turned out to be a memorable one for the mall’s patrons. The Christmas Eve celebrations marked another exciting chapter in what is turning out to be Orion Mall’s most thrilling Christmas season yet.

“Right from the start of this Christmas season, we were committed to the idea of giving our patrons something that redefined their expectations of a Christmas celebration. By applying ourselves in figuring out new ways to reinterpret the traditional Christmas motifs, an element of surprise was maintained all the way through. Much like all the activities that preceded it, the Christmas Eve celebration was met with rapturous appreciation from our customers. I believe we’ve achieved what we set out to do – Give our customers a Christmas they can cherish for a long time“opines Vijay Kumar Bhatia, Sr. GM – Orion Malls.

Discovery Channel’s ‘India 2050’ Unravels the Potential Dangers of Uncontrolled Environmental Degradation

India is the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change as per a recent report*. This data is not surprising considering that India has 22 of the 30 most polluted cities in the world**.

What will happen if India were to continue walking down this path of environmental destruction? How will the thriving cities of India look then? Discovery channel presents a glimpse of the future if nothing is done about it right now with ‘India 2050’, a thought-provoking documentary, that premiers on December 29, 2019 at 9:00 pm.

The documentary begins with Jaipur, known as the Pink City of India, but imagined as in 2050, completely buried under piles of sand. It then moves into the future of currently flourishing metropolises of Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata, giving viewers a terrifying glimpse of what is to come, for each of these metro cities. 

Highlighting the importance of the show, Sai Abishek, Director–Content, Factual & Lifestyle Entertainment – South Asia, Discovery, said, “India 2050 shines light on what could lie-ahead if we don’t change. It is a wake-up call, urging each one of us to emerge from our collective slumber to act before it gets too late.”

Highlighting industrial damage to the ecosystem in the show, Amitav Ghosh, author of Great Derangement, says, “We cannot in any way absolve companies and corporations of playing a role in this because we know now that there’s been a huge systematic, well-funded climate denial machine! It was really the role of money, which has actually held up any kind of climate action for a very long time now.” While, Environmentalist and Climate Change Expert Chandra Bhushan, warns, “We are going to leave our children a planet which is going to be much harsher than what we have today.”

While presenting this alarmist view on the future, the film also highlights a larger crisis that humanity is likely to face - the crisis of environmental migration and climate refugees, the effects of which we are already facing in 2019 in certain patches in the Sundarbans and on India’s east coast. Going forward, experts predict this to be the single most urgent crisis to be faced by every country in the world as sea levels will continue to rise and glaciers will continue to melt bringing about unprecedented and irrevocable changes to human life as we know it.

“We don't have time anymore. In the month of August 2019, within 12 days, India received more than a thousand extreme and heavy rainfall events! You're getting to see the worst impacts of climate change and they're happening now!” says, Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for Science and Environment, highlighting the need for immediate action. “People like us are protected. We believe… and it's our arrogance which has created the problem. Because we believe nothing can affect us! We will ramp up, we'll put on another air conditioner - the heat outside goes on. If there is no water, we’ll buy bottled water. But we're not worried about a dying river - because we still get clean water in our taps,” she further adds highlighting human apathy as one of the key reasons as to why we haven’t been able to come together as a species to counter climate change in any way.

Watch ‘India 2050’ as it premieres on December 29 at 9 PM only on Discovery Channel, Discovery Channel HD, Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Employees Spread Christmas Cheer to Underprivileged School Children

Highlights

* As a part of ICARE initiative, 200 TKM employees (ICARE Champions) came together at the Government Higher Primary School, in Banashankari, Bangalore to beautify Government School
* TKM Employees engage with children through various activities including: mural painting, making clay and science models and serve food as a part of the activity
* Marking Toyota’s 10th ICARE initiative, this activity benefitted over 200 children from grades 1st to 8th at the school
* Toyota’s ICARE intervention engages its employees to contribute to a bigger social cause in the fields of Health, Education and Environment

In-line with its consistent efforts to motivate and encourage employees to partake in social causes, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), today, conducted its 10th ICARE activity at the Government Higher Primary School, in Banashankari, Bangalore. More than 200 ICARE Champions (TKM employees) came together to engage with the students through various activities including: mural painting, making of clay and science models and serving food to the students, bringing a smile to their faces and elevating their spirits. With an aim to encourage creative thinking in children and enhance quality of education, this activity benefitted more than 200 students at the school.

‘ICARE’– an employee voluntary initiative, is an effort aligned with the company’s commitment to sustained community development. This drive actively involves the employees and strives to enhance their understanding on various societal issues, contributing to address vital needs within TKM’s CSR framework. Since its launch in 2017, ICARE has grown manifold and managed to create a large impact in the society. Under ICARE, Toyota employees have earlier restored a Government School, facilitated specialized health camps, conducted recreational day with orphan children, initiated eco-campaign amongst school children through eco-painting of school premises, built playground with recycled material, installed road safety structures for smooth traffic flow, took part in the restoration and maintenance of Bannerghatta National Park and extended support to families affected by cyclone in Odisha.

Mr. Sameer Sudhindra Desai, ICARE Champion, participating in the cause said, “I am very happy to participate in this activity as it gives me an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the lives of these bright young minds. I am thankful to TKM for constantly motivating us to serve the community and work towards the betterment of the society. Such activities not only benefit the society but also help us become better human beings.”

Mr D Pradeep Kumar, another volunteer under ICARE Program said, “We are thankful that the company has created platform for their employees to come together and make a difference to the community. Being an ICARE champion, has given me a different perspective about life. I have been participating in all the ICARE initiatives, since its launch. I personally feel elated by contributing to the society and as well as networking with my peers. We are happy to be part of ICARE success story”

Present at the activity, Mr. Naveen Soni, Vice President, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “We have always believed in putting our collaborative efforts to bring happiness in the lives of the community members and achieve long-term sustainability. Through ICARE, we intend to inspire our employees to be actively involved in noble causes and empower them to be the change creators in the society helping them grow as a responsible citizen. We believe that focusing on the development of children and providing adequate facilities will help them become change makers of tomorrow. We work with the local authorities to identify critical needs of the children and design initiatives to enhance their overall learning experience as we believe in providing quality education at the grass root-level. Through this activity, we intend to bring down the school drop-out rate by creating a wholesome learning experience for the children at the school. We will continue focusing our efforts to issues that need our intervention and strive to make a key contribution that will empower the community members.”

Toyota Kirloskar Motor, over the years, has initiated several sustainable projects to accelerate access to quality education in the country. The company has reconstructed 9 Government schools, in Ramnagara and Mysore District,

Under the Government’s national campaign to provide clean sanitation facilities for girl child in India, Toyota has pledged its support to ‘Swachh Bharat – Swachh Vidyalaya’ by constructing sanitation facilities at identified schools by the Government in three locations across India. Till date, TKM has constructed more than 890 units of sanitation facilities in 293 government schools across India, including: 124 units in Varanasi (UP), 592 units in Ramnagara district, 80 unit in Bangalore (Karnataka) and 94 units in Vaishali (Bihar).

Jaguar Land Rover’s Lifestyle Collection Now Available Online in India

The Jaguar range in India includes XE (starting at ₹ 44.98 Lakh), XF (starting at ₹ 49.78 Lakh),  F-PACE (starting at ₹ 63.78 Lakh), XJ (starting at ₹ 111.30 Lakh) and F-TYPE (starting at ₹ 90.93 Lakh). All prices mentioned are ex-showroom prices in India.

Land Rover Product Portfolio in India

The Land Rover range in India includes the Discovery Sport (starting at ₹ 44.68 Lakh), Range Rover Evoque (starting at ₹ 52.06 Lakh), the Range Rover Velar (starting at ₹ 71.86 Lakh) Discovery (starting at ₹ 75.18 Lakh), , Range Rover Sport (starting at ₹ 86.71 Lakh) and Range Rover (starting at ₹ 181.86 Lakh). All prices mentioned are ex-showroom prices in India.

Jaguar Land Rover Retailer Network in India

Jaguar Land Rover vehicles are available in India through 26 authorised outlets in Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Kochi, Karnal, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mangalore, Mumbai, Noida, Pune, Raipur, Vijayawada and Surat. 

Airtel Unveils Voice Over Wi-Fi Service ‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’ in Karnataka

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s largest integrated telecommunications company launched its voice over Wi-Fi service – ‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’ in Karnataka. This follows the launch of the service in Delhi-NCR.

‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’ is designed to enhance voice calling experience for Airtel smartphone customers, especially when they are indoors. With ‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’, customers with Wi-Fi at home or office will get excellent signal quality indoors.

There will be no extra charge for calls made over ‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’ and the application consumes minimal data. The service is currently available to Airtel customers in Karnataka and Delhi-NCR and will be gradually rolled out across India. 

C. Surendran CEO - Bharti Airtel, Karnataka & Odisha said, “VoWiFi Calling is a major expansion of our network, allowing Airtel customers to get coverage anywhere they have Wi-Fi connectivity. With VoWiFI, customers can access these Wi-Fi networks to talk and use data even when cellular service may be limited. The experience is easy to use and similar to adding thousands of new towers overnight to improve coverage for our customers.”

‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’ does not require any app and can be configured on the smartphone by following the steps mentioned below:

1. Check smartphone compatibility on airtel.in/wifi-calling
2. Upgrade device operating software to the latest version that supports Wi-Fi Calling*
3. Go to Settings on your mobile phone and Switch on Wi-Fi Calling
4. Keep VoLTE switched on as well for a seamless experience

Currently, the following smartphones support ‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’

Apple: All iPhone models starting 6s and above
Xiaomi: Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro & POCO F1
Samsung: J6, A10s, On6, S10, S10+, S10e, M20
OnePlus: All OnePlus 7 and 6 series devices

Airtel is working with all leading smartphone brands to roll out compatibility with ‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’. The service is currently compatible with Airtel Xstream Fiber home broadband and will soon be compatible with all broadband services and Wi-Fi hotspots. For more details, log on to airtel.in/wifi-calling

*This update is provided by handset manufacturer. Check with handset brand if you cannot find this upgrade.

A Mesmerizing Evening with Ronkini Gupta, Shivamani and Dr. L. Subramaniam on Dec 27 at Dr B R Ambedkar Bhawan

Venue:Dr B R AmbedkarBhawan, Millers Road, Vasanth Nagar, Bengaluru
Date: Friday, December 27, 2019
Time: 6:30 PM onwards
Note: Tickets available on Bookmyshow

Note to the Editor:

About HCL Concerts: The conservation and promotion of India’s art and cultural heritage is very close to HCL’s heart. To this end, HCL has been organizing HCL Concerts for 21 years, dedicated to nurturing and promoting talent rooted in the glorious heritage of Indian classical performing arts. Concerts under the umbrella of HCL Concerts are organized at Delhi NCR, Lucknow, Nagpur, Madurai, and Chennai in India and at New York and San Francisco in the US regularly throughout the year. Over 600 artists have graced this platform and have contributed towards reinvigorating the Indian classical performing arts.

Over the years, more platforms have been developed to contribute to the growth of the Indian performing arts ecosystem. Most notable of these are the HCL music App, allowing music lovers across the world a chance to enjoy the most comprehensive collection of classical music from the comforts of their home for free, and HCL Digital Concerts, a talent identification and nurturing program aimed at showcasing the talented and upcoming classical performing artists to a global audience through a digital medium.

About the artists:

RONKINI GUPTA:  A distinction holder, SangeetVisharad from GandharvaMahavidyalaya in Hindustani Classical, Ronkini Gupta spent her formative years vocal training with a renowned exponent of Gwalior Gharana, Shri ChandrakantApte. Many years of training later with UstadDilshad Khan, Pt. SamareshChowdhary, and Late Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan Sahab she came into her own style of singing with influences from both Gwalior and Kirana style of singing. At present, she is training under the guidance of Arshad Ali Khan of Kiranagharana.

Exploring various avenues, ranging from Hindi, to regional cinema, she has also forayed into Indian Classical and Jazz Fusion, and yet pure Indian Classical remains her first love. She has performed in different concerts within India and abroad, a notable one being her participation in “Indian Music Festival, 2017” organized by the tabla exponent Shri Mridang Raj Suchak.

L. SUBRAMANIAM:L. Subramaniam, India’s violin icon is the serenity of an Indian musician combined with the magnetism of a western star. Constantly propelled from Singapore to Paris, from Delhi to Los Angeles, he has conquered every audience with the elegance and virtuosity of his style.

His career as a childhood prodigy brought him into contact with the greatest musicians and he soon imposed himself as a master of the violin. At a very young age, he was honoured with the title “Violin Chakravarthy” (emperor of the violin). Till date, Dr. Subramaniam has produced, performed, collaborated, conducted and close to two hundred recordings.

Dr. L. Subramaniam is the only musician who has performed and recorded South Indian Classical Music, Western Classical Music, both Orchestral and non-Orchestral, and also composed for and conducted major orchestras, scored for films, collaborated with a wide range of some of the greatest musicians, from different genres of music including jazz, occidental, jugalbandis with North Indian musicians, world music and global fusion.

A. SHIVAMANI:  A. SHIVAMANI, son of a renowned drummer S.M. Anandan, is a percussionist. He plays many instruments including drums, Octoban, Darbuka, Udukai, and Kanjira. He started his musical career at the age of 12 and his first studio break was playing for one of South India’s leading music composers – K. V. Mahadevan. By the age of 13, he had started building his professional music career with S.P. Balasubramaniam, who he considers to be his godfather.

He started as a substitute in music maestro Ilayaraja’s group. He was keen in taking inspiration from Indian classical music. Impressed by his dedication, tabla stalwart UstadZakir Hussain invited A. SHIVAMANI to join him for a concert.

He has also played for A.R. Rahman’s most popular scores ‘Mustafa…Mustafa,’ of KadhalDesam, ‘Humma..Humma’ of Bombay and ‘Chaiya…Chaiya’ of Uyire. He was also a prominent team member of Bollywood-themed musical – Bombay Dreams. One of his cherished experiences is sharing the stage with Billy Cobham for a concert in Mumbai’s Rang Bhavan. From then on there was no looking back, as he collaborated with renowned musicians of the country and continued with his experimentations.

Mercedes-Benz Unveils ‘Premiere Express Prime’ to Get your Car Serviced Within 3 Hours of Free*

First-of-its-kind aftersales initiative in the automotive industry customers who are time-pressed due to their busy lifestyle

* Mercedes-Benz customers can get their car serviced within 3 hours. If not done in 3 hours, the service will be offered for free*
* Initiative is a part of the “Efficiency focus” by Mercedes-Benz India Customer Services team
* Part of 25 initiatives taken by team Customer Services to celebrate 25 years of Mercedes-Benz in India
* ‘Premiere Express Prime’ service launched in Bengaluru today; will launch soon in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad

India’s largest luxury carmaker and Mercedes-Benz today launched one-of-its kind innovative service program ‘Premiere Express Prime’. This initiative aims at enhancing the customer’s ownership experience, thus making after-sales experience as a key differentiator in the luxury car segment.

Premier Express Prime is an “efficiency focus” initiative from Mercedes-Benz, which enables complete servicing of a Mercedes-Benz in three hours. This innovative concept is made possible due to dedicated infrastructure within the service center comprising of  dedicated bays, dedicated tools & equipment and dedicated special tools A dedicated team for ‘Premier Express Prime’ comprising of one Team Leader and two Certified Maintenance technicians’ makes the quick servicing turnaround possible. This service is now available in Bengaluru and will roll out soon in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. Premier Express Prime however, excludes major service and repairs, warranty repairs or service on specialty AMG vehicles.

Customers benefit by having their average service time for maintenance of vehicles reduced drastically. Further, there is reduced effort for the customer as they have to travel to the service center only once for the service of the vehicle.

Shekhar Bhide, Vice President, Customer Services and Corporate Affairs, Mercedes-Benz India commented, “The long term success of an automotive brand, especially in the luxury car segment in India, is decided on service excellence and hassle free ownership experience provided to the customer. Mercedes-Benz believes in winning customer loyalty through a delightful, exclusive and outstanding service experience. With the launch of ‘Premiere Express Prime’ we aim to reduce the turnaround time of servicing a car to 3 hours, thereby saving precious time of our customers who have a busy lifestyle. After-sales is a key element in our growth strategy in India and we are confident this initiative will help us build on the trust we have acquired from our customers over the decades. In the year 2020, “Efficiency focus” and “Retention offensive” are the key strategies for Customer Services”

Services covered under Premier Express Prime will be:

* Service A type - Oil and oil filter check and replacement, Brake Fluid replacement, Dust Filter Replacement, Wheel rotation, Coolant Antifreeze mixture ratio check, Washing, Interior & Exterior Cleaning
* Service B type - Oil and oil filter check and replacement, Brake Fluid replacement, Dust Filter Replacement, Wheel rotation, Coolant Antifreeze mixture ratio check, Washing, Interior & Exterior Cleaning, Fuel Filter check, Air Filter replacement
* Diesel Fuel filter
* Brake discs  and Brake pads
* Wheel Balancing