This verse is inscribed on a stone tablet next to a polo ground in Skardu Pakistan, north of Kashmir, near the fabled Silk Route. In one ancient sentence, it epitomises the feelings of many polo players today.

Many scholars believe that polo, in its antiquated form, originated among the Iranian tribes some time before Darius of Persia and his cavalry extended the Achaemenid dynasty rule to the greater Persian Empire.

Throughout Asian antiquity, from Japan to Egypt, from India to the Byzantine Empire, Polo and its variants were the nearest equivalents to a "national sport". However, as the great Eastern empires decayed and collapsed in the Middle Ages following their decimation by the Mongol hordes, so too disappeared the glittering court life of which polo was so important a part; and, the game itself was preserved only in remote villages.

The contemporary sport
Polo is now an active sport in 77 countries, and although its tenure as an Olympic sport was limited to 1900 -1939, in 1998 the International Olympic Committee recognized it as a sport with a bona fide international governing body, the Federation of International Polo.
Polo is, however, played professionally in only a few countries, notably Argentina, England, Pakistan, India, Australia, and the United States. Polo is unique among team sports in that amateur players, often the team patrons, routinely hire and play alongside the sport's top professionals.
Argentina dominates the professional sport, as its polo team has been the uninterrupted world champion since 1949 and is today the source of most of the world's 10-goal (i.e., top-rated) players.

The game

Rules
Polo requires two teams of players mounted on horseback to play the game. When playing outdoors each team has four players, whereas arena polo is restricted to three players per team. The object of the game is to score the most goals by hitting the ball through the goal.
A game is divided into periods, called chukkas-since 1898, from Hindi chakkar from Sanskrit chakra "circle, wheel", compare chakka -of 7 minutes, and depending on the rules of the particular tournament or league, a game may have 4, 6 or 8 chukkas; 6 chukkas are most common. Games are often played with a handicap in which the sums of the individual players' respective handicaps are compared. The team with the larger handicap is given free points before the start of the game.
The game begins with the two teams of four lined up each team in line forming two rows with the players in order 1, 2, 3, 4 facing the umpire in the center of the playing field. There are two mounted umpires on the field and a referee standing on the sidelines. At the beginning of a game, one of the umpires bowls the ball in hard between the two teams.

Player positions
Each position assigned to a player has certain responsibilities:
" Number One is usually the novice or weakest player on the team, but the position is one of the most difficult to play. Number One's job is to score goals as well as neutralize the opponents Number Four (defensive) player.
" Number Two needs a fast pony, a keen eye, and high maneuverability as his job is to get hold of the ball.
" Number Three is the tactical leader and must be a long powerful hitter to feed balls to Number Two and Number One as well as maintaining a solid defense. The best player on the team is usually the Number Three player.

" Number Four is the primary defense player and though he can move anywhere on the field, he often tries to prevent scoring.

Polo ponies
The term pony is purely traditional and the mount is actually a full-sized horse. A good pony should have docility, speed, endurance, and intelligence. It is said that the pony is 60 to 75 percent of the player's skill. Thoroughbreds were originally the only breeds used, but in the contemporary sport mixed breeds are common. Many of the best polo ponies are bred in Argentina and United States. Polo training begins at age four and lasts from about six months to two years. Ponies reach their peak at around age 10; but without any accidents, polo ponies may have the ability to play until they are 18 to 20 years of age.

Equipment
The basic dress of a player is a protective helmet, riding boots to just below the knees, and a colored shirt bearing the number of the player's position. Optional equipment includes knee pads and spurs, face mask, and a whip. The outdoor polo ball is made of plastic, but was formerly made of either bamboo or willow root. The indoor polo ball is leather-covered and inflated and is about 4? inches (11.4 cm) in diameter. The outdoor ball is about 3? inches (8.3 cm) in diameter and weighs about four ounces (113.4 g). The polo mallet has a rubber-wrapped grip and a webbed thong, called thumb sling, for wrapping around the hand. The shaft is made of bamboo-cane with a bamboo head 9? inches in length. The whole mallet weighs about 7 ounces and varies in length from 48 to 53 inches. The ball is struck with the side of the mallet rather than the edge.
Polo saddles are English-style similar to jumping saddles. The legs of the pony are bandaged from below the knee to the ankle to prevent injury. The pony's mane is clipped, and its tail is braided to prevent interference with the rider's swing.

Facts about polo
" The oldest royal polo square is the 16th century Maidan-Shah in Isfahan , Iran .
" The oldest polo club in the world still in existence is the Calcutta Polo Club .
" The highest polo ground in the world is on the deosai Plateau Baltistan, Pakistan at 4307 meters (14,000 ft).
" Polo must be played right handed. Left handed play was ruled out in 1975 for safety reasons. To date, only 3 players on the world circuit are left-handed.
" The most prestigious international Polo Tournament in the world is the Palermo Polo Open, held annually in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

" The most prestigious Polo Tournament in the USA is the US Open Polo Championship held in Wellington, Florida in April where the top players in the world compete.
" Argentina has been the uninterrupted world champion since 1949 and is today the source of most of the world's 10 goal (i.e., top-rated) players.

Related sports
" Buzkashi involves two teams of horsemen, a dead goat and few rules. It is the national game of Afghanistan and a possible precursor of polo.
" Horseball is a game played on horseback where a ball is handled and points are scored by shooting it through a high net. The sport is a combination of polo, rugby, and basketball.
" Kokpar is a Kazakh game similar to Buzkashi.
" Polocrosse is another game played on horseback, a cross between polo and lacrosse .
" Pato was played in Argentina for centuries, and may be the reason Argentines excel at polo.

Polo variants
Polo is not played exclusively on horseback. Such polo variants are mostly played for recreational or touristic purposes; they include canoe polo , cycle polo , camel polo, elephant polo, Segway polo and yak polo .

"If ever a car was built to be driven, it is the Bentley. Passion

for performance is in our blood. And in our bloodline. Early history was written on the racetracks of Europe by a breed of adventurers who not only had the vision to build the cars, but also the courage to drive them to victory.

Continue to design and build every precious part of a Bentley with one thing in mind -

the experience of the driver. That?s as true of the craftsmanship that creates vehicles of inimitable finesse as of the engineering that produces engines of phenomenal power.

Which is why, as long ago as 1938, Bentley inaugurated the first Instruction Class for owners. That was the beginning of Bentley Driving, which today offers advanced driving courses to those owners wishing to explore the full potential of their cars.

Not for the faint-hearted, these would typically involve extreme tests of skill in a wide

variety of driving situations. Experiencing and correcting oversteer and understeer, understanding the ESP system, using ABS to brake at speed, high speed cornering techniques, skid-pan practice or redline acceleration - the thrill of mastering these, and many other driving challenges, makes for a truly unforgettable learning experience.
Nothing less than the finest materials and the most painstaking attention to detail go into the manufacture of Bentley cars. And nothing less than those very same qualities can satisfy those who commission our Bentley replica models. The closest possible collaboration between our styling team and the die-cast manufacturer ensures that our scale miniatures are true in form and as authentic in detail as the originals.

This limited series, offered in unique Bentley packaging, matches the unique colours and specifications of the Bentley cars past and present.

Rare "B" species

Huge reserves of understated power and the finest tradition of British coachbuilding come together in the Bentley Arnage range of three Grand Touring saloons, each with its own distinctive character and style. Whether it?s the high performance, the beautifully refined, the stately Arnage, no other car can be hand-built to customer requirements with such delicacy and care.
Glamorous and desirable, the Bentley Azure represents the pinnacle in a revered line of convertibles that stretches back to the very earliest days of the Bentley legend. The inspiration is classic, the execution is cutting-edge.

Coup? worthy of the GT name. Inspired by the grace and power of Bentley?s thoroughbred bloodline, the Continental

GT combines phenomenal power, class-leading performance and contemporary design with handcraftsmanship in true Crewe tradition. Power that doesn?t compromise space. Handling that doesn?t compromise comfort. Technology that doesn?t compromise handcraftsmanship. Above all, true Grand Touring performance complemented by the luxury of Bentley legend.
The Continental Flying Spur, a sumptuous, spacious four-door with the soul of a high performance coup?. With its unmistakable Bentley qualities of exquisite design, peerless craftsmanship and unforgettable driving dynamics, the Continental Flying Spur continues the Bentley bloodline of sporting Grand Tourers with an understated style

that?s as appropriate for a business commute as it is for an evening at the theatre.
The Continental GTC. Inspired by the Grand Touring tradition of Bentley legend. Born of Bentley?s breathtaking Continental GT coup?. With the endless power of a 12-cylinder, 6-litre twin-turbocharged engine urging you from 0-60mph in just 4.8 seconds. And a canopy opening up to the endless skies in less than 25 seconds.

There was once a time when the word luxury connoted a sense of genuine exclusivity. But that was way back then, before the rising tide of ostentatious consumerism washed it all away. To a point where it's so just not there anymore not to have the "LUXURY" tag attached to every item of use --- and that can apply even to bathroom towels.

There are still some things out there though, that for most can never be anything other than objects of awe and wonder.

The super luxurious mobile phone Vertu, with changeable faces and sleek design, slips into that groove ever so smoothly.

In creating the Vertu, Nokia has paced the mobile handset industry by anticipating and surpassing users' needs. How successful has been the separation of this topend line from the mother lode is a story in itself. After all, there are not that many out there who are even aware that the world's handset leader owns this ultimate of status symbols

Encased in metal from stainless steel to platinum, faced with 69.25 carat pure scratch resistant sapphire crystal, with hard wearing ceramics fit for the space shuttle, jewelled ruby bearings to support each key and a round-the-clock/world concierge service, is expensive, exclusive and beautiful, each phone costs a whopping $20,000!! Roughly that is - and no, I did not type in an extra zero by accident.

VERTU - BECKONS INDIA
Nokia recognized that phones, like credit cards, were "lekking devices" - the new social badges for class, personality and community. The ever growing tribe of rich young things, it was probably surmised, would love the Vertu. By charting new territory, it built its brand from scratch playing on the demand for look-at-me phones.

CHARTING NEW TERRITORY
Vertu has plenty of interesting little features created to connote discernment, taste and design. In addition to upgradeability, the Vertu appears tentative in defining a new modern version of exclusivity. To reinforce the image of luxury, Vertu is offering the services of a personal concierge to all Vertu owners round-the-clock (a big selling point).

Prospective owners are ferried to their first Vertu appointment in a limousine; the handset has a dedicated key that connects owners to travel and entertainment advice and reservations across the US, Europe and Asia. The Platinum credit card springs to mind. Need a Sachertorte (a chocolate cake that is one of the most famous Viennese culinary specialties in case you didn't know) delivered from Vienna to a friend in the US? Consider it done. The concierge service is available worldwide in five languages. Detailed records are kept of each customer's preferences. All of this accessible ... just a smooth push-button click away?

BRAND FOR THE TECHNOGEEK
For world class definition and as part of Constellation collection, Vertu has crafted 7 models in black, tan, chocolate or pink leather and in stainless steel or gold finishes. Where Vertu Signature and Vertu Ascent were the first ranges of luxury handsets that used the finest materials from the world of watch-making, automotive engineering and jewellery, the Vertu Constellation scaled it all up a notch further.

Vertu Constellation is finished in gold or stainless steel with an exceptional balance to weight ratio, and is encased across the back plate in leather. In fact, it's the largest piece of leather ever used on a handset.

To further talk about features, it allows one button access to lifestyle services 24 hours a day from virtually anywhere in the world. It also has world weather facilities that let you know exactly what to expect when you get to your destination. Vertu Concierge is the service desk that offers help ranging from recommending local restaurants, making theatre bookings, or simply sending a gift to someone --- anywhere in the world.

FUTURE/WITHSTANDING ITS NAME
To sum up, there are companies releasing exquisite digital products (of the Vertu sort) and coming up with their own luxury and premium brands targeted at the elite or super rich. And exclusive they remain.

Ultimate luxury, instant gratification and imperial magnificence - qualities that are rare in today's world. Staying in the Udaivilas is like reliving the royal era in a more refined and modern way. The Oberoi Group's newest luxury resort is ideal for those seeking both beauty and tranquility.

The architecture of Udaivilas follows Mr. Oberoi's vision that it must represent the traditional designs of the grand Mewar tradition. Located on the banks of Lake Pichola, Udaivilas commands a beautiful view of the City Palace and two seventeenth century island palaces on the lake - Jag Mandir and Jag Nivas.

Guests are escorted from Udaipur airport in a chauffeur driven limousine to a private jetty, then ferried to the resort on board one of the resort's elegantly appointed boats. The transfer takes approximately 15 minutes, offering spectacular views of the Lake Pichola and palaces around it.

Spread over 30 acres and situated on an undulating hill, Udaivilas, though primarily a single-storied structure, has been built on three varying elevations, adding to the sense of scale. The architect of this property is Parul Jhaveri and Nimish Pate of Abhikram. Lim, Teo & Wilkes of Design Work is the interior designer. Tony Corbett of Tony Corbett & Associates is the lighting consultant and the structural consultant is Himanshu Parekh.
View of the City Palace from the lobby

The Udaivilas is classic Mewar in style and has antiques and fine paintings adorning the corridors and rooms. Guests can easily slip back into an earlier era when royalty, in their exquisite ensemble, majestically drifted past the elegantly adorned palace halls and colourful gardens. The entire ambience of the palace hotel is mesmerizing.

The architects have been working in the region for the past decade and a half, in order to re-establish traditional building methods, materials and technologies in the contemporary context. The design has therefore evolved as an assimilation of spaces of a traditional palace and the complex surrounding it, with domes and arches, pavilions and balconies, turrets, niches and jalis (screens).

In the main courtyard, soft green landscaping offsets a blend of elegant black granite and white marble. A luminous white marble lotus seemingly floats on a reflection pool. As night falls, the atmosphere takes on an almost surreal quality with the pale gold fa?ade of Udaivilas shimmering on the dark water.

The lobby, an arterial space with views of the lake and the surrounding mountains, has a central dome resplendent in gold leaf, complemented by a magnificent hand crafted chandelier and a white Thassos marble fountain. The flooring is in a combination of beige Karoli sandstone, Udaipur green marble and white Thassos marble.
Miniature 'sheesh mahal': The Candle Room

The lobby lounge, warm and inviting with hand crafted carpets and furniture, offers stunning views of Lake Pichola and the City Palace. The lounge is richly decorated, with Thekri work and a central dome painted in deep cobalt blue, with rays of the sun in gold leaf.

Adjacent to the lobby is the Candle Room, a miniature 'sheesh mahal' (glass palace). In palaces, the Maharajas used at least one of these rooms as a bedroom for the special ambience it created. The ceiling, 25 ft high and 18 ft in diameter, is a stunning reflecting canvas, with intricate Thekri work in the dome.
Head straight to the pool from your room

Thekri work, an art form unique to the region, adorns the space. In Thekri, molten glass is blown into circular balls using pipettes. When cool, molten mercury and lead are poured into the balls, coating the concave sides, and left to cool again. The balls are then broken into pieces, shaped, and stuck onto surfaces in different patterns, using a mixture of lime and marble powder as adhesive. The effect leaves you spellbound.

Surrounding wall niches also have Thekri work in a floral pattern. In the centre of the room is a recessed table in which candles are set. When lit, a spectacular effect is created by the flickering shadows.

The Candle Room offers views of a cascading terraced garden, flanked by stone column torches, which at night create dancing flames on the water. The cascade culminates in a handcrafted bronze sun, which is the royal insignia of Mewar.
Cascading garden culminates with the royal insignia of Mewar

The reflecting pools and fountains play an important part in the overall design. These impart different ambiences at various times of the day and night, augmented by the soothing sound of trickling or cascading water.

Udaivilas has two restaurants - Suryamahal, the main dining room, and Udaimahal, the specialty Indian restaurant. The domes over Suryamahal recreate the day sky, while those over Udaimahal represent the night sky and the Udaipur cityscape. The vibrancy and richness of Indian and Rajasthani culture are reflected in the blue, green and gold colour scheme.

Suryamahal is the perfect setting for enjoying the special menu that has been developed following meticulous research in the traditional royal kitchens of Rajasthan. Udaimahal is open only for dinner and serves traditional Rajasthani and North Indian cuisine. The courtyard adjoining the restaurants is the perfect setting for al fresco dining. Gas torches cast a sense of drama over live performances of music and dance in the evenings.
Soak in the tranquil ambience at the Oberoi Spa

The corridors leading to the guest rooms have 450 stone columns, each individually hand crafted. Many are finished with ghutai, a technique, which like Thekri, is unique to the region. Craftsmen are reluctant to share details of the process, but it is generally known that various kinds of stone are ground and mixed with egg white and tamarind. The final finish is naturally creamy, ivory-like and glows with a special luminosity. It takes a craftsman a month to make a single column and the smooth stucco, made by mixing lime mortar with lime plaster and crushed marble, takes a year to 'cure'.

The Udaivilas has 87 bedrooms, 63 Deluxe, 19 Superior Deluxe, 4 Deluxe Suites and 1 Kohinoor Suite. The Kohinoor Suite features two bedrooms, a living room with working fireplaces, and a private swimming pool overlooking the City Palace, Lake Pichola and the Aravalli mountain range. The Superior Deluxe Rooms have access to a semi-private infinity edge swimming pool off a patio. The Deluxe Rooms are over 600 sq ft each, featuring a seating area and balcony.
The Moghul Suite

Luxurious white marble bathrooms, with Victorian style bathtubs, overlook a private courtyard. All rooms feature a personal bar, tea and coffee maker, telephone with data port, satellite television, compact disc and digital video player and an electronic safe.

Local artisans fashioned the furnishings that grace the light and airy sitting areas and comfortable bedrooms. The interiors are beautifully appointed, with exclusively designed furniture, hand knotted carpets and fine Indian works of art. The wide use of rich fabrics and silk drapes in the rooms remind guests of the colourful art and royalty of Rajasthan.

All the rooms are not only elegantly decorated but are also equipped with modern facilities.

Once you're settled in, recover from your travel with a visit to the Oberoi Spa by Banyan Tree. Relax with a massage, rejuvenate with a facial, or simply soak in a spa hot tub. Here too, the dome represents the day sky to create a fresh, tranquil ambience. Restful private therapy suites and rooms for beauty treatments have been designed to provide an environment ideal for rejuvenation and relaxation. Still feeling restless? You'll love the fitness center, equipped with state of the art cardiovascular and strength training equipment.

Two original structures on the property have been restored - Bada Mahal and Chhota Mahal. An old caretaker has been looking after these buildings for over thirty years. A small coliseum adjoins Bada Mahal, once used by the royals to view tiger and wild boar fights. A twenty-acre conservatory houses many spotted deer, wild boar and peacocks. Surrounded by extensive landscaped gardens, the hotel offers superb walking routes through its exotic, natural surroundings with excellent views over the azure waters of the Lake Pichola.

The resort and its facilities have been evolved with care, retaining as much of the existing topography as possible. Landscape consultant Bill Bensley believes that the gardens will blossom into a tapestry of hidden walkways and avenues that continually surprise and delight, giving each guest a magical experience. The garden paths lead you to exotic plants, and hideaways. It is ideal for long walks among beautiful gardens and the splendid forest of exotic plants. The total effect at Udaivilas is an aura of elegance and understated luxury.

We use them for all forms of communication: correspondence, business transactions, signatures. A fine pen enhances the writing experience and makes a definitive statement about the writer. Variety is vital to a life of luxury, an abundance of classic names and innovative styles. Indulge in close-up of distinctive writing instruments, masterful presentations of timekeeping design, and leathers of consummate, dependable craftsmanship are here. A look at pens suitable for the novice, the curious minded, the collector.

Let other pens dwell with guilt and misery

A major international manufacturer of fine writing instruments and more, the A.T. Cross Company has been in business for more than 150 years. During that time Cross has re-invented writing instruments, combining design ingenuity with jewelry-quality craftsmanship. They were America's first manufacturer of quality writing instruments, they've been making pens people use, depend upon, and enjoy, for a long time. Richard Cross, a highly skilled pen and pencil maker, founded the company in 1846, and shared the business with his son, Alonzo Townsend Cross. The quality of their pens is evidenced by their popularity. Located in Lincoln, Cross continues to make products of great value, one at a time and by hand, just as Richard Cross did.

Montblanc has been known for generations as a maker of sophisticated, high-quality writing instruments. Founded by a Hamburg stationer in 1906, the company began as the Simplo Filler Pen company in 1908, then adopted the Montblanc trademark three years later. As the highest peak in western Europe, Montblanc really does belong to the whole continent. Its many glaciers are rendered in the company's trademark white star found on all of their luxuries. Since its inception the company has been producing some of the world's most well-known writing instruments and added extensively to the world of luxury with new lines of leather goods, eyewear, desk accessories, jewelry, and fragrance. As a premier purveyor of exclusive products, they reflect today's demands for quality design, tradition, and master craftsmanship.

Founded in Florence, Italy, in 1988, Visconti is the brainchild of Dante Del Vecchio and Luigi Poli, two innovative and creative-minded fountain pen collectors. Together, they have helped reintroduce celluloid pens with a team of talented artisans whose varied experience and love of fountain pens have renewed the craft of celluloid. Visconti is now the largest celluloid pen factory worldwide and its production has widened to include materials such as ebonite, acrylic, Lucite, Bakelite, and ivory. Always interested in technical solutions, Visconti has brought back the crescent filler, and patented double reservoir power filler as well as a traveling ink pot--perfect for filling your pen without messy ink spills on clothes or luggage. Visconti is considered to be one of the most creative companies for fresh designs, technical innovations, and collectible instruments both traditional and contemporary. Choose one and discover for yourself: Visconti is the writing instrument elevated to the realm of art.

World Lux began as a small fountain pen repair company in 1973. Over 30 years later, they've earned their reputation as premier fine writing specialists for the Northwest and beyond. Their multiple venues include a beautifully-designed website, a glossy, full color coffee table catalog, and an elegant showroom in downtown Seattle. Spend some time with them and you'll soon agree that "Some luxuries are essential." They offer their own line of fully functional and aesthetically pleasing writing "essentials" for enjoyment.

Collecting new designations as they go up the corporate ladder is something that is common to most executives. But, what many don't know is that these executives also harbor a secret passion of gathering collectibles. The most common being stamps and coins to airplane models, books, chess boards, comics, masks, rugs and paintings. Collector's Item refer to what executives like to collect, the places they acquire them from and how they nurture their interest on a regular basis.

We take a peek into Cartoon Network Enterprises India and South Asia director Jiggy George's numerous collections in a variety of items. His plush office cabin is filled with a range of Cartoon Network merchandise of Johny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter and other characters.

Apart from this, Jiggy is an avid collector of comics, coins, stamps, masks and music CDs inlays! "All of these passions have been there from a very early age. I keep collecting and the only constraint is the size of the home," he says.

In his Pune home, the first thing that one notices is the pink wall, which sports atypical masks collected from different corners of the world. Having travelled extensively to South East Asian countries, Jiggy started collecting masks as a souvenir to remind him of all the places he had visited.

"My Pune home has a collection of 35 odd masks that adorn a wall and are reminders of places travelled to. Besides, they are works of art from Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Nepal and even from Kerala and Orissa," he says.

While he makes it a point to pick up masks from every country that he visits, his friends too have now started adding to his collection. "Sri Lanka is one country that I have yet to visit. But recently, one of my friends brought me a mask from there as he knows about my collection," he says.

What's more, Jiggy has a penchant to collect comics too. "I also am huge collector of comics and that explains my love for animation! I have the complete series of M.A.D., TinTin, Asterix, Amar Chitra Katha and Calvin & Hobbes. I also have many Justice League comics and a few Dilberts, Gary Larsons and Baby Blues Books. All in all, they tot up to some 500 odd books," he reveals proudly.

He also has a coin and stamp collection, some of which were given to him by father. But Jiggy says that these two collections have been stacked away in albums for a long time now. "I haven't added to the collection lately. As far as stamps are concerned, I own special collection of around 3000 stamps of India and Africa. I have about 100 odd coins including some rare ones that I hope will work for me as my retirement pension. These, I have been collecting as a child and even used to exchange them with like minded school friends," he says.

An unusual passion Jiggy has is that of collecting CD inlays. "Music is my other love. An anachronism in the days of digital music, but I love inlays! I see it as an art and love to read the lyrics, the credit list and any additional information that is on it. To the extent that I have also bought books on inlays and found them very interesting. I have a collection of 2000 odd CD's, which is an eclectic mix of rock, jazz and world music," he says.