Green homes

Want to be an eco-friendly homeowner? We found out how. In Exotica, Aug 2007 - available in premier hotels and news-stands in India.

Taking the exotic route

We travelled all the way to Kanadukathan in Tamil Nadu to visit a truly awesome homestay- Chettinad Mansion.

In Exotica, Aug 2007 - available in premier hotels and news-stands in India.

From the media’s canvas

Shapes and Harmony in the news

Raintree Media’s art and music showcase ‘Shapes and Harmony’ caught the media’s lens, featuring prominently in both print and TV. Headlines Today traced how Dr. Guido’s profession as a plastic surgeon influences his flawless and colourful depictions of the human form, and TV 9 covered the myriad facets of the show, from the paintings and music to the glitterati who attended the event.

Telecast Dates

Headlines Today: Aug 21 & 22

TV 9: Aug 20

Here’s what Bangalore’s leading English dailies had to say:

Deccan Herald Metro Life
August 23, 2007
Colours of art and music

“Raintree Media previewed an art show by three artists and launched a music album at The Park on Monday…Rohini Nilekani launched the album of songs by Ram Nagaraj, commending his talent.”
- Perin Ilavia

Bangalore Mirror
August 28, 2007
Artists Unite

“How often do you see a painter, plastic surgeon, animal lover and singer rub shoulders with each other? Shapes and Harmony, a celebration of art and music, brought them together”
- Vaishalli Chandra

Deccan Herald
August 28, 2007
Random trio

“Soumya Manjunath Chavan’s works are technically consummate and well composed.”
- Marta Jakimowicz

Indian Express
August 27, 2007
Painting ideas

“The paintings showcased the diverse moods of their (the painters’) artistic skills.”
- Yamini P.

Bangalore Times
August 30, 2007
All about music and colour

"...a hit with the arty cognoscenti."

A photo of the event was carried in the Times of India on Aug 20, 2007.

Celebration of Song and Colour

Shapes & Harmony: A Raintree Media Showcase

Celebration of Song and Colour

Raintree Media’s foray into the transcendent world of music and art was the centrepiece of ‘Shapes and Harmony’ at The Park hotel in Bangalore on Aug 19.

The evening celebrated the launch of ‘Ishq ki Lehren’, the golden voiced Ram Nagaraj’s album of romantic Hindi songs by Rohini Nilekani, the Chairperson of Arghyam, Akshara Foundation and Pratham Books. Celebrating the colours of passion was a display of striking paintings of Dr. Norman Guido, Soumya Manjunath Chavan and Kalyan Rathore.

Lemuel Herbert, General Manager of The Park hotel, which has been rated among the 101 best hotels in the world by Tatler magazine’s Travel Guide, played host to the elegant soiree. Sandhya Mendonca, Managing Director of Raintree Media, announced the launch of an international publishing initiative with Global Village Product, the Best of Bangalore.

Nilekani, who’s been a fan of Ram’s for over a decade now, said, “Music is said to bring people together, and this has certainly been true in our case, for it is Ram’s music that has bound our friendship.”

Bangalore’s cognoscenti added glitter to the evening: Mrs. Ritu Mallya, Mr and Mrs. Vijay Rekhi (President & Managing Director of United Spirits Limited), Capt. Gopinath (Managing Director, Air Deccan), Sanchita Ajjampur (fashion designer) and Ramesh Rao (ad honcho and vintner of Mandala Valley wines). The art fraternity of Milind Nayak, Gurudas Shenoy and Chippy Gangjee enjoyed the songs Ram sang from his album while taking in the sweep of myriad colours and interpretations of the paintings.

Dr. Guido, a plastic surgeon, celebrates the grace of the human form in his paintings; Kalyan Rathore, an industrial designer, pays homage to the majesty and spirit of the bull; Dr. Soumya Manjunath Chavan, professional artist, explores the dimensions and meaning of vibrant squares.

The paintings are on show at 100 ft Restaurant, Indiranagar from Aug 22 to 31.

Royal Mist Vikram Phadnis DemiGods Collection

A Raintree Media PR initiative in Bangalore, Delhi & Chandigarh

Royal Mist DemiGods Unveiled

A display of avant garde male fashion and high energy marked The Royal Mist DemiGods fashion show on August 3 at the Grand Ashok in Bangalore. Led by the suave Rajneesh Duggal, six handsome young men showcased twenty four vivid pieces of the designer collection, specially created by Bollywood’s fave designer Vikram Phadnis for Royal Mist Luxury Whisky.

Part of a six city fashion tour, the fabulous Royal Mist DemiGods 2007 Collection was a crisp four sequence display of clothes fashioned expressly for the new age Indian man. Talking about the collection, Mr.Laxmi Narasimhan, Divisional Vice President, Southern Region, USL, said, “We find a remarkable synergy of style and quality between Royal Mist and Vikram Phadnis’ designs. Both appeal to the fashion & style conscious, youthful Indian male. We mirror the same values and are happy to associate with this successful young designer”.

Describing his collection, Vikram Phadnis said, “The Royal Mist man is my ideal customer – young, trendy and confident”. The palette of vibrant colours was eye-catching through the various ranges - from dexterously tailored formal jackets to a quirky and elegant take on the pyjama, as Vikram Phadnis’ DemiGods Collection for Royal Mist captured the essence of the Royal Mist man, both at work and play.

The designer’s Bollywood connection shone through, with striking embellishments on cool cottons and linens and light suedes. Jackets flaunted bright checks, stripes in earthern hues, classic black with a touch of embroidered drama, teamed with black pants and pjyamas in brilliant turquoise and tan.

Adding to the cheers of the receptive audience was fashion guru Prasad Bidapa, who sportingly stepped on stage for a peppy Q&A session with Phadnis. Bidapa exclaimed that the outfits were perfectly suited to the Bangalore weather. Phadnis said, “Bangalore is where my family lives, so this is home”.

There was more good news for the audience when Vikram Phadnis announced that he was soon going to open a store in Bangalore. “There’s a huge demand, and I’m going to provide the supply,” he said, gladdening the hearts of the city’s fashionistas.

Highlights of the Royal Mist DemiGods collection by Vikram Phadnis

Collection 1 Cream linen blazers with large motifs screen printed or block printed on the back, with classic blue jeans.
Collection 2 Assorted jackets, sherwanis, shirts, kurtas, and cocktail wear in black, with muted embroidery.
Collection 3 Shirts, blazers and waistcoats in bright, festive colours teamed with superbly tailored pyjamas.

Collection 4 Tweed jackets with funky inners and jeans.


The tour kicked off in Mumbai on July 25 at the Mumbai Time Café Lounge, and travelled through the most happening nightspots in the country in Delhi (Elevate), Chandigarh (Antidote) and Hyderabad (f bar) before coming to Bangalore (Sutra), and will now move on to Kolkata (Tantra).

From the stable of United Spirits Limited of the UB Group, Royal Mist Luxury Whisky is a uniquely crafted blend made from 100 percent pure, premium grain, selected Indian malt and Scotch spirit of outstanding quality. Deep gold in colour, the taste of Royal Mist is exceptionally smooth and lighter on the body and nose and comes in an extravagantly styled bottle.

High on music and mixology

a Raintree Media Event & PR Initiative

Bangalore’s latest happening lounge Madira opened with a resounding crescendo as the brand new band KARMA6 made its debut to rave reviews on June 30, 2007.

Music and mixology sure does make a heady combination, going by the high praise lavished by Bangalore’s glitterati after the powerhouse performance.

Mentored by star music composer Sandeep Chowta, Karma6 is an assembly of Bangalore’s finest musical talents. Chowta endured a 5-hour-long wait inside the plane on the tarmac of Mumbai airport to reach Bangalore just in time to introduce his band, which has Alwyn Fernandes and Tony Das on guitars, K.N. Prakash on bass, Tillu on the drums, Karan Joseph on keyboards and vocalist Mark Lazaro.

Chowta, who now heads Columbia India, said he returned to Bangalore to put together a band of international calibre because of the talent that abounds in his home town. “I just had to scratch the surface to find these guys. It isn’t hard to spot world class talent in Bangalore; it’s everywhere you look,” he said. He certainly seems to have picked the best that Bangalore has to offer, if Karma6’s performance at the launch was anything to go by.

Even as the rain swirled outside, Karma6's high energy performance had the packed audience foot-tapping and soon breaking out into exuberant dance to classic covers. From Queen’s ‘Too much love will kill you’ and Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ to John Mayer’s ‘Belief’ and Steely Dan’s 'Bodhisattva', Karma6 delighted the audience, which insisted on several encores.

The band couldn’t have picked a better venue for its debut. The guests at the event, which was organised by Raintree Media, included fashion guru Prasad Bidapa, Sandeep and Tanya Khosla, designers Manoviraj Khosla, Raj Shroff, Neetu Gupta and Paresh Lamba, Harish Bijoor, Raghava and Nethra, and a slew of top models and music lovers from across the spectrum of media, entertainment and the corporate sector.

Madira pioneers the concept of mixology in India, where the emphasis is on personalised attention. Says V. Sridhar, M.D. of Rendezvous Restaurants, “We have eight bartenders stationed across Madira’s three levels, mixing drinks according to what the customer likes. At Madira, the bartender comes to you, not the other way around. We’re looking at developing a relationship with customers, so that the next time they come in, we’ll have their favourite drink waiting for them.”

indian empress & calendar girls

A hot Sunday afternoon in Mumbai at Ballard Pier, the mercury spiralled way way up when
charming actor Preity Zinta unveiled the hottest bods in India - the six calendar girls of Kingfisher.
Actually, the girls were all covered up at the launch and only their pix had them in bikinis.
check it out at the www.kingfishercalendar.com

Yet another beauty demanded equal attention - the Indian Empress, the 5th largest super yacht and the latest toy acquired by the King of Good Times Dr.Vijay Mallya . This 2 tiered yacht even has a jacuzzi on the deck at the first level and bars on each deck.

Casa de Mendonca– offbeat Goan retreat

We were looking for something different to do in sunny Goa, we wanted a break from the thick of tourist action, to live like natives of this lovely state. To slow down, breathe easy and yield to the novel experience of an idyllic rural retreat in South Goa.


So we set about lovingly restoring a small house to the full glory of its Portuguese heritage. Renamed Casa de Mendonca, we created a picture postcard pretty house in Velim. Completely furbished with modern amenities, it exuded warmth and serenity.

Time moves at a different pace here in this little village.  We woke up to birdcall and feasted our eyes on green rice paddies.








A trill of cycle bells heralds the arrival of fresh
baked ‘pav’ and ‘poi’ breads that we dunked in
our morning cup of coffee/ tea.







In the cool air of the morning,we strolled down to the lake and watched lotuses bloom and ducks waddle.

If we chanced upon the local toddy- tapper, he offered a swig of the fresh brew straight off the tree.

Hopping on our bikes, we rode down to neighbouring Assolna and right on to the ferry. Chugging across the River Sal and in 10 minutes, we were at the peaceful Mobor beach.









Swimming and sunbathing on the softest of sands;  parasailing over the waters or riding water scooters.

We visited a different beach day, each beautiful, tranquil; and unspoilt. Less than a half hour drive  had us soaking up the sun at Colva, Benaulim, Varca, Cavelossim, Dona Paula and Palolem

We beat the heat with a glass of chilled beer or the heady cashew or coconut ‘feni’ over lots of lime and ice. It’s a seafood gourmand heaven with prawns, lobsters, crabs, calamari and a variety of fish – bekti, mackerel, kingfish and pomfret. And of course, the famed sausages and pork vindaloo. There are plenty of fresh vegetables that are cooked in unique local masalas.

Come evening, we could join in a game of football and worship at the Francis Xavier Church at the village square. Chewed on spicy hot onion and chilli 'bajjis' as we mingled with friendly neighbours.

The stars shine clear and close at nightfall; the terrace or the garden are best to sit back and marvel at nature's beauty and harmony.

When we felt the urge for bright city lights, we drove down to the commercial capital of Madgaon that is 15 minutes from Velim and continue down to Panjim, Calangute and Baga that are just 30 minutes away.

Casa de Mendonca was at first a whimsical indulgence; each time that we went to stay, the house took shape and became a home that radiated warmth and peace.

We don't own it any more but the memory of the house we built and the time we shared there sometimes by ourselves, at others with friends and family are indelible.

horsing around in bangalore

this article has been published in the Sept 15 - Oct 15 issue of Darpan, the inflight magazine of Alliance Air; it is also available on all Indian flights.

Allen Mendonca to anchor Knowledge Summit

InfoVision 2006- the Knowledge Summit, September 28-29

The International School of Information Management and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is organizing a two day programme 'Infovision2006 - the
Knowledge Summit' on 28-29 September, 2006 at the Le Meridien Hotel, Bangalore.

Allen Mendonca, Journalist and Director, Raintree Media,will be anchoring the session on ‘ News and Media ; Convergence and disconnect’ scheduled from 11 am to 12.30 pm September 28. The Session will begin with a keynote By Ms. Shoba Purushothaman, Founder and CEO, The Newsmarket, USA and will be followed by a panel.The two panelists are – Mr. Ajit Balakrishnan Chairman & CEO, Rediff.Com and Ms. Abi Sekimitsu Editor, Reuters, Bangalore.

This summit is a platform for visionaries and leaders in academia and industry to articulate their visions of the emerging knowledge society. The event is expected to facilitate debate that will provide directions to knowledge initiatives at the global and regional level.

The participants at the event will be professionals in leadership positions across the academic, research and corporate organizations – Information officers, Librarians, and Information Centre heads,digital library architects and others.

Ithaca Times

The shiny new Chancery Pavilion has a couple of fine restaurants and this time we are rooting for its Mediterranean restaurant which doubles up as a coffee shop. Last Tuesday, the hotel hosted a lavish lunch: champagne flowed with bluesy music by Raman on the sax had us forgetting about work for the rest of the day. well, almost. Check it out on Page 3 of BT.