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After graduating from Ahmedabad’s CN College of Fine Arts in the early 90s, Sangita Khalsa plunged into business, setting up a firm that designs soft furnishings for clients that include the city’s 5-star hotels. Then during the Covid pandemic, when business came to a standstill, Ms Khalsa decided to bring her sensibilities to play in […]
In this age of bitcoins and digital payments, old banknotes can evoke a happy nostalgia. They certainly did at the opening of the Beyond Face Value exhibition of French banknotes at the Alliance Francaise (AF) Ahmedabad on Friday. The French expatriates present at the opening had many memories associated with these Franc notes which were […]
Many iconic brands have emerged from Gujarat, but the one most closely identified with the state is surely Amul. Amul symbolises Gujarat in the popular mind, just as McDonald’s symbolises America. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns the brand, has reinforced this perception in its widely aired “Taste of India” campaign, which features […]
A team of American experts is preparing the EKA Arena in Maninagar for its first dirt bike racing event on Sunday, to be held under the aegis of the newly formed CEAT Indian Supercross Racing League (ISRL). This will be the second of a three-part series of ISRL races, the first of which was held […]
Back in 1997, when Arvind Mills was first moving into branded apparel in a big way, we asked chairman Sanjay Lalbhai if there was any real difference between Flying Machine jeans and more expensive brands like Lee. Is the quality of the denim different? Are the zippers different? His insightful answer: “The difference is not […]
When Narendra Modi gifted American first lady Jill Biden a Made-in-Surat 7.5 carat lab-grown diamond on his state visit to the USA last year, it gladdened the hearts of everyone connected with this sunrise industry. Among those cheering the Prime Minister’s choice of gift was Amish Shah, New York-based owner of the J’evar jewellery brand, […]
Launched in 1988, Symphony has survived and thrived over 35 years to become an iconic Gujarat-based global brand. Legend has it that the brand was born of a dinner table conversation between Symphony’s founder-chairman Achal Bakeri and his father, construction magnate Anil Bakeri. The Bakeris had just installed an air cooler in their new house, […]
IPL franchise Gujarat Titans launched Junior Titans, a sports program for school children in Ahmedabad on Saturday. The first event in the program, which was held in the grounds of Calorx Olive International School, had 300 children from 28 schools in the city participating. Over the next two months, Junior Titans will travel to Vadodara, […]
Arvind Limited inaugurated the world’s first open-source innovation centre for water sustainability in the campus of its Santej facility in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Set up in partnership with Gap Inc, USA, the 18,000 sq feet centre will serve as a research hub for innovations aimed at improving water management practices in the textile and apparel […]
When the Baroda-based Alembic Glass launched Yera in 1965, glass tableware was still a novelty. Brass was then the material of choice for tumblers and plates in Indian households and it was only gradually being replaced by stainless steel. Glassware was limited to a Westernised elite and was mostly imported. Alembic Glass was originally set […]
Twenty journalists from Japan flew down for the Vibrant Gujarat Summit and theirs was a very visible presence, even in a crowd measured in thousands. They were there largely because Toshihiro Suzuki, president of Suzuki Motor Corporation was a lead speaker, as was Japan’s minister for external affairs, Shin Osaka. Interestingly, they were even more […]
The inaugural session of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit is an all-star event, with top industrialists and luminaries from all over the world in attendance. The 10th summit of the series, which was inaugurated at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, was no exception. VO! brings you quotes from the lead speakers: Narendra Modi, Prime […]
In the late 70s, there were intriguing stories built around the closely guarded “secret formula” for Coca Cola. Legend has it that the Janata government of the day demanded the American company reveal its recipe if it wanted to operate in India. Coke refused and was consequently expelled from the country in 1977. Those days, […]
Dibeyendu Ganguly The late-night slot at the Saptak Music Festival was once considered the prestige slot, reserved for the top stars. In times gone by, the last concert of the day would go on till the wee hours of the morning, with die hard classical music fans loyally staying on till the very end. This […]
In the time of Romeo and Juliet, young men in Italy played the mandolin as they serenaded their sweethearts in the balconies. The instrument has undergone many modifications since then, growing in popularity all over the world. In India, the mandolin emerged on the Carnatic Music scene in the 1980s courtesy Uppalapu Shrinivas, who modified […]
Who says classical music concerts need to be serious affairs? The performances on the third day of the Saptak Musical Festival at Ahmedabad’s LD Arts College on Wednesday were delightfully entertaining, with the performers seemingly enjoying themselves as much as the audience. The first performance, featuring Pandit Puran Maharaj and Prashant Sharma in a tabla-pakhawaj […]
Starting as it does on January 1, the 13-day Saptak Music Festival has always given Ahmedabad’s denizens the option of starting off the New Year with something special. The 44th edition of Saptak, which began on Monday at LD Arts College, is dedicated to stalwarts Pandit Kumar Gandharwa and Ustad Amir Khan, whose garlanded photographs feature […]
In the first part of a six-part VO! series on the history of Gujarat’s top brands, we feature Rasna: Launched in 1978, Rasna is among the most iconic brands to come out of Gujarat. Through the 80 and 90s, the brand grew to become one of the most popular Indian consumer products ever. Backed by […]
Tea, detergents, butter, ice cream, and ointments are all products of daily use, not very exciting in the general scheme of things. Until you give them a name. Wagh Bakri, Nirma, Amul, Vadilal, Moov. Suddenly, they have associations and personalities. You ask for them by name, deliberately choosing them over others. If you like Wagh […]
When it comes to celebrating the New Year, it’s different strokes for different folks. Vibes of India asked a cross-section of CEOs about their plans for the Winter Break this year and we got very divergent answers. Some are taking the opportunity to travel; others are celebrating at home and some have decided not to […]
