Archive for the ‘India’ Category

Designer duo Pankaj-Nidhi secure their final spot in the International Woolmark Prize

Posted in Fashion, India, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Indian designer duo Pankaj and Nidhi, who have been named the winners of the International Woolmark Prize India award, will now compete with international designers at the final round in London next February.

The duo won the contest Thursday by defeating the likes of Aneeth Arora, Arjun Saluja, Gaurav Gupta, Rahul Mishra, Rimzing Dadu, Ritesh Kumar, Samant Chauhan, Smita-Himanshu and Zubair Kirmani.

The winners were selected by a panel of judges including Simon Lock, founder of Australian Fashion Week; Sunil Sethi, president of Fashion Design Council of India; Pradeep Hirani of Kimaya Fashion and fashion editor Priya Tanna.

“We look forward to supporting and working with Pankaj and Nidhi in the lead up to the finals in February where they have the chance to be awarded with the once in a lifetime opportunities that are on offer for the winner of the International Woolmark Prize,” said Stuart McCullough, CEO of Australian Wool Innovation, owners of The Woolmark Company in a statement.

In February, Pankaj-Nidhi will compete with candidates from the US, Europe, China and Australia at the grand finale of International Woolmark Prize. The international winner will get a chance to retail through international stores including Harvey Nichols in Britain and Lane Crawford in China.

Congratulations Pankaj and Nidhi on winning the regional round of the International Woolmark Award. Wish you very good luck in London. Make us proud!

Source IANS

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Have you got your Methiyadi pair yet?

Posted in Fashion, India on July 3, 2012| 2 Comments »

‘The Methiyadi Stop’ is an innovative retail concept introduced by Josco ( founded in 1972, Josco is an established Footwear Company operating in South India and the Gulf Countries. Josco has been carrying out its operations under two brands Miami Cushion and Fischer).

Choose from classic, acupressure and kids soles, mix and match your favorite colours and show off your creativity! The ‘STOP’ offers the fun and excitement of creating a unique Methiyadi of your choice. Here you can MIX nMATCH from an array of delightful colours ranging from Hot Pink To Cool Blue To Funky Orange…

Methiyadi, inspired by the ancient wooden ‘Padukas’, is made from a blend of natural rubber from the world famous rubber plantations of God’s Own Country-Kerala. Methiyadi is designed for total comfort. Methiyadi’s are joint free to minimize breakage. The mushroom shaped knob in front is designed to fit snugly between the toes to provide a firm grip, while the rubber straps are designed to fit comfortably around the contours of the feet.

Apart from being made from natural rubber, Methiyadi has a social touch too:

Every ‘Paper Bag’ at the Methiyadi Stop has a story to say as these paper bags are made by Not- For- Profit Organizations, Special Schools and Differently Abled People. To name some:

Papertrail is a not-for-profit organisation that organises women in making newspaper bags and products from donated newspaper, ensuring a livelihood for women from all backgrounds.

Vimukti is a non profit organization, set up in 1989 with the sole intention of providing basic education and training to children with special needs. For the older members at the school,Vimukti provides vocational training and subsequent employment within the organization. And, Ramani is a physically challenged girl, who makes paper bags along with a few other girls in her village.

Shop online:

If you live in India, you have the privilege of shopping on the Methiyadi STOP site directly. But, if you are elsewhere in the world and would love a pair or two, feel free to get in touch with me and I could organise shipping for you.

Get your pair now!

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Be prepared to bleed for a cause, else DO NOT register!

Posted in India, Random, tagged , , , on December 14, 2011| 5 Comments »

As I write this post today, there are three people turning down offers to donate their blood stem cells after they have been identified as potential matches as donors for patients suffering from Leukemia.

This brings many questions to my mind…

  • Is your time more valuable than someone’s life?
  • Would you register yourself as a donor without actually having any intention of donating at all?
  • Can an adult not make decisions for himself without being pressurized socially by the people around him?

I hear that these three registrants could have saved a couple of lives by taking the right decision today but they have chosen to back-off due to social reasons. While one is being emotionally traumatized by his mother,  the next is “too busy” to bother and the final one is “getting married” soon and cannot risk getting any “fever”.

While we have made it very clear that there are no known side-effects except made flu like symptoms which can easily happen after any sort of blood donation, people are still skeptical of the whole process and when it is their turn to actually go through the process to SAVE A LIFE, they are not sure anymore.

I take this opportunity to apprise you of the entire blood stem cell donation process (yet again):

DATRI is a non-profit organization that has been set up to help save lives of those suffering from life threatening disorders like leukemia, lymphoma etc.

With very few registered donors available in India, the possibility of finding a match for an Indian anywhere in the world is very bleak. DATRI is working towards creating a wide and diverse database of potential donors that can be accessed by any patient, living anywhere in the world, in need of a stem cell transplant.

What does DATRI do?

STAGE 1: Collect samples 
  • Buccal Cells – A cotton swab is rubbed inside your cheek.
Processing the Samples to analyze the DNA
  • Once a sample is collected, it is processed in a state-of-the-art lab at Histogenetics, a partner of DATRI.
  • HLA typing is done and a unique code is assigned to every sample.
Database 
  • The Genetic information of an individual obtained after thorough analysis is stored in DATRI’s database.
STAGE 2: Search for a match 
  • The patient’s tissue typing (genetic information) needs to match very closely with that of the donor, to enable a successful transplant.  If your bone marrow appears to be a suitable match for someone waiting for a transplant, you’ll be contacted immediately. You’ll undergo a brief examination to find if your bone marrow can be transplanted. Your physical fitness is examined by taking a small blood sample, to ensure that you are medically eligible to donate. Once you are found to be a potential donor, sufficient information about the process involved is provided, and a simple and harmless procedure is performed.
FINAL STAGE: The Transplant Process 
  • DONOR: Once a match is found, stem cells are obtained from the donor. The process is usually as simple as drawing blood. In case of a Peripheral Blood Stem Cells transplantation, blood is drawn from a vein from one arm and is passed through a machine that removes the blood-forming cells. Rest of the blood is returned through a vein into the other arm. The procedure to donate PBSC takes approximately 4-6 hours.
  • PATIENT: The stem cells are then infused into the patient’s blood stream.

Please note that it costs approximately Rs 2500 (roughly $50) to process EACH of the buccal swab kits collected. This cost is not incurred by you but someone else who values your sentiment and is willing to help! It is your responsibility to understand the process before you register yourself as a potential donor.

Here is a concise video created by the DATRI team that clarifies the process in a simple manner: The DATRI stemcell donation process. After all this, if you are unsure of being able to go through ANY of the above stages for a peripheral stem cell donation, do yourself and us a favor- DO NOT REGISTER!

In related news: AMIT GUPTA is STILL looking for a DONOR and NEEDS YOUR HELP!

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Bone Marrow donor registration drive in Bangalore #4Amit

Posted in Events, India, The Everyday Awesome, tagged , , , , , , on November 16, 2011| 4 Comments »

Amit Gupta, an Indian entrepreneur in New york needs a bone marrow transplant and you can help. Please share this video to help spread the word. Visit amitguptaneedsyou.com for more info.

 If you live in Bangalore, chances are you can help not only Amit, but the many, many other people around the world. South Asians have a dramatically lower chance of finding a match in the worldwide bone marrow registries than other populations. While this is a big and often tragic problem, it’s one that can be fixed!

So what can you do?
Get to the nearest drive in Bangalore on 26-27th November 2011.The event is ALL-DAY and you can walk-in anytime between 10am to 6pm to show you CARE. List of places and the dates are below:
Saturday 26th November

1) My Gola Technologies
Panchatara Towers| #446, 2nd Floor 17th Cross, Sector 4
HSR Layout |BANGALORE -34 | Organizer and Contact Neha: +91 72592 81211.

2) Greenery Apts, Plain St, Infantry road. Bangalore 01.
Contact: Vishal @ +91  9535293850

Sunday 27th November

1) Greenery Apartments, Plain Street, Infantry Road. Bangalore 560001. Contact person: Vishal @ +91 95352 93850.

2) Sant Nirankari Mandal. 88 Rathnavilas Road, South end circle. Near Pai convention centre.
Basavanagudi, Bangalore – 560004. Contact: Rajesh @ +9199802 21056

DATRI, the Indian bone marrow donor registry will have their kits at each of these venues to help you find out if you are THE MATCH! As a bonus, each drive can add dozens or even hundreds of new potential donors to the database — meaning your efforts will help not just Amit but a countless more find a match.

Plus, it’s REALLY EASY! DATRI is dedicated to helping anyone host a drive, and the test only takes a few minutes and a Q-tip-like swab inside the cheek. This is virtually painless, maybe less painful than donating blood. Have questions about the swab test or the stem cell donation process? This FAQ link compiled by DATRI is most helpful http://datriworld.org/faqb.html

What happens if you are THE one? Well then, your cells will help someone live- perhaps the best gift you can give ANYONE.

Donating bone marrow is much simpler than it sounds the procedure is
often misunderstood. Hope this article helps: The Truth About Bone Marrow Donations – Save a Childs Life by Donating Bone Marrow – Marie Claire.

See you soon! If you wish to let us know that you are coming: Here’s the RSVP page on Eventbrite: 

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