By Papri Das

The 10th year of Annapoorna aptly called ?World Of Food India? saw participation from 18 different countries with Korea and Austria leading the pack when it came to innovation.

Organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and international trade fair giant Koelnmesse, this international exhibition for food and beverage trade, catering and retail market aims to present a plethora of international options for the Indian consumers -- from Korean rice beer (Makkoli) to Singaporean fish cakes - all processed and ready to be indulged in!

?With increasing demand for variety and orders opening up for trade, India is cultivating a global palate, not just in cuisine but in edible consumer products as well,? says Koelnmesse representative Sandeep Kumar. ?I feel that people are being more accepting of canned and processed foods than a few years back. This gives the international producers a great opportunity to bring their products to India. On the other hand, it always poses a great opportunity for Indian traders to cash in on the opportunity and at the same time take the valuable role of catering to India's changing palate. The expo aims to bring in international finished food products from different parts of the world and find a market for them in India,? he adds.

The three day event, which first started in 2003, is a subsidiary of a grander food festival that Koelnmesse organises in Germany, and has been brought to the Indian landscape by FICCI.

This year?s expo started on 14 September and hosted over 16 booths from 18 different countries that attracted hoteliers, restaurateurs, food traders as well as food connoisseurs for a global experience. It also featured a number of live events like cheese making workshop, wine tasting for Italian and Austrian brands and seminars on the changing paradigm of food consumption across the globe

When it comes to what the guest countries had to offer, Kumar informs, ?This year?s highlight are the Korean booths, Singaporean Pavilion, and Austria.? His special recommendation was to try the different types of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages that Korea has to offer.

Korea?s rice fermented beer was the popular choice, followed by the Austrian wines. In terms of processed snacks, Singapore won the race with their booth on favoured buns and fish cakes, while Korea came close with their fried duck jerkies and seaweed crunchies. While the crowd remained moderate, Japan saw its tasting samples disappear in no time showing how well Indian palate has accepted Sushis, especially since they had a vegetarian variant.

The expo also gave way for international food makers and embassies to interact with each other and chalk out collaborated business plans. ?Through the expo we have created a culture of food in its last ten years,? says FICCI research associate Ravi Verma. ?We have successfully managed to bring in the key players in the country?s food and beverage industry and give them a taste of global varieties. Next year is going to be even bigger and better as we collaborate with numerous other organisations from the Horeca sector, and plan to organise a chef competition as well,? he adds.

By Papri Das

Come September and Maharashtra is seen revving up to host one of the biggest festivals in India, Ganesh Chaturthi. The ten-day festival is a welcome disruption for the people of Maximum City, who relentlessly slog on to keep pace. Ganesh Puja is a time to take a breather and party hard with friends and family, irrespective of what they do or which God they worship. From holding pujas at home to dressing up to visiting the big idols of the city, Ganesh Puja has transformed from being a tradition to a lifestyle event.

As the scale of the celebrations gets bigger each year, one can?t help but look out for innovation and new trends. And Mumbaikars have been able to use their creative juices quite effectively this year as well by coming up with unique and quirky ways to celebrate the occasion.

Exec Life lists five ways that will give a twist to your Ganesh Puja this year:

1) Fish Friendly Ganesh Idols:

As the name suggests, this year Mumbaikars are buying Ganesh idols, which are exclusively tailored for fish and other underwater animals. Conceptualised by Ogilvy and Mather and executed with the help of the NGO Sprouts Environment, this initiative aim was to prevent the alarming environment pollution that happens during the festival when the clay idols are immersed in the Arabian Sea. To deal with this, the initiators came up with this awesome concept of building Ganesha idols from vegetarian fish food that is edible and safe for fish consumption. The cosmetic surface of the idols has also been painted with natural material and colours such as multani mitti, turmeric powder and geru. Now isn?t that creative?

2) Hyperrealistic Ganesh tattoos:

While many find the entire concept of having a Ganesh tattooed on oneself a hippie practice or a notch above average devotion, the practice has been prevalent for a while now. What?s new is that now Ganesh tattoos have got a new hyperrealistic avatar. Tattoo artist Sunny Bhanushali from Aliens Tattoo studio is one of handful in India to experiment with hyper realistic tattoos, which capture highly detailed images on skin, from a photograph. After coming up with a digital painting of Ganesha and Lord Shiva, Sunny has taken up this festival as an opportunity to give it a hyper real touch.

3) EDM-ised Visarjan:

Imagine a Ganesh Visarjan (immersion) ceremony where instead of band and baja and dhol people are head banging to EDM music. Such has been the scene at Breach Candy since 1999 when a group of youngsters started the EDM Ganesh Visarjan lead by DJ Asad Zaidi. The aim was to break away from the generic immersion celebrations to rope in more youngsters who prefer a different scene. Started as an experiment, the event has become quite huge with celebrities and models as well as local Maharashtrians dancing to the beats of customised Ganesh Shlokas with trance and EDM beats. What?s more, the fun doesn?t end at that. The stage, which is 24 trailers strong, has an exclusive dance floor for VIPs while the Dj works up the crowd on the streets. If you are a fan of EDM and trance, this is where you should head to this visarjan day.

4) Buy your own Ganesh temple:

Why buy a miniature Ganesh idol when you can buy an entire temple for the same price? Asks Karima Dawoodani, who sells customised temples through her shop Soul Works. Call it a budget friendly gift, an idol to worship or an art piece, Karima?s hand crafted Ganesh temples are selling like hot cakes this season, especially amongst expats and tourists who want to take a bit of our culture with them. Karima also gets creative with the Ganesha idols. Some of her signature models are Ganesha riding a cycle, Ganesha under an umbrella and Ganesha with a book. 

5) Makers get creative with Ganesh idols:

Artisans who carve Ganesh idols are inspired by Bollywood this year and have come up with a Baahubali themed Ganesh idol. A half finished idol of Ganesha carrying a Shiva linga, which quite strikingly mimics the famous Baahubali poster, is doing the rounds on the internet. As much as it has gone viral, the Baahubali Ganesha will definitely get a run for money from the ?Selfie Ganesha.? Yes, you heard us right! An artist has build a Ganesha idol, which is seen taking a selfie with his family. And it won?t come as a surprise if the song ?Le le le le selfie le le re!? from Bajrangi Bhaijaan is played on repeat mode here!

By Papri Das

The recent advent of crowdfunding platforms has opened myriads of opportunities for startups, entrepreneurs and artists who couldn?t make the most of themselves due to lack of funding. The other major use for crowdfunding has been in social causes, but apart from a few success stories, these get less visibility or response from crowdfunders. And that?s exactly the kind of situation that Impact Guru wants to change.

Incubated at the Venture Initiation Program by Harvard Innovation Lab and PACT incubator Singapore, Impact Guru is a crowdfunding platform that takes on social issues. Their goal is to empower individuals as well as companies to give to non-profits and social causes. In a chat with Indiantelevision.com?s Exec Life Impact Guru co-founder Khushboo Jain speaks about the challenges that the company faces in making social causes a part of our lifestyle.

What do you aim to achieve with Impact Guru?

We want to make giving a habit, by making it a simple and easy process. Currently, it is misnomer that giving is only for the rich and elite, we want to change that notion. At the heart of Impact Guru lies the passion to create something new that will touch the lives of many and the fulfilment that comes from giving back and making a difference. All you need to do is login, create a campaign for a cause you are passionate about and ask for donations by inviting family and friends on social media. The whole concept revolves around leveraging your family and friends and their networks to donate.

How was Impact Guru conceived?

The idea to get into crowdfunding was conceived while Piyush (founder) was still at Harvard, and worked on a research paper on innovative ways to finance entrepreneurial and social ventures. Piyush, who was an investment banker at J.P. Morgan and a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, was very intrigued by the different crowdfunding models and realised that the Indian market could benefit tremendously from crowdfunding, which lead him to start Impact Guru in his home country India.

Tell us how Impact Guru connects technology with social issues and helps non profit organisations?

The NGO?s typically pay anything between 25-30 per cent as fundraising cost and we help bring that down and make the process more engaging, affordable and less time consuming.The innovation behind Impact Guru is its micro-donation support aspect that utilises the power of social media and incentivises people to share different causes and campaigns on Impact Guru.

If a fundraising campaign on Impact Guru raises a certain amount of money and gets a certain amount of social media shares, Impact Guru will be making a micro donation to the charity by virtue of SMILE Pricing (Social Media Impact Linked Engagement Pricing).In other words, each Facebook share can now be worth up to Rs 1,000 (~US$15) in donations to a nonprofit.

A campaign creator does not have to raise Rs 10 or Rs 20 lakh, but just start with Rs 20,000. Imagine if 100 people do so, not only will the nonprofit raise money but also gain so many supporters in return. Also the whole process is fun and engaging, almost game like.

How challenging is it to help nonprofits as well as maintain a profitable business model?

We are in the business of doing good. But for sustainability reasons we charge our nonprofits a very small amount (less than 10 per cent of the total amount raised relative to the usual 25-30 per cent), which can then be used to get the best people on board, use technology to cut down costs. We do not need to be dependent on donations from people or grants from organisations for the same reason. We have three stakeholders - Individuals, Corporations and Nonprofits. We connect verified and vetted nonprofits to individuals who want to give back and corporates who need genuine NGO?s for CSR purposes.

While the idea of a crowd funded platform that works for social issues sounds enlightening, how much of it is practically possible at the ground level?

The format is tried and tested in the west but one needs to be very innovative and adaptive to the Indian landscape to make it work here. That is exactly what we are trying to do at Impact Guru. We have a lot going on, starting out, we are spending a lot of time approaching both individuals and nonprofits and telling them about the power of crowdfunding and its interlinkages with social media. We also plan to delve deeper into the opportunity of creating a synergy between educational sector and crowdfunding.

How has the feedback been since the company?s inception? Are there any success stories? If yes, please share.

Even before we were officially launched, we have been part of the UBM conference and NGOs have shown a lot of interest in us. We have been incubated at Harvard and now at PACT, Singapore. We already have some exciting ongoing campaigns on the platform that are beginning to attract a lot of attention.

How will Impact Guru make optimum use of the road to PM?s Digital India?

I am glad you asked. With the Prime Minister pushing for digital drive, India is getting ready for an internet boom. According to Morgan Stanley, internet usage is set to double by 2020. The Indian market was valued at only $11 billion in 2013, could rise to $137 billion by 2020. This is a huge opportunity as Indians spend a lot of time on their phones. Smartphone users spend on average 169 minutes per day on their device and can be categorised into six personas. All these factors will only act as catalysts in forming a holistic ecosystem of start-ups that are sustainable.

I guess we have entered the market at the right time. I believe with the e-commerce boom and digital expansion happening simultaneously India is now ready for change. People in India are already waking up to the concept of crowdfunding and that when coupled with digital India drive and smart phone boom surely make the future look promising.

Looking ahead, what is the future that you envision for a crowd funding platform like this?

Booming startup ecosystem, a very social media savvy young population and the digital drive in India are all positive signs for the sector. The market is evolving and people will take on crowdfunding as it is such a easy way to raise money for your favourite social cause.

India's first online curated fashion and lifestyle destination Styletag.com, has launched a rare collection of women?s clothing and apparel under three different categories ? the demure Desi Diva, the saucy Party Queen and the tantalising Trendsetter.

The collections have been designed keeping in mind the distinct personal style statements and latest trends in fashion among women. With the mantra of ?New style every day,? Styletag.com aims at inspiring people to a superior lifestyle through an engaging and enriching experience by sorting their daily wear and occasional wear wardrobe.

Styletag.com founder and CEO Sanjay Shroff said, ?We are India?s first online curated fashion and lifestyle destination that hosts flash sales with curated styles for a limited period with up to 70 per cent off. We curate designs from leading designers as well as the new stars on the horizon. The new launch of Desi Diva, Party Queen and Trendsetter has been designed specifically keeping in mind the new age fashionista.?

Right from choosing a range of exquisitely beautiful ethnic wear pieces that you can flaunt at social dos, to fun and flirty western wear designs that can keep you company at home and outside to a variety of home and lifestyle products; styletag.com has it all to add a dollop of zing to your personality.

By Papri Das

When Hollywood star Elijah Wood, celebrated for his role as Frodo Baggins in the blockbuster fantasy trilogy Lord of The Rings series, visited Mumbai as part of the DJ duo Wooden Wisdom, the nation?s LOTR fans were taken in a manic frenzy. While the purpose for his visit was the gigs across the country with partners Zack Cowie and DJ Fitz, there was no denying the fact that his image as Frodo Baggins ruled the fanfare around him.

On the eve of his performance in Mumbai, Exec Life reached out to several of his fans in India through social media platforms and asked them to submit questions for the their favourite Hobbit actor. The response was overwhelming. In a matter of an hour, we received inputs from fans with many innovative questions ranging from quirky and funny, to serious and intriguing.

Given the short notice and time constraints, Exec Life heavily curated the questions and entertained only the best with an answer from Elijah Wood.

We approached him with the questions after he finished playing a phenomenal set at the popular watering hole Trilogy in Mumbai along with his partners, while the crowd raved for an encore. Upon hearing the concept for the interview, Wood, who had been playing a set for two hours straight, readily agreed to entertain his fans before he was led away by swarming crowd and photographers.

Wood was impressed with the questions sent by our readers and here?s what he had to say to the questions. Read on to see if your question was answered:

What's on your To-Do List for this India tour?

Chai Chai and lots of Chai. Apart from our gigs, we plan to try the local food. Since we landed at the airport, I have been eyeing the auto rickshaws. I would love to take a ride on those. The top on the priority list is visiting as many old record shops as possible. We (Wooden Wisdom) love music records and we plan to buy as many as we can while we are here.

Do you eat two breakfasts and seven meals a day like the Hobbits do?

No. (chuckles) While I do love my food, I am not a glutton. I prefer to have my measly and comfortable breakfast. Only once a day.

[For the uninitiated, here?s a reference link]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbit#Lifestyle

Have you ever had a singing contest with Christopher Lee?

No. Actually, I would have rather not because that man was well versed in music. He would beat me any day. (Pauses) He was a great sport and an even better actor. He taught me a lot and I truly miss him.

Will you ever make a mix with Enya?s music?

I love Enya. I have loved her work in LOTR, most definitely, but I also follow her other works and she amazes me every time I hear her. If given an opportunity, I would love to do a mix with her numbers. As a matter of fact she hails from the same hometown as my partner DJ Fitz, who is with us for the event, and he is also a die hard fan of hers.

Have you tried any Bollywood music?

I am in the process of broadening my views on Bollywood music but right now the 70s Bollywood tracks piques my interest the most. In fact, we played our own version of the tracks tonight and the response was phenomenal. Call me old school but I like Bappi Lahiri?s songs. In fact we got a request for his song tonight and it was an absolute pleasure playing his tracks.There are a few more I can mention, but I have trouble pronouncing the names.

While Exec Life wasn't able to exhaust the list of questions, this is all that Elijah could answer before he was swarmed by the crowd looking get a selfie with him.

Of late, Ireland has emerged as one of the most popular travelling destination in Europe for backpackers and tourists alike. The island country, which is separated from Grain Britain by the North Atlantic Sea, is rich in cultural heritage and is credited for their Celtic Art.

While its scenic natural beauty, spectacular churches, praise worthy celtic art and Dublin?s Guinness Storehouse draws in tourists in thousands, many don?t know that Ireland is gradually transforming into a shopping hub as well.

To aid tourists and make them aware of the perks of shopping in Ireland, Tourism Ireland has launched a handy ?Shopping on the Island of Ireland? map. The map, which is compiled after taking references from locals lists local brands that have stood the test of times and represents Ireland as iconic landmarks. Exec Life lists down the shopping destination for our readers, who might have plans to hit the country sometime soon.

Read on!

Brown Thomas: Brown Thomas, a landmark on Grafton Street, is Ireland?s most beautiful lifestyle store. It is loved as much by locals as it is by international visitors looking for local and international brands.

Kildare Village: Kildare Village offers Ireland?s leading luxury outlet shopping experiences with savings of up to 60 per cent in more than 60 boutiques. It is a destination for visitors seeking a superior shopping experience and as an enjoyable day out.

Waterford Crystal :Since the early 1950s, Waterford has introduced some of the world?s most stylish and best-selling stemware patterns. So wine connoisseurs and goblet collectors know where to head.

Orla Kiely : Orla Kiely?s famous prints are often seen on celebrities including Kiera Knightly and Kirsten Dunst, and she has collaborated with companies like Apple and Citro?n.

Newbridge Silverware: For 70 years, Newbridge Silverware has been designing and product quality giftware and jewellery and is associated with high profile names such as legendary actress Audrey Hepburn.

Irish Whiskey Stones: Located in the foothills of Connemara?s mountains lies the world famous Joyce?s Marble Quarry. The marble is cut and brought to Hennessy & Byrne Marble Works to craft into whiskey stones.

To take a better look at where these points are located, here?s the map:

https://www.sendspace.com/file/vrf5hn