Kochi Fashion & Lifestyle

[Malayaali]

Kochi-Muziris Biennalle declaration tomorrow

Kochi Biennale Foundation has announced the establishment of India’s inaugural festival of international contemporary visual arts, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. The Biennale, a non-profit endeavour, will be held in Kochi and Muziris in 2012. Partnering with the Muziris Heritage Foundation the Biennale will celebrate India’s rich cultural and social heritage.
Kochi-Muziris Biennale will be the largest contemporary public art event in the country. To be held every other year, the project will showcase artwork created by some of the world’s most engaging artists, both established and emerging, from India and abroad.
The exhibition will present a variety of mediums from film, installation, painting, sculpture, new media to performance art. The Biennale aims to create a platform for debate by introducing ambitious contemporary international visual art practices and theory to India, showcase new Indian and international art, enabling a dialogue among the public, artists, curators and local and international
visitors.
Through the celebration of contemporary art in Kerala region, the Biennale will present artworks throughout Kochi and Muziris in existing exhibition sites, public spaces, heritage buildings and other non-traditional venues. Alongside the exhibitions the Kochi Biennale Foundation will organise seminars, workshops and a comprehensive and far-reaching educational programme.
The official declaration of the Biennale will be held at Durbar Hall Ground on Thursday February 17 at 6 pm. The event will be officially declared by Education and Culture Minister M A Baby in the presence of ministers, senior government officials, senior artists, scholars, critics and the public.
The launch will be followed by a performance by the band Avial, and panchari melam by Peruvanam Kuttan Marar, supported by 150 artists, in a live audio-visual percussion concert.

Indian Express
Manorama

[Malayaali]

Zoriya – The Gen X Store

The ultimate ladies western outfit store, Zoriya, has opened at Kochi!! The pink and yellow painted walls are the ideal imagery for the wide range of colorful outfits that awaits you in the store. For the all ladies out there who wanna keep it stylish with pretty tops, gorgeous dresses, fashionable denims, and cute skirts.

Store owner Poojitha Menon, who is quite popular to us all as a TV anchor, says that what makes her store exceptional and unique is the ‘collection of western casuals’ that they offer you.

The store is located close to the Passport office in Panampilly Nagar.

Source: KOCHIVIBE

[Malayaali]

New stores

Akbar travel has opened new points in CIAL, Aluva & Perumbavoor

Sylcon opened its 5th oulet in Kochi near Padma Jn.

Cera bath tub studio inaugurated near Vytilla, Kochi after openening outlets in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, and Kolkata.

Dhathri opened its specialty treatment hospital at Palarivattom.

[speed123]

Lisa Ray is back in India after her vacation and she certainly wants to live life king size. She has been spotted lunching at a cafe in Kochi all by herself.
We hear that Lisa is currently in the middle of filming a food show and is touring different cities across India, tasting the cuisine and handpicking the places she would like to feature.
Eyewitnesses say that Lisa is in the pink of her health having battled and won against cancer. She was seen sporting casuals and savoured her lunch for about an hour.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/e...ow/7547610.cms

[DileepKS]

Kochi Film Festival: A treat for film buffs

KOCHI: Metro Film Society will hold a one-day film festival featuring a selection of films screened at the international film festivals in Goa and Thiruvananthapuram.

The festival, to be conducted in association with Kerala Chalachitra Academy, Kochi Corporation and C-Head, is from 10.30 am onwards on March 5 at the Town Hall. The films include ‘Kelin’, ‘Little Rose’ and ‘Night and Fog’. Two short films — ‘In Search of Narayani’ and ‘Pranayathil Oruval Vazhthappedum Vidham’ — will also be screened.

‘Kelin’ (The Daughter-in- Law) is from Kazakhstan. The film has no dialogues. Set in the untamed grassland of ancient Kazakhstan, Kelin narrates the tale of an arranged marriage after losing her true love. Two competing suitors fight for a beautiful bride and the wealthy one wins. Gradually, as the story unfolds, the beautiful bride is shown happy in her new home with her new love and new role until there is a drastic turn. The not- so-familiar rituals unify with the folkloric landscapes.

The film is a classic blend of love, lust, betrayal and revenge.

Set in Poland in 1968, ‘Little Rose’ is an autobiographical extract from the Polish author Pawel Jasienica’s experience.

The government of Poland started an anti-Semitic campaign due to Israel’s triumph over Egypt in the six-day war.

Rose, who works as a typist in a university, is used as a tool by her lover to trap Adam, a teacher in the same university.

Initially, Rose is happy in faking love and ambushing Adam.

Rose, Rozek and Adam form a brutal love triangle.

‘Night and Fog’ broods on the predicaments of domestic violence. The opening scene shows Lee Sum killing his wife and children before killing himself.

The rest of the film peeps into what went wrong in their marriage, how love transformed into hatred and what lead the protagonist to do such a disastrous deed.

‘In Search of Narayani’ is a journey in search of a literary character. It may look odd but here it becomes a fascinating foray into the inscrutable complexities of reality and fiction.

There’s history, personal experience, fiction, film and theatre — all related to Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s unforgettable character Narayani in his novella ‘Mathilukal’.

‘Pranayathil Oruval Vazhthappedum Vidham’ is about a man and woman who find each other on the internet.

[mohammedirshad06]

Naturals Family Salon, a pan-India name in the Indian beauty industry, has opened its fourth salon in Kerala at Kakkanad near Kochi. With this launch, the salon chain has touched the mark of 89 in the country. There are also plans to complete inaugurating its 100th outlet by the end of this month, Ms Veena Kumaravel, Founder-Chairman of Naturals Beauty Salon India Pvt Ltd, said. As part of country wide expansion plans, she said, the company aims to open 500 by the end of the fiscal year 2013. Of this, 26 salons are planned in Kerala. The company is all set to achieve a turnover of Rs 60 crore by the end of this fiscal against Rs 35crore achieved last year. With phased pan-India expansion, Naturals salon chain anticipates to achieve Rs 150 crore turnover by March 2012 and Rs 250crore for the fiscal year closing during March 2013. With the expansion plan underway, Naturals intends to produce 1000 women entrepreneurs and provide job opportunity to 15,000 people. The salon boasts of already having 70 women entrepreneurs in its chain, she added.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle1507699.ece

[Sali_varakkal]

Originally Posted by mohammedirshad06

Naturals Family Salon, a pan-India name in the Indian beauty industry, has opened its fourth salon in Kerala at Kakkanad near Kochi. The salon boasts of already having 70 women entrepreneurs in its chain, she added.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle1507699.ece

Is this a UNISEX salon or a Naturals W for Women only ? A Naturals W was functioning near CCD at Fourth Gate Calicut. Are there any UNISEX salons in there, please discount the ones functioning in stat hotels.

[Malayaali]

CINEMAX Movie Marathon 2011






CINEMAX

[mohammedirshad06]

Originally Posted by Sali_varakkal

Is this a UNISEX salon or a Naturals W for Women only ? A Naturals W was functioning near CCD at Fourth Gate Calicut. Are there any UNISEX salons in there, please discount the ones functioning in stat hotels.

I don't about that. Its since 2008, I started knowing more about Kochi facilities, after I settled there.... I have been only to 2 saloons- Ole in Grand Hotel and one near KR Bakeries in Kadavanthara, which both are unisex palours.

In Dubai, VLCC is an unisex palour, so I believe its Kochi unit must too be like that.... I think locals can help more about it.

[Malayaali]

Originally Posted by mohammedirshad06

I don't about that. Its since 2008, I started knowing more about Kochi facilities, after I settled there.... I have been only to 2 saloons- Ole in Grand Hotel and one near KR Bakeries in Kadavanthara, which both are unisex palours.

In Dubai, VLCC is an unisex palour, so I believe its Kochi unit must too be like that.... I think locals can help more about it.

This is an Unisex Salon, infact all the naturals salon's are Unisex!

Naturals Unisex Salon

[Malayaali]

Cochin Twestival 2011 on March 24th



After the huge success of Cochin Twestival 2010 , this year Cochin Twestival is all set to happen on 24th March and its going to be huge . For the uninitiated Twestival is short for Twitter-Festival, a social media event organised by volunteers worldwide to support social causes, by bringing people and communities who interact online, to a real offline meetup to contribute to the cause and, which is equally important, to have fun. Cochin Twestival is one of the hundreds of local editions of Twestival, held worldwide.

The first Twestival of all time started in January 2009 and it spread all over over the world and soon 202 cities were part of it

Source: Cochin Square

Cochin Twestival

[Malayaali]

Tete-a-Tete with Indrajith

He has been for the last 10 years. He has acquired the best of acting skills from his dad and mom. Known to be the most multitalented and adaptable artist in the Malayalam cinema industry, he has a line of movies that makes him the topmost in the industry to date. Presenting before you, the one and only Indrajith, with an exclusive interview for our Kochivibe readers.

When do we get to see you in the directors’ shoes?

Not anytime soon. But it’s definitely there in the cards. I wanna explore more as an actor. So maybe you can see me directing a movie a few years down the lane.

What kinda stuff do you engage in for stress relief? And how much of a party animal are you?

As a stress buster, I travel a lot. We visit temples, watch movies, and I ensure that I spend time with my family. My kids hardly get to see me, so when I ‘am home, I ‘am completely with them. And about parties, I used to go once in a while. But I ‘am not very fond of ‘em. I use to party a lot, few years back with my friends in Bangalore. But now it’s more or less getting boring for me. I prefer being at home than outdoors.

So when does your mom, brother, and you get time to be together amidst everyone’s busy schedule?

We do find time! But it’s not that we get together for all the festivities, but we make sure we have some time for all. We had the ‘Amma’ show rehearsal in Kochi last week, and all of us including Prithvi were there. Also, Poornima has work only five days a month. So she will be at home always.

You were born and bought up in Trivandrum, and now you have completely relocated to Kochi. How does it feel?

Well, I shuffled to Kochi for convenience. Initially, during shoots, I had to stay at hotels in Kochi. So I thought, why not have a house here? But Kochi is the perfect place to be in. It is a happening place and will be one of the best cities in the country in the next 5-6 years. In the coming years, you can treat Kochi in par with cities like Bangalore or Chennai.

Can you share with us your body building tips?

Healthy mind, healthy body. In Malayalam movies, the shooting schedule is strict. So I work out when I get time. I cut down on carbs and fatty stuff. That’s all I do.

Exclusive message to Kochivibe readers….

Keep doing whatever is right… Be happy always!!!

Courtesy: Kochivibe

[Malayaali]

Chris Pfeiffer Redbull Street Tour 2011 in Cochin

Stunt men and bike maniacs get ready to learn from the champion himself. Chris Pfeiffer, the 4-Time Motor bike stunt riding world champion will be unveiling his skills on 4th April at Marine Drive helipad. The stunt show is part of the Redbull Chris pfeiffer street tour. Including Cochin , he is making his stop at 10 cities all around India . The All India tour will start from 21st March at Kolkata.

Watch the promo video on the RedBull Website

He will be using custom made BMW F800R and his Beta Evo 300 4T for the stunts .



The event will take place in the following cities:

City: Kolkata
Date: 21st March
Venue: Milan Mela ground, Science City, Dhapa
Timing: 3-5pm

City: Jaipur
Date: 24th March
Venue: Gaurav Towers, Malviya Nagar
Timing: 4-6pm

City: Delhi
Date: 26th March
Venue: Ansal Plaza, Khel gaon marg
Timing: 4-6pm

City: Chandigarh
Date: 27th March
Venue: TBD

City: Coimbatore
Date: 29th March
Venue: TBD

City: Ahmedabad
Date: 31st March
Venue: Karnawati Club, NH 8C
Timing: 3-5pm

City: Pune
Date:1st April
Venue: Pancard Club, Baner Hills, Baner Road, Baner
Timing: 6-8pm

City: Mumbai
Date: 3rd April
Venue: Inorbit Mall, Malad
Timing: 4-6pm

City: Cochin
Date: 4th April
Venue: Marine Drive Helipad; Landmark: Rainbow bridge
Timing: 4-6pm

City: Bangalore
Date: 6th April
Venue: Palace Grounds, Raj Mahal Vilas Extension, Armane Nagar
Timing: 4-6pm

Courtesy: Cochin Square

[Malayaali]

Health fair to educate Kochiites

Kochi is all set to host a health fair at BCG Healthsquare, India’s first multi-disciplinary Health Mall. The fair, to be held at the BCG Health Square, Palarivattom from March 11-13 2011, aims at bringing together experts and major companies in the health, medicine and wellness markets.
An exhibition conducted on these days will showcase everything from beauty products, fitness equipment, alternative therapies, spas, beauty therapists to leading manufacturers in the national health care industry.
An array of activities ranging from blood bank, eye bank, ayurvedic camp, laughter cycleathon and medical camps with the motto “Health is Wealth” will also be organised alongside the exhibition.
On March 11, Tony Chammany, Mayor, Kochi Corporation, will inaugurate the Health fair at BCG healthsquare at 10.30 am. The IMA Blood Donation Camp will be held from 10 am to 1 pm. Sachidananda Kamath (IMA -President, Kochi) will inaugurate it. The Angamaly Eye Bank will initiate an Eye Donation Pledge from the participants on the same day. On March 12, an ayurvedic camp will be conducted by Dhatri.
Free consultation will be offered by a panel of Dhatri doctors relating to lifestyle diseases like diabetes, obesity, arthritis, joint disorders, gynecology and slimming programmes. On the same day, a laughter cycleathon will also be organised with the motto “Laugh Out Loud for Health.” Two experts from Chiri Club, Thiruvananthapuram, Dr Venugopal and Prof George Joseph will flag off the “LOL for Health” at BCG Healthsquare. Seven-eight cyclists wearing “LOL for Health” T-shirts will cycle from the venue to major corporate offices in Kochi to promote laughter for health.
Dr Venugopal and Prof George Joseph will give a small session to the corporate staff on the benefits of laughter for health. The cyclists will distribute LOL for Health logos on the way to the general public; a warm gesture of sharing laughter.
On March 13, The Cochin Backwater Round Table 131 will be partnering with BCG Health square, in conducting a medical Camp at the venue from 10 am to 1 30 pm.
Eminent doctors representing multifaceted disciplines -orthopedics, general medicine, neurology, nephrology, ENT, dentistry, ophthalmology, gastroentrology, obstetrics, paediatrics and others - will offer free consultation for all who walk into the “Health is Wealth” medical camp. Random blood sugar and ECG tests will also be performed. A pharmacy distributing free medication as per doctors’ prescriptions will also be available for those attending the medical camp.

Indian Express

[Malayaali]

SUR – Lucky Ali Live Concert in JTpac Cochin

Lucky Ali , Indian multi platinum Singer, Song Writer, Actor and Composer is performing live at JT pac on 27th march in a programme titled SUR. His whole team is coming down to cochin to give us treat that you dont wana miss.

His team includes
Mishko M’ba (Bass Guitar):
Butto (Flutist):
Alwyn Fernandes (Rhythm Guitar):
Joe Antony (Drums):
Muthu Kumar (Percussionist):
Mercedes Bhatia (Lead Guitar):
Aman Mahajan (Keyboard):
Manoj George (Violinist):
Subash pradhan (Gutarist / Vocal)

Book you tickets HERE

JT PAC

[dpkanu]

Seafood cuisine from the best Chefs in Kerala. Its Coast to Coast food fest at Ramada Resorts Cochin. Experience the best of India’s Westcoast from Malabari to Malavani . Head on to Ramada this weekend and make this weekend something special.



The food fest is available on Saturaday and sundays ( 7.30 pm to 11 pm ) @ Rs.699 / head for Adults and Rs. 325/ head for kids...

[mohammedirshad06]

The Naadan Kushinee 2011 added variety- and spice- to the habitual diet of Kochiites and provided them a food fest with a difference.

Organized by the departments of French and Botany and the Women's Guidance Cell of Cochin College, the 2-day food fest held on 12th and 13th March 2011 at the Cochin Club in Fort Kochi showcased the ethnic cuisine of the different communities that call Kochi home.

Veggie delight

“We had organized a Kushinee last year and its success prompted us to have another one. There are approximately 20-25 ethnic communities and sub sects here and each community has its own culture and cuisine. We thought an event like this would be way to present the vegetarian cuisines of these groups,” says R. Somadha, Professor, Department of French who spearheaded the event.

With Konkani, Gujarati, Vaniya, Punjabi, Bohra Muslim, Kutchi, Jewish as well as traditional Kerala cuisine on offer the fest was well represented with the tastes of multi-ethnic Kochi. “The cuisine of Kerala has been influenced by the Dutch, Portuguese, Sri Lankans and others. For instance, stew and puttu has its origin in Portuguese fare while appam in Dutch and nool puttu is of Srilankan influence,” adds Somadha.

While the Kerala stall offered delicious and familiar fare, the others were a foodie's delight and a gastronomic adventure. From the Kappa puzhukku, puttu, pathiri, unnakaya, ada of the Kerala-Portuguese stall to the Brudher, peera ada, sharkara vada, kozhukatta and more of the Kerala-Dutch stall, the ‘traditional' dishes were well-represented.

The Bohra Muslim stall boasted Thali meals (with veg fried rice, bohra roti, navaratna kurma) while the Kutchi Muslims' space manned by Iqbal Sait, Aslam Dawood and their families offered the traditional cooling badam sarbath (perfect for the hot day!), nutritious goonda ladoo, tempting nankhatai and gudupapadi.

Luxy Johnson and Alice Joseph who are members of the Kudumbasree project had delicious, fresh naadan items like achapam, avalose podi and unda, jackfruit ada and vellappam.

Around 11-12 women and a few kids held the fort at the Konkani stall. The oldest of the lot, Rajam G. Pai and Anasuya Manohar were in their element. “What we have here are things made on an everyday basis. Our food is nutritious and economical with no part of a plant or vegetable being wasted,” they said. With five to six varieties of dosas, uzhunnu appam, bajjis and a variety of chutneys and powders to add to the taste, there was a lot to savour.

The Vaniyan cuisine was brought to the fest by the Vasya Mahila Samaj of Kochi and they tempted the audience with laddos, burfis, pappada vada, pickles etc. Palak parotta and subji, khaman (coconut) dhokla, corn patties, pudina chutney and typical Gujarati pickles were the highlights at the Gujarati stall put up by Meena H. Pandya and Yogish H. Vyas. The Tamil Brahmins had come equipped with a stove to make piping hot dosas to be had with tomato paste and chutney, along with tea or coffee for the parched.

Popular Punjabi

Particularly popular was the Punjabi stall where everything from rajma-chawal to parathas, lassi and chaats cost just Rs. 20. Manned by Happy Singh, from Punjab, the food and the prices delighted the fest-goers.

Extraordinarily enough West Asian (Jewish) dishes like falafel (fried balls made from boiled chickpeas seasoned with garlic, jeera, coriander), humus (chickpeas puree containing parsley, garlic, sesame oil and pepper), tahini (sesame paste) and latkes were available. Monique Fontana represented the Jewish community and had this to say “I was part of the event last year and felt that I must represent not only the Jewish community but the expatriate communities as well. We have typical Jewish dishes here today. Latkes are a traditional food for the Jewish Festival of Lights.”

The ganamela by singer Afsal and troupe on the evening of the first day was an unexpected bonus and added to the fun at the fest. Crooning Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam songs, he added to the magic of the evening.

If the response of the locals and the foreigners who thronged to the event was anything to go by, ‘Naadan Kushinee' was an unexpected delight.

Unbelievably it was a foreigner who tried the first dish on the morning of the 12th and come evening he was to be found streaking from stall to stall trying out every different and eye-catching dish.

Looks like the taste for the ethnic is catching!

http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-sty...cle1543986.ece

[dpkanu]

After the huge success of Cochin Twestival 2010 , this year Cochin Twestival is all set to happen on 24th March and its going to be huge . For the uninitiated Twestival is short for Twitter-Festival, a social media event organised by volunteers worldwide to support social causes, by bringing people and communities who interact online, to a real offline meetup to contribute to the cause and, which is equally important, to have fun. Cochin Twestival is one of the hundreds of local editions of Twestival, held worldwide.



The first Twestival of all time started in January 2009 and it spread all over over the world and soon 202 cities were part of it . Archana kavi was one of the celebrity guests and an active tweeter who took part in the event . This year the expectations are high and the organizers are working hard to make it a reality.

Source : Cochin Square

[mohammedirshad06]

As part of the expansion plans of Pramod Clinic, an advanced treatment facility centre, TheSmileCentre.in will be opened at Kadavanthra on March 21.
The core areas of the centre are smile designing, dental implants, laser dentistry, dentofacial trauma and deformities.

According to Pramod, director and chief dental officer, TheSmileCentre.in, the centre has the facilities to perform the entire spectrum of dental and facio-maxillary treatment procedures. The clinic is fully equipped with advanced diagnostic and treatment facilities.

The team of doctors and staff are given periodic training programmes to update their knowledge concerning advances in the field of dentistry and allied sciences.

The clinic has a tie-up with Saraf Hospital for complex dental and surgical treatment cases under complete medical back-up and in-patient facilities. Advanced techniques are followed in anaesthesia to ensure pain-free treatment procedures for both children and adults.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/...ay/257698.html

[mohammedirshad06]

The Kochi edition was launched on March 18.

Deccan Chronicle, the south-based English daily, is getting ready to take on The Times of India (TOI) head on in Kerala. In order to strengthen its footing before the TOI takes off in the state, it has launched its first edition from Kochi, with an initial print order of 25,000 copies. The English daily bears a cover price of Rs 2.50.


Talking to afaqs!, Amit Shukla, chief executive officer, Deccan Chronicle, says, "We expect robust advertising revenues for this edition, both from local, as well as national advertisers in Kochi." He adds that though the total size of advertising revenue for English newspapers in Kochi is not very large as of now, the company hopes that it will grow with the increasing competition in the state.

To promote the edition, the group distributed free sample copies for a period of three days. Once the three-day period from the launch date is over, readers need to confirm the subscription at regular rates of Rs 2.50 per copy to continue receiving the newspaper.

Value for money packages for advertisers is also being deployed to enable trial advertising. "After that, when an advertiser likes the business results from the advertising, they could commit serious money. That will probably be as true of Kochi as it has been in the other markets," says Shukla. He adds that Deccan Chronicle's entry into Kerala will help expand the total pie of English newspapers there.

The newly launched edition will carry the usual supplements such as a daily city tabloid, and the TV and Entertainment Guide on Saturdays, apart from the Sunday Chronicle, which will be distributed in Kochi.

Deccan Chronicle targets the same group as the TOI - people who know English and have young minds, of any chronological age or gender.

When asked if the latest launch is part of Deccan Chronicle's strategy to strengthen the brand's footing in order to tackle competition from the TOI in the South, Shukla says, "Competition is inevitable and healthy in a free market and it will always be there. Classically, the way to retain leadership and grow as a leader is to keep your focus on the readers and help towards the growth of the market, leaving it to the other players to keep their focus on attacking you or adopting guerrilla tactics, depending on what they decide is appropriate for their size. This is broadly true of the newspaper space as well."

http://www.afaqs.com/news/story.html...tate+of+Kerala