Jackson gets sandy tribute in Orissa on birthday

BHUBANESWAR: A sand image of Michael Jackson's face and a 15-foot long guitar has been sculpted on Orissa's Puri beach by sand artist Sudarsan

Patnaik as a tribute to the 'King of Pop' on his 51st birthday on Saturday.

"I am a fan of Jackson. We created this image to pay a tribute to him on his birthday," Patnaik said.

Patnaik made the sand image of the late pop legend late Friday along with students of his Golden Sand Art Institute on Puri beach, over 50 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.

Jackson, who weaved musical magic with his songs and performances, died June 25 in his Los Angeles home, leaving millions of his fans shocked.

Patnaik, who has participated in around 40 international sand sculpture championships and has won many awards, said 10 tonnes of sand was used to create the work of art.

He said it took him about five hours to create the image of the "ultimate entertainer".

SS Music to pay tribute to Michael Jackson on his birthday

By: RnM Team 27 Aug 09 17:42 IST

MUMBAI: SS Music in an attempt to put forward the love and affection of its viewers towards Michael Jackson, will air an exclusive Music video shot by the channel involving music director Dharan and various playback singers on 29th August 2009.

The Music video which is titled ‘Sing one more time’ will be aired on Michael Jackson’s birthday which falls on 29th August. Music director Dharan of ‘Unnai Kanden’ fame is the man behind the audio track. The video comprises of nine famous playback singers Sunita Sarathy, Benny, Naresh Iyer, Ranjith, Haricharan, Subiksha, Chinmayee, Suchithra and Pop Shalini coming together to pay their tribute to the king of pop.

In order to express the viewer’s love and affection to the legend, SS Music has shot an entire video of the artists singing together there by getting an exclusive right to telecast the album. The video will be telecasted on 29th August 2009 along with other specials such as bytes of celebrities and fans of Michael Jackson. The lyrics of the song has been penned down by Dharan and Benny and the lyrics consists of how Michael Jackson wanted the world to be talking about brotherhood, heal the world etc

Speaking about the channel’s initiative Mr. Charles, Managing Director, Southern Spice Music said “Michael Jackson’s untimely demise is a big loss to the music world and SS Music as a ‘music’ channel will pay tribute to the legendary star by dedicating an exclusive video album to the king of pop as a mark of respect to the star. I am sure our viewers will love the video”

Speaking about the album music director Dharan said “I am thankful to SS Music which has come forward to make an entire video to spread love and affection for the King of pop. I am also thankful to all the playback singers who lent their voice to make the album. I am sure that the album will be a huge hit among the people”

Kerala Tourism, MoT to organise FAM trip and 'Incredible India Onam Roadshow' in Kovalam

By Krupa Vora | Mumbai
Kerala Tourism (KT) along with the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) will be organising a FAM trip and an 'Incredible India Onam Roadshow' in Kovalam from August 30 to September 2, 2009. Kerala Tourism has received confirmation from 125 domestic tour operators across India for the same. Speaking to TravelBiz Monitor, Dr Venu V, Secretary, KT said, “We witnessed that the charter traffic into Kovalam had reduced and we also wanted to promote the Southern part of Kerala again among travellers. MoT is also supporting the event and the idea was to club it during an occasion and Onam was the best opportunity to do the same.” The domestic tour operators will experience Onam festivities as a part of their FAM trip itinerary. KT and MoT will host a B2B roadshow on September 1, 2009 which will enable the tour operators to interact with local suppliers.

The FAM trip to Kovalam will allow agents to conduct site inspections in Kovalam and Kollam (backwater region), as well as attend Onam celebrations as a part of their itinerary. Furthermore, KT and MoT will also organise similar FAM trips and roadshows in the North and Central Kerala before this year-end. “We are yet to finalise details like the dates and destinations to be promoted in the North and Central Kerala for FAM trips. We are looking at organising one FAM trip and roadshow after Durga Puja and another in November this year. However, it will follow a similar pattern and will have close to 150 agents attending the same,” added M Sivashankar, Director, KT.

Catching the local traveller

Express News Service
First Published : 26 Aug 2009 01:36:00 AM IST
Last Updated :

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For the best and cost-effective way to plan a Onam vacation within God’s Own Country, visit the Tourism Facilitation Centre opposite the Napier Museum.

At the Centre, eight of the State’s leading tour operators have set up a tourism help desk, where a variety of packages to some of the finest destinations in the State have been showcased as part of Kerala Tourism’s ‘Visit Kerala’ initiative. The help desk, which is open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., will function till August 31.

This is the first time that leading tour operators, who normally deal with foreign and other-state clients, have come under a single umbrella to cater to the vacation needs of city folks. ``We have over 60 lakh tourists pouring into the State. But it is also important that resident Keralites are not alienated from their own land,’’ Tourism Director M. Shivshankar said, throwing light on the thinking behind the latest initiative.

A light budget is the biggest advantage of planning a vacation with the help of a tour operator. ``This is something people are unaware of. But the fact is, hotels, resorts and other establishments offer services to a tour operator at lower tariffs, much lower than what a client would get if he approaches the hotel or resort directly through the Net or otherwise,’’ said V.G. Jayachandran of Tour Designers.

Besides readymade packages, the tour operators will also create tailor-made packages to suit the budget and convenience of clients. ``All the tour operators here have an experience of over 20 years. We have the expertise to design the right kind of package for any kind of consumers. We also know the destination inside out and so are equipped to offer the right advice and support,’’ said Stanes Joseph, the CEO of Willsindia.

The respective tour company will take care of everything related to the tour, right from transportation to lodging. ``A client need not, for instance, worry about getting the right boat for a backwater cruise or a seat for a Onam ‘sadya’ at a high-end resort. This will save them a lot of time and headache,’’ Stanes said.

According to the tour operators, the clients will be spoiled for choice at the facilitation centre. ``Though all of us sell the same destinations, we offer it in a variety of ways. It is up to the clients to choose,’’ Jayachandran said. The package rates range from Rs 800 to Rs 16,000.

The Visit Kerala initiative is also an attempt to rev up the tourism sector during the off-season, to convert Kerala into an all-season 365-day destination. Also, the potential of domestic travellers has never been seriously tapped. The Tourism Department plans to extend the initiative to other cities like Kochi and Kozhikode.

Movie tourism comes to Kerala

KOCHI: Taking a leaf out of the immensely successful movies like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter in promoting destinations in New Zealand and
UK, Kerala tourism industry is all set to produce a multi-lingual feature film promoting the locales of the state.

An Indo-Italian collaboration, `In love with Kerala' is a romantic movie set in the backdrop of tourist resorts and locations in Kerala and Italy. The entire movie financed by the private tourism industry and NRIs will feature around 15 resorts spread across the length of Kerala. The venture is also supported by Kerala Tourism Department.

The major tourist destinations like Kovalam, Poovar, Varkala, Kollam beach, Kumarakom, Alappuzha, Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady, Vagamon, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Bakel etc will appear in the movie. Kerala icons like houseboats, tree houses, various art forms, culture, cuisine etc will be highlighted in the film. This is the first time a movie promoting the tourism destinations is made in India. Countries like New Zealand, Tunisia etc have guided tours of movie locations of films Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.

The film is about an Italian painter coming to Kerala to recreate the magic of the works of famous painter Raja Ravi Varma and falling in love with a Kerala model. Anish J Karrinad, director and co-scriptwriter of the movie told ET that the film would be released in English and Malayalam by March 2010. It would also be dubbed in German, Italian and other languages later.

The movie to be jointly produced by Global Movie Makers comprising NRIs and Italians and Kerala-based Tourism Movie Makers will be shot entirely in Kerala and Italy. The Italian destinations Rome, Venice and Capri Island will also be shown in the film. The expected budget is Rs 5 to 6 crore.

Italian actor Vincenzo Bocciarelli is the hero of the movie which will have popular southern movie actress Mamta Mohandas as heroine. The film will feature other actors and technicians from Mollywood. The film was launched at travel and trade show ITB Berlin early this year in the presence Hans Jorg Hussong, MD of Comtour, Germany and E.M.Najeeb, CMD of Great India Tour Company and patron of the movie

Champakkulam Chundan won the Nehru Trophy 2009

Champakkulam Chundan won the Nehru Trophy 2009. Champakkulam Chundan is led by Captain Jiji Jacob of JesusBoat Club, Kollam. JesusBoat Club, Kollam won the Nehru Trophy last year also in Karichal Chundan. Champakulam Chundan last won Nehru Trophy in 1998.

Nehru Trophy Results:

1st Place: Champakkulam Chundan
2nd Place: Payippad
3rd Place: Sree Ganesh
4th Place: Cheruthana

Earlier, Congress President Ms Sonia Gandhi is the Chief Guest for Nehru Trophy 2009. She inaugurated the 57th Nehru Trophy Boat Race. There is about 2 lakh tourist in Alappuzha today to watch this event.

The 57th Nehru Trophy Boat race had 17 Chundans, 8 Veppu valloms in category A, 5 in Category B, Iruttukuthys -5 in A category & 15 in Category B, 5 Churulans and 4 Thekkanodis. A 30-member team of women including nine foreigners will compete in the 57th Nehru snake boat race at the Punnamada lake.

Other Winners:

Chundan Runners Up:

IIIikkalam rowed by TownBoat Club Kumarakam captained by Dr.P. R. Kumar won the Looser's Final in Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2009.
Second : Karichal
Third : Karuvatta Chundan
Fourth : Ayaparampu Valiya Divanji

Chundan 2nd Runners Up:

Karuvatta Srivinayakan rowed by PunnamadaBoat Club captained by JosephFransis won the Second Looser's Final in Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2009.
Second : Vellamkulangara
Third : Jawahar Thayankeri
Fourth : Anari

Chundan Second Looser's Final Winner:

Alappadan Chundan rowed by ChangamkariBoat Club (C.B.C.) captained by K.C. Kunjumon won the Third Looser's Final in Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2009.
Second : Kalloopparamban
Third : St. George
Fourth : Nadubhagaom Chundan

Veppu Grade 'A' Winner

Ambalakkadavan rowed by Punnamada Boat Club, Alappuzha captained by AjuJacob Mathew won the Veppu Grade A in Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2009.
Second: Venghazhi
Third : Jai Shot
Fourth : Patteri Purackal

Veppu Grade 'B' Winner

Punnathra Purackal rowed by LoordhmathaBoat Club, Chennamkari captained by BijuJohn won the Veppu Grade B in Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2009.
Second : Chiramel Thottukadavu
Third : Otta Thyckal

Iruttukuthi 'A' Grade Winner

Thuruthithara rowed by PiravamBoat Club (P.B.C.) captained by BabuVarghese won the Iruttukuthi A grade in Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2009.
Second : Mammoodan
Third : Padakkuthira
Fourth : Karuvelithara

Iruttukuthi 'B' Grade Winner

Daniel rowed by PananghaduBoat Club (P.B.C.) captained by Rajeev won the Iruttukuthi B grade in Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2009.
Second Place: Sree Guruvayurappan

Churulan Winner

Velangadan rowed by ShalomCollege, Kainakari captained by JobiAnchil won the Churulan Boat Race in Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2009. Second place is for Kodimatha Churulan Boat.

THEKKANODI Winner

Devas rowed by VembanaduVanitha Boat Club captained by SindhuSajeevan won the Thekkanodi Boat Race in Nehru Trophy. This is the Boat in which nine foreign women also took part.
Second : Chellikkadan
Third : Company Vallom
Fourth : Kattil Thekkethil