MUMBAI: It is that time of the year again, when the Earth twinkles with a million stars brighter than the constellations in the Heavens above, when red-robed St Nicholases descend from the North Pole on skis loaded with gifts and the sight n? scent of cakes of all shapes and sizes beckon from bakery display racks . And as the spirit of Yuletide sweep across the continents, Amrita TV presents a bagful of programmes that reflects all the joy and sweetness of Christmas.

Xmas Day celebrations opens on a musical note at 9.00am, with blossoming playback singer Sayanora and her family; feature film Paranthu starring Mammooty and Lakshmi Rai follows on its heals at 10.00am.

In Cakes and Me at 2.00pm, we spent half-an-hour exploring the ?heavenly? side of Christmas ? the delectable, mouth-watering world of Xmas cakes. The 1st segment takes us into the aromatically appetizing kitchens of a well-known bakery, where the entire cake continuum from dainty fluffies, layered, leavened, round, oblong, square, star-shaped to the heavily iced are produced. The succeeding segments present easy-to-bake cake recipes, one in the traditional oven and the other a pressure cooker quickie that are lip-smacking additions to one?s collection.

Pattil Padmaragam at 2.30 pm is a heart-to-heart conversation with playback celebrity Sreenivas, in which he casts his mind back over to his early days as a singer, his fruitful association with maestro AR Rehman, the first State Award that he won and many other interesting tidbits from his life. 

The fledging stars of the film firmament, Reema Kallungal, the heroine of ?Rithu? and Kailesh & Archana Kavi, the lead pair of ?Neelathamara? share small screen space in a 1 hour chat show Shinning Stars at 3.30pm. The threesome exchange their debutante experiences, that bear strong similarities, all three having started their innings under stalwarts of Malayalam Cinema- Reema expounds on her thrill at working with world famous director, Shyamaprasad and the other two relive the jitters they had, in stepping into M.T Vasudevan?s characters.

Music Mix at 4.30pm is an exceptional anthology of Xmas songs from a range of Malayalam films, that include both forgotten favorites from black & white classics as well as fresh numbers from the latest hits. At 5.30 pm , Amrita TV takes off to the location of the film Mummy and Me, into the midst of its star cast and crew in Mummyum Njanum Pinne Nakshathranghalum ; joins in their fun as they deck up the sets with stars, balloons, lights and festoons; listens to the starry Xmas reminiscences of of Urvasi, Sari, Archan Kavi, Lalu Alex and Kunchakko Boban .

Super Dancer Xmas Special at 7.00pm steps in tune to the jingle bells, with Anna the winner of Super Dancer Junior, Prashant topper of Super Dancer-1 taking the floor first, followed by all the contestants of Super Dancer-2 waltzing to an Usha Uthup number. At 7.30pm, in a Xmas segment of Super Star -2, the jovial and rotund M.Jayachandran disappears suddenly from the judge?s dias, to appear on stage in the midst of the contestants as a very convincing Santa Claus, distributing cakes and gifts, with Alphonse chiming in with a Christmas carol accompanied by Stephen on the keyboard.
 

MUMBAI: Hanmer MS&L has today announced that it has been awarded a communications mandate to assist the World Gold Council (WGC) achieve their objective of sustaining the demand for gold amongst the various stake holders of the Council.

WGC is funded by the world‘s leading gold mining companies that include Barrick, AngloGold, Ashanti, Newmont, Gold Fields and Goldcorp.

Led out of Mumbai by the Corporate, Financial Communications and the Lifestyle teams, Hanmer MS&L will also pool in the knowledge and resources of Capital MS&L, MS&L Worldwide and the Publicis Consultants. 

The four key areas where Hanmer MS&L will assist the WGC are Government Affairs, Investments B2B (Industrial) and Lifestyle and Jewellery. In addition, Hanmer MS&L will also be active in liaison with various government and regulatory bodies to ensure that barriers to the ownership of gold are removed.

Ajay Mitra, Managing Director- India, of World Gold Council said, "India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and we see this as an opportunity to increase gold‘s prominence in various investment options. We are delighted to partner with Hanmer MS&L and are confident that this relationship will be fruitful in ensuring that gold‘s value increases with each passing day."

Jaideep Shergill, Managing Director of Hanmer MS&L who is leading the account in India said, "Hanmer MS&L is excited to partner the World Gold Council in their efforts to place gold as the key component of any decision making across sectors. We are confident that we will be able to significantly increase gold‘s prominence through numerous activities across sectors in the coming months."
 

MUMBAI: Radio City 91.1FM sets the radio waves on fire in the last ten days of 2009, with a mega year-end celebrity blockbuster treat for Bengaluru, bringing to its listeners a spectacular show with the most famous Sandalwood stars on-air. This will be a guaranteed entertainer first thing in the morning for all the people of Bengaluru and also the best way to bid goodbye to year 2009. This Super Star Dhamaka will kick-start on air from December 21st, 2009 to December 31st, 2009 from Monday ? Saturday, 8am ? 10am.

The biggest stars of the industry will be heard entertaining the listeners along with Bangalore?s favourite RJ Pradeep on ?Whatte Fun Mornings?. The super star line up includes Puneeth, Ramya, Ganesh, Pooja Gandhi, Ramesh Arvind, Shiv Rajkumar, Darshan, Sudeep, Ravi Chandran and Ambareesh all set to bring in the New Year with a big bang.

Poised to be the biggest celebration of the year on air, the show promises to be packed with lot of excitement and surprises. The artistes, along with highlighting the year gone by, will also chat about their most embarrassing moments, best moments, about Bangalore city, things that made them proud, things which could be better, plans & dreams for 2010. The year-end dhamaka will also include a rapid fire round where the stars will be at their vulnerable best.

Commenting on this initiative, Mr. Rana Barua, Executive Vice President and National Head- Programming & Marketing, Radio City 91.1 FM, ?India?s No. 1 Music station is extremely proud to be associated with the top stars of the Sandalwood industry and bring to its listeners Radio City Super Star Dhamaka. What better way to enjoy the holiday season than tuning into a show that?s packed with glamour, excitement and tremendous fan-fare. The listeners will get a wonderful chance to look back on 2009 through the lens of Sandalwoods biggest stars. So Radio City brings to all Bengalurian?s good tidings of the season with a fun-filled celebration ringing in the New Year.?

Tune in for the most awaited and unheard facts, gossips, experiences, emotional moments of all your favourite stars or be left out!
 

MUMBAI: ICICI Bank along with CNBC-TV18, India‘s leading business channel and Overdrive India‘s premier Car and Bike magazine, will present the 9th edition of ‘CNBC-TV18 Overdrive Awards 2010‘ in Delhi on 5th January. The awards will focus on the road ahead for the auto industry in the face of increasing need for green technology and environment conservation.

This year the CNBC-TV18 Overdrive Awards will give car lovers an opportunity to help them reaffirm their favorite car by voting in the Car of the Year contest. Car enthusiasts across the country can cast their vote by sending SMS COTY<favorite car > to 51818. The contest will also give them a chance to win exiting prizes and couple tickets to Goa.

The ICICI Bank-CNBC-TV18-Overdrive Awards are definitive and the most trusted automobile awards for consumers, manufacturers and auto experts alike, bringing all the stakeholders on a single platform. The awards play an important role in bringing to fore the issues facing the Indian Auto sector and discuss various scenarios in global and local automobile sector.

The list of the categories for the CNBC-TV18 Overdrive Awards 2010‘ is -

Car of the year

Bike of the year

UV of the year

SUV of the year

Compact Car of the Year

Midsize Car of the Year

Premium Automobile of the Year

Performance Car of the Year

Import Car of the Year

Performance Bike of the Year

Import SUV of the Year

Manufacturer of the Year

Motorsport Award of the Year

Storyboard auto commercial of the Year

Green Award of the Year

Hall of Fame
The winners of this year‘s awards will be selected by an eminent jury consisting of Hari Singh, five time Indian National Rally champion, Sirish Chandran, Editor, Overdrive, Bertrand D‘Souza, Deputy Editor, Overdrive, Shubhabrata Marmar, Deputy Editor, Overdrive, Gaurav Gill, Indian National Rally champion, Production WRC driver, Vikram Mathias, Former National Rally Champion and Siddharth Lal, CEO, Eicher Motors.

Speaking about the awards, Mr. Neel Chowdhury, Vice President, CNBC-TV18 & CNBC AWAAZ said, "CNBC-TV18 Overdrive Awards are the most credible and widely accepted benchmark for automobile excellence today. The awards have served the dual purpose of honoring the best in Indian automobile and bringing together the best minds in the auto sector to discuss the critical issues facing the industry."
 

MUMBAI: In the dark night of December 26, 2004, an earthquake measuring 9.3 on the Richter scale occurred off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake had one of the worst death tolls from a natural disaster in recorded history. It triggered a deadly wave of tsunamis, resulting in the destruction of homes and entire landscapes across the continent, including India. In remembrance of the event, this December, Discovery Channel‘s REVEALED: ANATOMY OF A RECOVERY takes a look at the relief and reconstruction efforts in the aftermath, and the lessons learnt from the tragedy that may help to prepare for such disasters in the future.

Discovery Channel?s will air Tsunami special REVEALED: ANATOMY OF A RECOVERY on Saturday, December 26 at 9 PM showcasing the reconstruction efforts and the stories of the survivors.

Commenting on the programme, Rahul Johri, senior vice president and general manager ? India, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific said, ?Along with its high-quality global programming, Discovery Channel is also dedicated to present engaging India-based programmes. We air the untold stories on India in Discovery?s weekly slot ? Discover India, the most recent being a special programme on the 26/11 attack, Surviving Mumbai. This week, it will present a programme on another deadly strike that took place five years back, the 26/12 Tsunami. In this programme, viewers will learn how the process of recovery can contribute to a greater understanding of how we can prepare for, if not control, the forces of nature.?

Five years after the devastating tsunami, Discovery Channel revisits the affected regions of India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Maldives to take a look at the outcome of reconstruction efforts. REVEALED: ANATOMY OF A RECOVERY provides an insight into the daunting challenges facing governments and humanitarian aid agencies on the long road to recovery, as well as the attempts by the survivors to rebuild their homes and their lives.

In India, the programme showcases efficacy of participatory housing approach which has gained popularity among some NGOs. The agency and government keeps a leading role in construction but the community is involved in varying degrees and roles in the construction process. This is a step forward in empowering house owners, it is known as the owner-driven approach. And nothing more illustrates this point than the World Bank Housing Complex site near Chennai ? it houses almost 5000 small flats homes on this site were originally built to re-house the slum dwellers of Chennai, but when the city was hit by the Tsunami disaster, some of the families (approximately 432 families ) were provided with immediate shelter and allocated homes at this site. The programme also highlights the works of organisations like ActionAid and ITWWS ? an organisation for tribal community of Irulas in Tamil Nadu.

ANATOMY OF A RECOVERY presents the accounts of different regions which suffered the wrath of the natural calamity - their chronicle of recuperation, the problems faced and the lessons learnt from them. The programme documents the efforts of the survivors to re-establish themselves and rebuild their lives from the scratch.

This is a story, not of disaster but of recovery. It may not be possible to control the forces of nature but it is certainly possible to control the preparedness and can make choices which can serve to protect, and ultimately save mankind.
 

MUMBAI: Primesite, Mudra MAX‘s out-of-home (OOH) solutions unit is currently executing an outdoor campaign for Reliance Life Insurance, one of the leading private sector financial services companies in India. Reliance Life Insurance has tied up with the upcoming Aamir Khan-starrer 3 Idiots to promote it‘s ‘All is well‘ Insurance Plans.

‘Jab Reliance Life Insurance hai saath - All is well‘, is the main idea communicated through the OOH campaign. The campaign talks about Reliance Life Insurance‘s assurance - of taking care of their consumer‘s financial worries, enabling them to live life to the fullest. The media used include hoardings, bus shelters, bus backs, platform signages and mobile vans which convey the thought ‘All is well‘. Primesite has brought this idea alive by creating innovative cut-outs of 3 Idiots which has been put up across Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune.

Commenting on the campaign, Mandeep Malhotra, Senior Vice President said, "The brand‘s proposition ‘All is well‘ sends out a simple yet powerful message and outdoor plays a key role in communicating this to the masses across segments and classes. We are extremely proud to have partnered with Reliance Life Insurance to help the brand gain visibility and create a campaign that engages its consumers."