Best Lifestyle Blog of Goa
Fashion, glamour and vivacity came together to raise financial support for children with cancer through Sabrcare at the LIV-ING fundraiser at the gorgeous Acron Waterfront Resort in Baga on Friday, February 21, 2020.
Sol de Goa has been a place that I have frequented quite often. From heading there for a mini staycation to many fine dining experiences and evenings of immersive music on Solday Thursdays, it has never failed to impress me with its impeccable hospitality and amazing food. So when this awesome hotel celebrated its 10th anniversary, I just had to be there.
The Fourth Edition of the Food for Thought Fest concluded in the capital city with celebrating the diverse culinary heritage of the South Asian region. The festival was organized at The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, with countries participating from different parts of South Asia. A one of its kind initiative that focused on the common heritage and history of the region, as well as the unique influences that make up a part of it, it has set a benchmark as a forum for conversations, cuisines and the exchange of ideas and philosophies. The participating countries were India, Indonesia, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. The guest of honor for the event was HE Mr. Sidharto R Suryodipuro, Ambassador for the Republic of Indonesia.
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I had a chance to interact with his excellency and he shared some behind the scene facts about the event and how it was conceptualized.
This year’s edition of the Food for Thought Fest brought in the exciting components that made this a truly unique event. There were talks and discussions around culture, health, and cuisine in the “Thought Fest” by the expert, while the “Food Fest” offered cookery workshops with celebrity chefs from the participating countries and television celebrities Puja Talwar, Advaita Kala and Imam Siddique, had food stalls from some of the most superlative restaurants from the South Asia region like Soda Bottle Openerwala, Atara Catering, Chaat Chowk and Orza. This year the Bazaar Section was beautifully curated.
Many celebrity chefs graced the occasion and showcased their culinary skills in preparing wonderful dishes. I happened to meet and interact with a few of them. Here is chef Ruchira Hoon speaking about her experience at the event
The dishes that she prepared were simply wonderful especially the aubergines.
Well, next I interacted with our very own Khurafati Nitin who never fails to amaze me with his abundance of energy and the ability to make laugh. He shared the stage with singer turned chef Anaida and they both literally rocked the stage together.
From bringing out the benefits and correct way to use saffron, Anaida’s preparation and insights both were valuable. Her traditional Irani dish of rice was simply delicious.
The MC of the day was none other than Fashion Stylist, TV Actor & Bigg Boss fame Celebrity Imam Siddique. He held the audience’s interest all through the event and kept them entertained. His association with the event has been a long one and here is he sharing his thoughts on the event and more
During the festival, I thoroughly enjoyed learning from the greatest chefs in the region, explored some fascinating topics related to food and, of course, and tasted some splendid flavors of the subcontinents.
Mr. Maneesh Baheti, alumni of The Oberoi School of Hotel Management, is a seasoned hotelier with over 16 years in senior positions at leading brands such as The Oberoi Group and Hyatt International, before branching out as a hospitality industry consultant with a diverse projects portfolio. His love for cuisines has taken him on extensive travels, including the SAARC region of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
Ms. Sonali Anand, a Masters in Tourism Management from Bournemouth University, U.K, she has spent over a decade in senior positions with multinational companies including, The Oberoi Group. She went for a second Masters Degree in Social Development from Euromed, Marseille, France, which equips her with an insight into international cultural relations and dynamics.
SAAG also has an eminent Advisory Board with PADMA BHUSHAN Mr. Shashi Kant Misra as the Chairman and comprises of experts such as Michelin Star Chef AtulKocchar from The, Master Chef Abhijit Saha, Chef Michael Swamy and renowned hotelier Mr.Gautam Anand to name a few.
The proliferation of games for children in recent years is shifting towards technology due to which Indian games have become almost extinct. Board games like Snakes and Ladders, strategy games like Chess or even card games like Patience that helps develop a child’s brain by testing memory and cognitive skills have become a novelty. Giving the traditional games a new enthusiasm- Jack & Jill, a kids Edutainment expo happened in capital over the weekend.
Celebrating its 4th edition, Jack & Jill, the wonder year’s expo made this possible once again for children to relive old memories by participating in various activities at the exhibition which had multiple stalls and fun games for the little ones at the National Railway Museum where the exhibition was held. The main attraction of the museum was the train models stationed everywhere; there were other treasures as well at the expo.
The expo witnessed the presence of chief guest Mr. Ashwani Lohani, the Chairman & MD Railway Board. Redhat Communications, the leading experiential marketing company in partnership with National Rail Museum New Delhi organized the Expo.
Speaking on the success Mr. Ashwani Lohani, Chairman and MD Railway Board, said “A great event for the kids, a unique one that lets them enjoy and learn at the same time, as the children today have forgotten what outdoor fun is, the expo will inspire them to have fun and learn away from technology & gadgets.”
The edutainment concept that combines education and entertainment rendering real experiences that empower, inspire and educate children, covered 4 important aspects i.e. wellness, education, tourism and entertainment that are crucial to a child’s development for age group from 0-14 years.
Talking about “Jack & Jill’ –Jyoti Mayal, Chief Executive of Red Hat Communications avers ”With Jack & Jill, the wonder years expo, we believe in Explore, Educate, Entertain & Enjoy both with children and parents at one platform. The aim of the exhibition was to expand kids’ creative thinking while offering them and their families a great time full of fun and excitement”
The event entails kids’ activities along with Educational Tourism, Health, and Knowledge & Experiences – From storytelling to science shows, educational tourism to health & knowledge experiences, fancy dress competition to a magic show, painting competition to wall painting the expo has a rich experience for both parents and children.
While parents discovered value in products for their children, the interactive zone created hosted unique experiences and interactions while encouraging “Save the Girl Child” as the tagline.
Vaishnavipratima is as unusual a studio as its name. Just like its name, it stands for uniqueness, uniqueness in approach, uniqueness in designs and uniqueness in attitude.
This interiors studio opened its doors on the 14th of September in Soccoro, North Goa. Expansively created in a 90-year-old Portuguese Villa, the visuals take your breath away right from the entrance. As you move in, the individually designed pieces of art start talking to you. One biggest uniqueness about the store is that no two pieces are identical, Pratima has carefully chosen it to be this way. Unless placed on order, all her designs are individualistic in nature.
The store has both a mix of traditional and contemporary designs as well as ultra modern, chic and minimalistic designs. From bold chairs to rustic looking almirahs, sofa sets, lounge chairs, designer shelves, beds, colorful cushions, photo frames, paintings, artifacts, you name and its there. The huge villa has been beautifully designed with various sorts of art forming a cluster.
The first room of the villa showcases some beautifully designed and handcrafted furniture pieces. The color tones strike great contrast from subtle pastels to bold color pops, the area looks stunning with this combination of colors. This area showcases consoles, bookshelves, bar cabinets, wing chairs etc. and these all are made by Indian artisans.
Pop art dining couture and various artists’ works are on display in the second room. The third room comprises of an elaborate four-poster bed with cushions, throws, and rugs, giving it a very homely feel. There is also an open cafe area in the passage and back foyer of the villa and will soon serve exotic teas and bites.
This studio also houses some exquisite jewelry and designer apparel pieces; Chanderi Sarees designed by Prama and Pratima Pandey has designed the indo-western outfits and Bhavaa jewelry comprising of semiprecious gemstone collections. These have been introduced for the first time into the brand.
With its maiden store in Mumbai, Vaishnavipratima expanded its wings to Goa. Goa is the ideal choice as more and more people are investing in properties in Goa. And most of these properties are converted into villa homestays and resorts and thus the need for an exclusive interiors studio is obvious. Thus the brand opened up its second store in Goa with its signature collection and some add-ons like the jewelry and designer wear.
A self-made and self-taught interior designer, Vaishnavipratima started her passion by designing and redesigning her our house along with those of some close relatives and friends. In 2012, she thought of taking it up as a profession and started working on interior designing projects for other people’s home. The year 2016 saw her making it big by opening her first store in Mumbai. The store has a vast collection of home decor items that are customized and exclusively designed drawing inspiration from Pratima’s travel and aesthetic sense.
Have you been there yet?
Studio Address
Vaishnavipratima- Signature Collection, Goa.
Villa No-190 -268(1) Vadem, Near Vetal Temple,
Soccorro, /Bardez, Goa.
Open From
Monday-Saturday, 10 AM- 8 PM
Address Home, the iconic luxury home decor brand recently launched its first-ever series of lifestyle events, starting with an exclusive gourmet session for patrons and media. Joining hands with celebrated Chef Nishant Choubey and Awarded Sommelier, Mr. Ankur Chawla, the event was hosted at their Flagship Store in Greater Kailash 1 on 2nd of August. As a premium luxury brand, Address Home advocates living in style. The objective of this series of events is customer engagement and adding value to their patrons’ lifestyle and entertaining know-how.
There were two interactive sessions held during the day, one at 12 pm to entertain their Patrons and the other in the evening for media and bloggers. This gourmet session promoted the concept of healthy eating, right from the choosing the ingredients to preparation, the idea of sustainability, using only local and seasonal produce. Both the sessions were interactive and informative as not just the recipes but benefits of each ingredient to many curious questions of the audiences were entertained.
For this event, Address Home had joined hands with FoodMate, a community platform for every foodie, as their Powered by partners for this Gourmet workshop. Apart from the patrons, some renown food bloggers enthusiasts like Dr. Radhika Agarwal, Mr. Sameer Bawa, Mr. Anshuman Sood had added power to the gourmet session.
With a successful note to the day, the Address Home team soon will call to many such events in other cities too in near future.
About the brand:
Address Home is India’s Iconic Online Luxury Home Decor Brand that creates and curates world-class premium home decorative range for the discerning. The brand is a powerhouse of contemporary chic, with global design sensibilities that stimulate a higher lifestyle. With 13 exclusive stores and a global presence with their online foray, they are out to elevate the Décor quotient of contemporary Indian homes with their luxe ranges of linen, dining, décor furniture and lighting.
A leader in luxury camera segment worldwide, German Luxury Camera brand ‘Leica’celebrated the cultural heritage of India with the third session of ‘Coffee with Leica’on Saturday, 21stJuly 2018 by joining hands with Canadian Diplomat and proud Leica user- Mr. Roger Chen. The brand through this initiative not only promoted the Indian culture but also sharing Leica’s experience with the new generation of photographers.
Post the amazing response received for the first two sessions of ‘Coffee with Leica’, the third session was sculpted around Roger’s latest collection ‘Devotion- A Journey through India’, where he displayed photographs taken during his three years stay in India, capturing festivals, religion, culture and tradition. The session addressed new generation of photographers, sharing valuable information around ‘The art of capturing Indian streets which is filled with the amusing culture of India’ and photography journey with Leica.
The way Roger went on telling stories about each of his capture, it was a great narrative not just about photography nuances but also the culture of India. He also shared why some of his pictures, which he loved, never made it to the exhibition. All those minute details which change our perspective of looking at photographs in a certain way was just so interesting and intriguing.
His collection is up for exhibition at Leica Store, New Delhi from July 16thto July 26th, 2018.
About the Speaker
Mr. Roger Chen has been a diplomat working overseas over the past 25 years in locations such as Jakarta, Kuwait, Shanghai, São Paulo, Cairo, Beijing, New York and the past three years in Delhi. As an avid travel photographer, Roger has thrived on capturing the diverse cultures, traditions and customs he has been to be privileged to witness. In his Leica journey he documents the world through the Leica M10 and a 35mm f/1.4 Summilux. Follow him on Instagram to see India through his lenses.
About Leica
Leica is a 107-year-old popular German, luxury camera and sports optic brand. Known to be held by renowned photographers and celebrities worldwide, Leica a pioneer in camera and optics for decades, aims at bringing in a class apart photographic experience with their first store in the heart of the capital at Connaught Place, New Delhi in India.
Leica is headquartered at Wetzlar, Germany and has branch offices in Australia, China, France, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Singapore, South Korea, the UK and the US. Leica would be holding such interesting photo talk events and photo walks every month, for those who are keen to attend, must follow them on Instagram to get regular updates.
I throughly enjoyed myself and all I can say is that apart from gaining knowledge, I am filled with much more enthusiasm to try new techniques in photography, break the rules and simply keep experimenting. I also had a small chit chat with Roger and here is what he said
Blurb, a leading PR agency in Goa which caters to Luxury Hotels and Restaurant Industry is all set to host a round table discussion on the Hotel Marketing. Well known players from the industry will be seen taking the speakers position and throw light on the current industry standards. Names like Saurabh Khanna, GM, The Park Hotels, Sachin Patil, STAAH Channel Manager & Rubiq Website Development, Wilbert Egipsy, Digital Marketing & Ecommerce Unomas, Sol De Goa, would grace the occasion and raise the standards of such a round table discussion as they bring with them years of experience and are encyclopaedias of the industry in their own rights.
Blurb was created to work in this area with a special focus on social media marketing. At the time, there were no agencies in Goa specialising in end to end marketing solutions for hospitality brands. Over the past four years, its success stories include most of Goa’s leading restaurant and hotel brands, such as the Black Sheep Bistro, Mustard, Simba Craft Beer, Habanero Goa, and Vivanta by Taj Panaji to name a few.
The start-up was created by Sapna Shahani, an enterprising female entrepreneur who spent her formative years in the tech rich city of San Francisco, California and later returned to her hometown Mumbai. Goa was always a home away from home where she spent family holidays, so setting up business in Goa felt more comfortable than the overcrowded business capital of Mumbai. Sapna completed a fast-track MBA course at the Indian School of Business (Mumbai) which was specially designed for working women entrepreneurs. This gave her the confidence to make the shift from TV/ documentary production to running her own full-fledged PR and marketing agency.
“Blurb aims to promote innovative businesses in the hospitality space and only plugs businesses that we believe in. Hiring a consultancy like Blurb is like taking out an insurance policy for your business. An external set of eyes helps you take customer-centric decisions to advance your brand’s relevance in the market. In today’s fast-paced world, there are so many marketing activities that entrepreneurs need to do to stay visible that it makes more sense to engage specialists for this responsibility, who have the bird’s eye view of the industry,” remarked Sapna.
Since its inception, Blurb has worked with premium five star hotels like Fort Tirakol to niche cafes and restaurants like Artjuna. ‘Every business has a unique story to tell and the Blurb team knows how to share it’. This catch phrase helps build the right brand perception in the eyes of the customer.
So what are you waiting for, if you want to hear the industry experts speak their knowledge out, pre-register yourself for the event and make the most of it.
The truly made in India drink OMG! (Oh My Ganna) partners with Indian wrestling heroes of Haryana Hammers at Pro Wrestling League (PWL) to promote Kushti in the country. In its endeavor to take India’s pride factors to the world stage this indigenously developed Sugarcane juice brand is energizing Indian and International pehlwans. OMG! is the next best thing to fresh sugarcane juice and is trusted by the Haryana Hammers team to refresh their players after the tough matches.
Wrestling requires top notch fitness and stamina and a wrestler cannot go with anything but the best diet, routine and lifestyle to stay fit and healthy. Considered as the King of juices, Sugarcane Juice is blessed with extremely high nutritional properties. We Indians love our traditional beverages and are crazy for freshly extracted sugarcane juice. But the availability at street vendor shops under extreme unhygienic conditions is the biggest concern. Due to its highly perishable nature, it cannot be preserved beyond a few hours, which has also restricted the availability of canned sugarcane juice in India.
Taking up the challenge, Nutricane Beverages Pvt. Ltd., created its first bottled Sugarcane Juice OMG! (Oh My Ganna) with a non-refrigerated shelf life, same great taste and nutritional values as fresh sugarcane juice without adding any chemical preservatives.
Being a proud partner of Haryana Hammers, OMG! Sugarcane juice is offering every sip of nostalgia at this energetic and adventurous platform with the earthy taste notes of the fresh cane juice, completing the experience with the glass bottle.
Pro Wrestling League (PWL) is an initiative to revive all the adventure, all the fun that Kushti was once associated with – and Haryana Hammers is one of the top teams that is part of this League along with 5 other teams. Geared up to register the win, the bandwagon of Haryana Hammers is being led by players who have a history of accolades and wins alongside their names both nationally and internationally. This year, the team has three Rio Olympic Medalists Helen Maroulis (57 Kg), Sun Yanan (50 Kg) and Hassan Rahimi Sabzali (57 Kg) and four National Champions Sumit (125 Kg), Roublejit Singh Rangi (92 Kg), Sarita Mor (62 Kg) and Rajneesh (67 Kg). The team also has Khetik Tsabolov (74Kg), who is a two time winner of World Wrestling Championship and Pooja Sihag (76Kg) who has consistently won the Asian Championship for four years. Behind the team is the vision of Olive Sports – a venture that aims to revive the stature of Kushti in this country so as to bring the real heroes into the limelight.
About Nutricane Beverages Pvt. Ltd:
Nutricane Beverages Pvt. Ltd http://www.drinkomg.in/ was founded with the idea of offering Natural beverages that can truly provide the sip of goodness, taste of freshness, a healthy mix & a natural fix to the beverage consumers especially the rising millennial of India and other markets. Taking start-up innovation to next level, the company worked hard to craft the real flavor of the country by developing world class patented technology as a big beverage revolution. The company dares to create niche categories in the beverage domain by picking real flavors of the country which will be crafted naturally in their purest form for consumers. OMG is the next big innovation in the F&B space, crafted naturally in India for the world.
About OMG! (Oh My Ganna):
OMG! comes in a 250 ml recyclable glass bottle at an attractive price of INR 40/-.The super fluid has hit the market in two avatars –OMG! Cumin Crush – Sugarcane juice with cumin flavor and OMG! Ginger Groove –Sugarcane juice with ginger flavor.
OMG! is high in nutrients such as calcium, potassium, phosphorus and vitamin C and low in calories with a low glycemic index. Sugarcane Juice is blessed with some amazingly cool nutritional benefits. It is a natural thirst quencher that best hydrates the body, gives instant energy, enhances immunity, helps in fighting cold, flu and sore throat, improves digestion, helps in weight loss. It is also low in calories, treats Jaundice, works as a deterrent to fight diseases like cancer and is good for glowing skin.
OMG! is crafted to deliver our nostalgic memories of sugarcane juice in an innovative form while keeping the essence intact. OMG! Sugarcane juice is all natural, containing over 80% juice content, and is not made from any concentrate or pulp unlike most juices available in the market today. The product does not contain any chemical preservatives as the company is using Class 1 Natural Preservatives and a few food additives which are found in common household kitchens.
The ongoing eighth annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) 2017 held in Hyderabad, India celebrates the flavour of unity with its- Women First, Prosperity for All campaign focusing on supporting entrepreneurs and fostering economic growth globally.
The summit was addressed by our hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and US President’s advisor Ms. Ivanka Trump. At GES 2017, over 2500 attendees, including entrepreneurs, foreign & national delegates received the iconic Modi Jackets designed by StitchMe, a bespoke clothing start up by young entrepreneurs from Delhi .
These Modi Jacket’s have made a fantastic comeback in navy blue vest with electric blue GES logo and pocket square. Each jacket is hand-sewn by Indian artisans. All delegates will be wearingthesejackets through the summit as a token of respect, unity, and culture.
Emerging fashion trends and fads have created an audience eager for distinct and contemporary pocket friendly clothing and StitchMe is the one-stop shop which caters to all your fashion needs to make you stand out.
About StitchMe
StitchMe is an upcoming bespoke clothingbrand that provides the charm and convenience of made-to-measure at your doorstep with a styling session with one of our expert stylists and hassle-free delivery.
Our team helps you find your right fit, select the perfect fabrics and customise the design of your choice-all with the aim to provide a unique experience of creating your own made-to-measure clothing.
It entails a creative process which reinvents the way men shop for formal & ethnic wear providing them the right fit and trending designs. It helps you curate fabric and style for clothing of your choice and even request a designer to measure you while you enjoy an evening at home.
In future we look forward to expanding our sphere to Womenswear and opening a chain of retail stores.
