If you are keen on incorporating glitz n glamour to your gaudy gift, why not try out brash Bollywood themes. If you do not know how, this is something just for you. Here is a young designer who will do the job for you…

Dazzling designer Nida Mahmood, who admittedly has been a hardcore Hindi movie buff, would always dream of cute little things that we could see only on screen. That set her thinking how those gorgeous elements, which light up a film set, could be incorporated in one’s daily life. She mulled over the idea and integrated with the concept of gifting. 

The unique blend has given rise to a venture called as New India Bioscope. She has set it up with her friend Raul Chandra. It has just been over a month ago and the idea has clicked. She has already been chosen to refurbish the Art Deco Theatre in New Delhi, Nida is also going work for a Hollywood production, designing the outfits.

Spice and variety is the essence of her eccentric gift offerings.  These are no ordinary items. As you would realize, the techni-color fun has subtly spilled over onto ubiquitous objects from totes to keychains. She has added dramatic touch to them, terming it as an unadulterated Bollywood touch. There are captivating tea cups and other kitschy items like diaries, bags and home décor elements.

Prices might deter you, if not the concept itself! Price tag of a Gabbar chair will ring in your ears for days together. It is tagged at Rs 45,000. If you are looking for more affordable stuff, go for umbrellas with rain songs like ‘Pyar Hua’ and ‘Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si’ from the 90’s to those from the 50’s etched on them. These cost just about Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000. A ‘Don’ notebook is just worth a few hundred rupees, while Bollywood keychains come cheaper at Rs 100.

Tags: , promotional gifts, corporate gifting for employees, gifting india, Popular corporate gifts, gifting etiquette, Gifting events, Worst gifts, business gifting, Business Gifting
Corporate gifting

Bookmark to:

Teachers Day is right here in the first week of this month. As a sign of respect and tribute to Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, his birthday is observed all over the country as Teacher’s Day in India.

We have been celebrating Teacher’s Day on September 5 since 1962. Dr. Radhakrishnan was considered one of the most learned persons and a great scholar and teacher of his times.

You can thank your teacher, coach or guide who has been a great source of help, inspiration and motivation to you. Here are some really thoughtful and nostalgic gift ideas that your teacher will definitely appreciate.

Picture it forever: Take a picture of your class and put it nicely into a special or even simple picture frame for the teacher to proudly hang up in the classroom or retain in his/her home office. You can opt to personalize the frame with the teacher’s name and your feelings about the teacher engraved. Ask an artistic student to paint it right onto frame.

Memory album for your teacher: Here is another variation of the above idea. You can put together a memory album for your teacher. Take a photograph of each student creatively against a nice background; develop the roll of film right away.

You can then have many colors of scrap-booking paper cut into same sized triangles for the students to choose from and to write a message for the beloved teacher. Each kid will also sign his or her name on their triangle.

You can then put the photographs and the matching triangles together in a creative album that will make an everlasting memory. You can title the first page with your teacher’s name, class and the year. It will sure prove to a big hit as the teacher can share it with his colleagues and family members as well.

Bookmark to:

There are eight important and famous abodes of Lord Ganesha. These are collectively known as Ashtavinayaka. The eight naturally-formed sculpted stone statues are housed in the old temples.

The Ashtavinayaka temples are just within the range of 100 km of each other. A lot of spiritual importance is given to these eight destinations in Hindu religion.

Each idol is Lord Ganesha’s incarnation as told in different mythological tales. The places, the idols and their incarnation stories are ancient. These narrate us about why and how these Ganesha idols got their particular names and came into existence.

Elaborating on the Ashtavinayaka, the official tourism website of Maharashtra state notes: “Vinayak is another popular name for the god loved and worshiped by Hindus all over, Ganesh. Lord Ganesh is known to be the protector of his ardent devotees. Eight (Astha) naturally-formed sculpted stone statues are housed in old temples at the places where they were first found. The temples of Ashta Vinayaka are within the range of just 20 to 110 km of each other.”

The sequence of Ashtavinayaka pilgrimage according to the convention as mentioned in puran as is as follows:
1. Sri Mayureshwar Of Morgaon
2. Sri Siddhivinayak Of Siddhatek
3. Sri Ballaleshwar Of Pali
4. Sri Varad Vinayaka Of Mahad
5. Sri Chintamani Of Theur
6. Sri Girijatmaj Of Lenyadri
7. Sri Vigneshwar Of Ozar
8. Sri Mahaganapati Of Ranjangaon

These eight places are all in western Maharashtra. To plan your trip, contact:
Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation;
Reg. Office: Express Towers, 9th Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021.
Information & Booking Office
Central Reservation Division, C.D.O. Hutments,
Opp. Yogakshema (LIC Building), Madame Cama Road, Mumbai 400 020
Check the MTDC Ganesha gallery here…

Mention must also be made of Ganapatipule in Konkan, a spectacular beach right along the Konkan Coast. It’s an idyllic getaway, which attracts beach lovers and pilgrims alike. The temple of Swayambhu (self-originated) Lord Ganesh here is visited by thousands of devotees every year. 

Tags: Best business gifts, Corporate gifting, corporate gifting for employees, business gift baskets, Cheap corporate gifts, corporate gifts companies, low cost gifts, , gifting to clients, promotional products

Bookmark to:

In our previous blog, we carried details of a news report, stating that the Zoozoo creator Vodafone Essar intends to release official Zoozoo merchandise with the help of leading retail chain Shopper’s Stop.

Branded character merchandise is a territory not many retailers want to tread upon because of the peculiar market conditions. One of them is intellectual property issues. Customer care associate & chief executive for Shoppers Stop, Govind Shrikhande, elaborated that character merchandising is rather easy to copy. There isn’t much control over violation of IP rights.

According to him, film merchandise has a shelf life of roughly two to three months whereas character merchandising is more challenging, particularly if the official merchandise is costly, thereby prompting the demand for their cheaper knock-offs. He estimates that the branded merchandise market is in the region of around Rs 1,050 crore.

Character merchandise has worked successfully in case of the Disney and other you can make your brother, both a cricket and Zoozoo fan, happy with a ravishing Zoozoo rakhi like SpongeBob, SquarePants, Ben 10, and Hanuman etc. The official Zoozoo fan club page on Facebook has over 3 lakh fans. Such branded merchandise works well for brand promotion. It reinforces the image of the brand.

E-commerce site Indiangiftsportal.com stocks products that feature the Zoozoos. Its MD Manan Sharma claims that his efforts to get an official license for Zoozoo merchandise failed. But he is not worried about infringement of IP rights? According to him, they are simply making the Zoozoos popular so there shouldn’t be a problem?

On the other hand, online merchandiser Myntra Designs Ltd has been a tad more cautious. Their creative designers contribute their own ideas and the site has rejected several Zoozoos based T-shirt designs owing to copyright issues.

Irrespective of pros and cons of the debate, the good part is that you can make your brother, both a cricket and Zoozoo fan, happy with a ravishing Zoozoo rakhi.  

Tags: corporate gifts companies, Cheap corporate gifts, Best business gifts, Corporate gifting India, gifting etiquette, Business Gifting
Corporate gifting, , gifting to clients, low cost gifts, Worst gifts

Bookmark to:

Here is an opportunity in the offing for those keen on gifting exquisitely crafted, classic and glittering gold items. According to media reports, the World Gold Council is all set to explore spiritual connection of the popular yellow metal with India’s heritage and mythology. 

WGC, as is known, has developed into a worldwide organization funded by the leading gold mining firms. The council apparently is searching for the precious metal’s intrinsic value beyond prices. It is thinking of appointing an expert on Indian mythology, Dr Devdutt Pattanaik, as a consultant.

The famous writer of several research based books comprising ‘The Book of Ram’, Dr Devdutt Pattanaik will be mandated to come up with innovative ways for fitting gold in spiritualism. As reported, the council is likely to engage him for the project by October. The first glimpse of the concept is slated to be offered by as soon as April 2010.

Now, gold is considered more as a valuable asset for future. Primarily stored more for its ornamental value in the past, people now hold it as an investment. However, WGC is trying to look at gold beyond just market price. For this it will try to strike a mythological chord with those spiritually inclined. The council is planning to work with leading temples trusts like Vaishno Devi Shrine Board to manufacture jewelry items, either by themselves or by engaging local manufacturers.

Ajay Mitra, MD (India sub-continent) for WGC, has been quoted as saying: “The concept has immense potential; the metal will not only accumulate all the known forms of mythology like forming symbols (such as trishul, om), rituals and telling story, but will also bridge the gap between the ancient art of story-telling and rituals as of today.” 

These gold artifacts with a spiritual connection, once they are released, are bound to make a popular gifting choice. 

Bookmark to:

If you are looking to gift something interesting to a successful student, who has come out with the flying colors in the SSC examinations, a computer mouse would just be perfect! The tech savvy youth sure would love to do away with his/ her old mouse. Here, we suggest some good picks.

Microsoft has come up with a portable mouse. The Arc Mouse is an industrial design innovation, so to say, as it folds up like your flip phone. This feature makes it a perfect accessory to stow away in a laptop bag. It wirelessly connects to PC or laptop via a USB micro-transceiver.

The Arc Mouse can efficiently work even from as far as 30 feet. You will be better off going with a Bluetooth-connected mouse, if empty USB ports are scarce on notebook, something that you need to check with the person whom you wish to gift it. Thankfully, there is no complicated installation involved.

In case the recipient would like to customize the left and right buttons on it, the free software known as Intellipoint available on Microsoft’s website, can be of help. Or one can simply tweak some Mouse properties from Window’s PC options menu too. The mouse motion is decent with Arc - no jiggling cursor or those jumping around movements.

The Arc Mouse has a laser sensor, which smoothly tracks along across many surfaces like cloth and hard paper. Just to mention, it has a slight design flaw. The back button on its left side could have been a potentially useful one. However, it becomes difficult to reach owing to its positioning on the left side.

A battery status indicator is present between the left and right click buttons. Microsoft claims that the Mouse will work for over six months on just two AAA batteries, so the battery life is good. The Arc Mouse is available at around at Rs 3,000.

It truly fits the definition of a versatile and reliable pointing device for both laptop and desktop users. Other features that make it attractive are functional design and glossy paint finish with rubberized sides and underside. On the flip side, wireless transceiver consumes a precious USB port.

Tags: low cost gifts, Best business gifts, Corporate gifting India, gifting india, Cheap corporate gifts, corporate gifts companies, Business etiquette, Gifting occasions, business gifting,

Bookmark to:

HSC, ICSE and SSC (Maharashtra board) results have just been declared,. Successful students from your neighborhood, or in your family who have passed with flying colors deserve a pat on the back and also a gift in appreciation of their achievement. One of your office colleague or key client’s son or daughter may have done exceedingly well. Take this opportunity to appreciate their efforts with knowledge based books gifts ill help them in their further studies and personality development will be a perfect choice.

Macmillan’s Knowledge books
Macmillan India publishes a wide range of research based books and academic books for purpose of reference and research. Their publications are recommended for schools, colleges, individual and corporate buyers. Macmillan has on offer topical and general encyclopedias that feature the most reliable and updated information with attractive illustrations, photos, maps, charts, lists and tables.

‘Essential Encyclopedia’, ‘Philip’s Millennium Encyclopedia’, ‘Nature Encyclopedia’ and ‘Science and Technology Encyclopedia’ are some of the knowledge and information based offerings from the reputed publishing house.

The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia
‘15,003 Answers: The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia’ (Random House Reference Publishing), a revised, new version of the popular title‘10,000 Answers’, is an enchanting trivia encyclopedia that comprises ultimate entertaining and engaging facts. It offers umpteen little-known facts that students will simply love savoring!

Interesting and off-beat titles
‘Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body’ by Neil Shubin (Pantheon Books) is a lively, thoroughly engrossing chronicle of evolutionary history, which unearths the startling secrets behind why we look or behave the way we tend to.

‘Maps: Finding Our Place in the World’ by author James Akerman is a must-have volume for inquisitive minds that challenges them to stretch conventional thought about what exactly constitutes a map. It discusses many different ways for understanding graphically the environment in which we exist.

‘Lonely Planet Gap Year Book’ is a one-stop guide for 18- to 25-year-olds who wish to take time off from studies and career only to travel. It comprises handy regional maps and continent overviews that reveal the best routes as well as must-see attractions. It also imparts essential information on pre-trip planning.

Bookmark to:

The recession has left quite a many people without jobs, leaving behind many more insecure about their futures. The smarter ones though, are always thinking long-term going beyond such slumps. They are not worried about ups and downs in life. They want to ensure that they become indispensable in the organizational set-up.

This can be made possible by persistently enhancing your work skills. You constantly need to reinvent yourself. This again is a skill in itself that can be learnt and passed on.

In case you want to offer one of your despondent friends or colleagues a helping hand, you can do so through a host of inspirational and self-help books. Those looking to move on having lost a job will find solace in spiritual and philosophical readings. And the more adventurous ones already thinking beyond jobs, to turn entrepreneurs in their own right, will get the motivation from your timely gift.

Of course, not every one has the confidence and drive to take that radical step, and few indeed can afford going back to B-school. So to feel the breach many advice-providers and authors of how-to business books step in. They tell you how to remain unruffled by the downturn.

We have already checked some titled that might make good gifts in today’s tough times in our recent blog. Here are some more ideas. ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’, a self-help fable about an individual who had everything and simply gave it up for the sake of his soul, is right on top of the heap. But what is the current trend? “Now it’s more human-oriented,” Sugata Ghosh, head of commissioning, Sage Publications stated in a recent interview, summed up the business-books market orientation.

So even while Robin Sharma’s boom-time hit retains its popularity, many new and upcoming releases tell a different tale. Jaico has on offer a series of affordable business books. ‘The 60 Second Self-Starter’ is a simple, effective, hands-on guide, which one can use to dismantle obstacles acting as barriers to productivity.

The crucial tip offered: “Keep your frustration level low and your energy level high.” Here’s another one: “Theory of Constraints sermonizes that the goal is making money at present, and for the future! Here, ‘future’ is as important as ‘present’.”

Such words of wisdom sound optimistic as well as practically useful. “People want a feel-good factor, a hope for better times” points out Krishan Chopra, chief editor-publisher of HarperCollins. You can impart that hope by gifting something like this Hachette title: ‘I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No B.S. Just a 6-Week Program that Works’ by Ramit Sethi.

Tags: Gifting occasions, promotional products, corporate gifts companies, Popular corporate gifts, Business etiquette, business gifting, Best corporate gifts, gifting etiquette, gifting to clients, low cost gifts

Bookmark to:

The market has been in an uptrend since hitting a bottom in the month of March. However, when the stocks were beaten down, one asset class that had drawn huge attention was gold ETF. This particular fund was in spotlight because gold prices had zoomed. Since then they have lost their shine just a bit!

For savvy investors this offers a good opportunity to enter these schemes at a lower price level with their NAV (net asset value) having fallen. You can sure consider gifting someone gold ETFs.

ETFs are quite similar to a mutual fund scheme. Instead of investing the corpus in equity shares, the money collected is invested in gold. There are schemes on offer from Kotak, Reliance, UTI, Quantum and SBI mutual fund for buying gold ETFs. Unfortunately, investors are still unaware of buying and gifting gold in the electronic form. If you strike early, it will make a worthwhile present.

Buying gold in electronic form requires a shift in mindset, something which shouldn’t be difficult considering most of us already possess other valuable assets in a similar form. As tax consultant Sandeep Shanbhag mentions in a recent article, ‘Think of the money lying in a bank account. Whether Rs 10,000 or Rs 10 lakh or a crore, it’s your bank passbook that indicates the amount you own.

“Similarly, not too long ago, physical share certificates were required to be delivered and kept. Then we gradually shifted to electronic holding. An investor’s life thus became more convenient. Similarly, gold too can be owned in the dematerialized, electronic form. It is a safer and more efficient way to own it.”

As we have mentioned above, there are many good schemes on offer from reputed fund houses. If you can gift gold ETFs to someone dear to you, the glitter of gold will remain with the person forever and add to his or her wealth as well.

Tags: , business gifting, gifting india, promotional products, Gifting occasions, low cost gifts, Business etiquette, corporate gifting for employees, Best business gifts, business gift baskets

Bookmark to:

Multi-touch is now the must-have feature for coveted digital devices. In fact, ‘touch’ is the new buzzword for all electronics devices today in the market.

If you’re looking to gift them to one of your tech-savvy family or business friends, there is no dearth of options. Here, we provide some clues. For instance, the craze for the Apple iPhones launch has now become all pervasive! The gizmos that are available with the touch feature latest technology features s by way of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, haptic feedback, GPS, accelerometers, etc.

Take, for instance, the new Microsoft coffee-table-sized computer, known as the ‘Surface’, is meant for retail stores and hotels. It is based on handy multi-touch finger gestures for moving digital objects like play games, photos, and to browse. Hewlett-Packard (HP) has already developed a prototype of a multi-touch coffee-table computer to be used at home.

Samsung’s latest P3 portable media player is based on true haptic feedback. Having a fantastic 3 inch TFT-LCD touch screen, it provides widescreen enjoyment of photos and video without the requirement for letterboxing. The P3 reacts with a various physical sensations with every command gesture. The 8GB and the 16GB versions cost Rs 11,900 and Rs 14,900, respectively, making it quite affordable.

The digital still camera range from Samsung sports Touch 2.0 features. The NV100 Full HD digital still camera at Rs 22,990 lets users explore commands on screen with swift finger movements.

For high-end gifting, there’s Apple’s MacBook Air touchpad allows one to move the cursor and simply click just like a mouse. It has several functionalities, making use of multi-touch gestures. One can rotate photos just by touching two fingers and shifting the images on the screen.

One may move back n forth quickly through web pages and photos by swiping fingers on the touchpad. It is possible to expand or shrink a photo, or by pinching the image, even zoom in and out on a web page. An Apple MacBook Air starts at Rs 95,000.

Bookmark to: