Kochi Fashion & Lifestyle

[Malayaali]

Kochi to host ‘Twestival’ on March 24
Official Logo

Kochi will play host to the social media event Twestival (Twitter Festival) on Thursday. This is the second time that the festival is being held in the city after the social media’s outreach programme began globally in 2009.

Programmes during the day will include music by different bands, besides prize distribution for a quiz competition which is already under way on twitter. Funds raised during the festival will go to charity - this time to Adarsh Charitable Trust working for the rehabilitation of differently-abled children. Organiser Sajan Mani said that Twestival promises to be bigger, better and more fruitful this year than in its previous editions. The number of Twitter’s active Indian users is rising fast and the focus has shifted from mere micro-blogging to using the power of responsible social media.

Twestival happens in more than175 cities around the world annually on a single day. Twestival, according to the organisers, can be termed a festival of the new age, being widely global and specifically local at the same time.

Besides being a powerful collaborative platform for causes, it is also a fantastic opportunity to expand one's social circle by connecting with like-minded peers in the community, says Cochin Twestival.

The Hindu

[dpkanu]

Believe it or not… Mr. Chris Pfeiffer, the The King of World Freestyle Biking, to show off his skills in Kochi. Yes, at the Marine Drive Heli-pad on 04 April 2011, as part of the “Red Bull Chris Pfeiffer India Tour 2011″.
Timing: 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Its for the first time that he is visiting Kochi. And for the second time in India. Apart from Kochi, Chris would also be visiting 9 other cities in India.
Chris Pfeiffer rides at the BMW Tower : (For all those who haven’t seen his performance )

[mohammedirshad06]

A library aboard a ship that has some of the best books from around the world at affordable prices! Too good to be true? No. The international floating library, Logos Hope, is really set to call at the Kochi port here for the first time on May 25 and stay for a month, giving bookworms in the state a treasure trove.



Decked with thousands of titles, ranging from science to philosophy, sports to economics and medicine to cookery and arts, the ship would be anchored in the city waters for a month. It is estimated that the library will exhibit half a million books to woo booklovers from across Kerala.

The largest floating library run by GBA Ships, a German-based international charity, was started 40 years ago with the intention of providing quality literature to people across the globe. It will have more than 400 volunteers from different countries. They will assist visitors surfing through the bookshelves, besides sharing with them the exciting tales of their journeys across different continents.

The crew of this book fair consists of people of 50 different nationalities and this factor itself proves the ship’s intention to spread peace around the world.

The books are all available at affordable rates, so booklovers in Kochi will be able to bring home many international bestsellers without emptying their pockets.

“I would love to visit this library aboard a ship. Just think of all those international titles there. I would buy some good fiction that is not available in the city bookstores,” says Anita Mary Thomas, a BA student of St Teresa’s College.

“More than anything, the environs, reading or searching for interesting books aboard a ship will be a big thrill. In Kerala where the habit of reading is still alive, the ship is a welcome vehicle,” says Salil, a voracious reader from Thrissur.

Visitors will also get an opportunity to browse through the books and arrangements will be in place to help them board the ship.

The library, that has already docked at various European, African and West Asian ports, will cover many countries in Southeast Asia after its Indian halt.

Helping hand

Those seeking to become volunteers on the ship must be over 18 years of age, and be in full agreement with the values of GBA Ships. No-one on board is paid. Detailed information is available on the official website
http://www.gbaships.org

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tablo...loat-kochi-349

[mohammedirshad06]

Indians feel happier and healthier than their counterparts in emerging economies, even though only a fraction of them follow the routine of regular exercise and health checkups, says a global survey.

Around 72 percent of Indians consider themselves healthy, compared to 60 percent in Brazil and 58 percent in China, says the The Philips Health and Wellbeing Index Report, that surveyed 8,300 people in over 23 countries over the last six months.


"Our survey found that for Indians, health and wellbeing are more passive than active," Vivek Sharma, chief marketing officer for Philips Electronics India, told IANS while releasing the report here.

Around 70 percent of the respondents equated happiness with their family, and said spending time with family and friends improves their feeling of health and wellbeing.

The survey, which was also conducted in 28 rural areas across the country, found that people in rural India based their physical wellbeing on three factors - access to clean water, toilet facilities and personal hygiene.

Women in rural households were more likely to resort to traditional and spiritual methods such as prayer and fasting to improve their sense of health and wellbeing.

In terms of cities, Bangalore is the top city in India when it comes to experimenting with new health remedies -- around 50 percent respondents used herbal medicines, accupuncture or yoga. But the city also tops the list of people admitting to consulting a mental health therapsist.

"The city has a sizeable number of young professionals, and the survey indicates that stress is a major factor in their lives," Sharma said.

Surprisingly, only three percent of Delhiites visit a health club, whereas Cochin tops the list with 40 percent. The trend of doing yoga is strong in southern India with 31 percent practicing it.

The report also found that Indians in both rural and urban areas rate declining vision as the top potential threat to their health in the next five years, followed by joint pain or arthiritis.

http://articles.economictimes.indiat...ns-rural-areas

[e_arunsid]

Professional Tatooing and Body Piercing @ BODY ART - OBERON MALL



Image Courtsey-KOCHIGALLAN

[e_arunsid]

CORPORATE BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIP @ AMEOBA, GOLD SOUK MALL

[DileepKS]

High on night life

It is a lovely Thursday night. For Parveen, 20, the fun is only beginning though the city is about to switch off its lights and get into a reverie.

A musician, Parveen can’t wait to know what the night has to offer her. A sip of her favourite cocktail and she is ready to live it up. Once the music is on, the bubbly youth hits the dance floor.

Another hour slips away with exotic cocktails before the crowd swells steadily. They swing and sway to the trance music that at times slips to house and hip hop too. This is a typical scenario from the Ladies’ Night that was recently launched at Ava, the lounge bar at Dream.

“This is the best place to chill out,” says Parveen as she joins her friends on the floor. As you listen on, the night grows younger, till you realise the clock has struck 12.

“Midnight is our cut off time but people linger on for some more time,” smiles Kevin Butler, the F&B Manager at the hotel as he makes sure his customers are enjoying their tequilas and mojitos.
In between one can find a group of teens, who dropped in to dance away the exam blues. They hang around for an hour and then push off in a jiffy.

“Mostly it’s those in the 30s and 20s that hop in,” says Kevin, as DJs Abhiram and Ram cheer the gathering with thumping music. “Occasionally we get a good number of expats,” he adds.
The lounge is teeming with party animals during the Happy hours on Wednesdays , Bollywood Fridays and regular Saturdays when DJ Savio serenades the crowd.

“Kochi is now ready to take in the party crowd,” says Ramu, the manager at Ramada Resorts that boasts of an equally dazzling lounge and dance floor named Club 1100, another favourite haunt of youngsters.

It was last September that Sandeep Menon, a frequent partygoer decided to enthrall the youth. Sandeep, who runs Parampara, a restaurant in the city, used to miss the party scene at Bengaluru, when he relocated to Kochi.

“Once Tandav, the only discotheque in the city shut down, there were not many options to chill out,” says the youngster who manages the dance floor in Ramada with his brother Mahesh.

Tucked a little away from the city, Qube is still a crowd puller because of its lovely ambience, terrific acoustics and superb music. “Many have doubts about what goes on at the lounges,” says Feby David, a regular party goer.

“Regular party goers make it a point to step into a place where the DJ caters to their liking,” says DJ Shekharfo, who plays at Qube.

[JohnJoseph]

New Delhi: Around 65 artists from 45 countries will participate in the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in Kerala in 2012 that is set to position Kochi as an "art-heritage destination". The art exhibition will be held at select places, including Fort Kochi and spice godowns, organisers said.The Kochi showcase is India`s first-ever biennale modelled on the Istanbul and Havana biennales and will be distinctly different from India Art Summit which is also a trade platform, the organisers said.

It will be held every two years. The Kochi-Muziris Foundation will be hosting a stakeholders event in Venice in June to promote the Kochi Biennale.

According to the organisers, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale will fill "a gap by giving artists from India and Asia a platform to exhibit their work".

"It is the need of the hour for the Indian art scene with artists now being recognised and Asia being looked at as a region of artistic importance. The biennale will position itself as a window to resonate the need for a platform that encourages such discourse towards appreciating international and national art practices," co-artistic director and co-curator of Biennale Krishnamachari Bose, a leading Indian contemporary artist and curator of repute, told reporters in an email interview.

........

News Source

[Malayaali]

Kerala's first global fashion event is debuting this July from 7th to 10th at Casino Hotel, Kochi. The show will feature a series of runway fashion shows and exhibits from designers and lifestyle brands. As a production from the famed Storm Fashion Group, the event is an alternative fashion platform for emerging as well as established fashion designers from around the world; the event proposes to feed the Kochi's appetite for more and diverse fashion resources.
In addition to the benefits of traditional fashion weeks, STORM Fashion Weeks offers participating designers a continued business presence in Kochi and Kerala through a series of marketing tools including the Internet, a rep referral network, and audio-visual presentations to buyers and the press.

The shows will take place in at Casino Hotel,Kochi from July 7-10, 2011. The national press, fashion buyers and reps from boutiques, specialty stores and major department stores are being invited to attend.
In the emerging designer category only a limited number are being accepted on the quality of their designs, their marketability in the Kerala and their ability to fulfill orders. The runway shows will be professionally staged with top lighting and sound companies from india as well as professional runway models. There will also be exhibits of top-of-the line fashion accessories.

* Mamta Mohandas is the brand Ambassador of KIFW.
* Eminent designer from Kochi, Hari Anand is the Designer Host.
* Storm Fashion Company which conducts Chennai International fashion Week are also the promoters of KIFW.
* KIFW will take place every year in July.

Kochi International Fashion Week

[Malayaali]

Capturing the ‘dark side’ of heritage spots

A tapori looking Mammooty strutting through Mattanchery streets, each shot and each angle reminds you of a Dharavi slum. There is an air of criminality looming large and the gruesome frames that follow add to it. When Mollywood filmmakers want to can a criminal hub, they head straight to Fort Kochi and Mattanchery. And for most of them the places neatly tucked away from the city have the perfect ambiance to shoot action films. “The uniqueness of the places is that you will find plenty of spots lost in a time warp. In the city you have state-of-the-art buildings with glossy looks. But here you have old buildings with worn out walls and unkempt spaces. It’s easy to turn them into something unfamiliar and exotic,” says director Martin Prakat. One of the main locations of his ‘Best Actor’ is an old three-storeyed building in Mattanchery, shown as the base of a quotation team. “But that doesn’t mean that the place and its people have criminal links. The characters in my film are all small-scale hoodlums, not mafia members or high profile criminals with underworld connection,” he says. He also says that it’s the umpteen visual possibilities of Fort Kochi and Mattanchery offer that make the places click. “You will find fresh angles everywhere and an artist can easily switch the locale into something unfamiliar,” he says.
Arun Kumar, director of another city-based film, ‘Cocktail’, says the places have a typical geography supporting the visuals that come to mind while conceiving a dark plot. “Kochi is the only city in Kerala with the real metro feel and it comes as the normal choice for a story with a corporate setting. Mattanchery and Fort Kochi are places with a specific texture matching grimmish threads. The dark and brooding streets there perfectly matched the mood and tempo of ‘Cocktail’s’ storyline,” he says.
Amal Neerad, who has captured classy frames of Fort Kochi in his ‘Big B’, is another filmmaker smitten by the enigmatic charm of the locale. “Fort Kochi and Mattanchery have housed people belonging to so many cultures and all the assimilation happened over the years has created an alluring medley. You won’t be able to find a space similar to Fort Kochi in Kerala. There are too many unexplored spots that bear the mark of history and heritage other than the Dutch cemetery and the synagogue,” he says.
Amal says he doesn’t believe that urban outskirts are places breeding criminals and the choice of the place has nothing to do with real life character of the place and its people.
“It is the great visual appeal—the seaside setting, colonial architecture and an aura of outlandishness,” he says.

Indian Express

[kochigallan]

Gallans of Kochi!!! Unite and bash on May 14th at Qube-Ramada

Nashty Sessions heads to Kochi next weekend wid DJ Nash (Bangalore) in the mix!! Its time for the Nashty Neon Glow Party @ The Qube [Club 11 Hundred], Ramada, Kochi. Don’t miss the fun… Gallans, the clock starts trickling from 8:30 pm onwards

[kochigallan]

Abhinaya’ presents its second summer theatre festival this year. The travelling theatre festival will traverse Kerala, celebrating more than a month of contemporary themes on stage. The curtains will go up with Macbeth in Kozhikode on 26th of April. The festival will then travel to Kasargode, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kochi, Muvatupuzha, Kottayam, Kollam to culminate in Thiruvananthapuram on 07th June. Kochi edition of the festival will be hosted by ‘JT Pac’.


Plays to be staged at JT Pac, Kochi:

- ‘The Lesson’ on May 21st 2011, Saturday
A hilarious adaptation of Eugene Ionesco’s celebrated French absurd play by the same name, it presents the absurdity of life through situations that seem and appear most common and ordinary. It puts forth certain arguments on the very purpose of education and the systems that are blindly adhered to in this regard.

- ‘Bhagavadajjukam’ on May 22nd 2011, Sunday
The contemporary adaptation of the 2000 year old Bhodayana’s Sanskrit text by the same title, ‘Bhagavadajjukam’ debates spirituality and materialism. The self – oriented political community, where one is driven by utilitarian behavioural norms and commercialised morals are subtly highlighted, criticised and poked at in this satirical theatre piece.

- Bard’s ‘Macbeth’ on May 23rd 2011, Monday
This is a stylized adaptation that concerns more with the psychological realms of the central character Macbeth.The story is told through the three central characters, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Banquo, these in turn being mere reflections of Macbeth himself. The adaptation perceives Shakespeare’s Macbeth as a surreal poetry and is structured more as a ritual, a psychological saga to rekindle and awaken the soulless mob on the run.

About ‘Abhinaya’:

Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre – the flagship dramatic art practitioners of the state focusing on contemporary themes and stylisations that redefine the language of stage.

Established in 1992, Abhinaya has produced and performed around hundred plays. The research centre, conceived jointly by D Reghoothaman and late S Ajayan, is now home to some of the best theatre practitioners of the country. The works of Abhinaya are widely acclaimed and have received promotion and support from the art and culture hubs from the world over. The front ranking productions Sidhartha, Macbeth, Sagara Kanyaka, Bhagavadajjukam and Verdigris were staged at the prestigious venues of Asia, Europe, UK, and Latin America along with notable Indian theatre festivals including the Bharath Rang Mahotsav, Prithvi Theatre Festival and Ibsen International Theatre Festival. At the helm of the creative activities at Abhinaya are D Reghoothaman and Jyothish MG.

[e_arunsid]

Fantastic posts Gallan..Welcome to SSC

[Malayaali]

YO! Gallan is here! Welcome!

[Malayaali]

A tattoo for every reason

Gnaneswara Rao, the Kochi Tuskers batsman, has acquired a trendy look since the last time he came down to Kochi.

An ardent follower of Sai Baba and Lord Siva, Gnaneswara didn’t have second thoughts when he opted for an enormous tattoo depicting them on his right hand.

He got it done at Body Art, the newly opened tattoo shop at Oberon Mall, that has been a favourite hub of youngsters ever since it opened during the second week of April.

“Even though the pain of getting a tattoo is unbearable for many young people, they sit through the process very patiently for hours,” say the proprietors of Body Art, Nazrul Ahmed and Jersih M. J. Each one who comes in for a tattoo has a special reason for getting it done.

For John it was not just a fashion statement but a tribute to his sister Princy who died very young.

The word ‘PRINCY’ tattooed across his arm is one way that this youngster has chosen to keep her memories close to him.

Evidently within just over a month since its launch, the inking outlet has crossed the 100 mark in terms of customers. For the 23-year-old young Nazrul Ahmed and Jersih M.J., the new business venture is all about passion and love for tattoos and body art.

The duo reveals that recently DJ Savio spent Rs 7,000 to get Mother Mary tattooed on his arm.
DC Kochi

Courtesy: Cochinsquare

[Malayaali]

Marine Drive

[Malayaali]

Bolghatty

[Malayaali]

MG Road

[Malayaali]

Fort Kochi

[Malayaali]

Fort Kochi