Art has a great display and asset value for both individuals as well as corporate houses. It makes a treasure to cherish in every sense. This value will come to the fore at Art Expo India 2009 (Venue: Nehru Center, Mumbai; Dates: September 25th - 27th) is a comprehensive source for understanding art – its past, present and future. It will present a wide array of works by famous and upcoming Indian artists.

Despite the recession and the subsequent fall in prices, experts feel the market for fine art is still very strong, though not as hyped as it was a couple of years ago. Importantly, long term collectors want to use this phase to build on their portfolios.

Especially, a host of investors-individual as well institutional- from European and American art circuit are looking to add Indian art to their collections. For many of them Indian art is still new. Art Expo India 2009 will act as a window for them to peep into Indian art.

Trade & Technology Exposition Co. (India) Pvt. Ltd was established in 1987 as an exhibition organizing company and several events on different themes were organized thereafter. Their flagship exhibition is GIFTEX which is now in its 21st year. With over 70 Shows to their credit Trade & Technology have the experience, the ability and the understanding of the art market as well.

The organization is headed by Vickram Sethi and has a support team that specializes in setting up trade events.  He has been setting up art shows and events from 1990. Before setting up art expo, the core team members had visited art fairs all over the world speaking to both galleries and art buyers to understand their needs. Being in both businesses Trade & Technology Exposition Co has the ability and knowledge to put together a major art event that would cater to the needs of the broader market.

Visit and enjoy Art Expo India 2009! The vibrant vistas of Indian Contemporary Art have opened for you.

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If any of your friends or family members loves visiting art galleries; likes reading on art & culture, and relishes watching cultural shows, he or she makes a perfect candidate on your part to give an artwork as a gift! But where to source the reliable information about latest trends in Indian art!

Well, you may visit Art Expo India 2009, which is going to be a high profile meeting ground for art dealers, galleries, artists and prospective art buyers.

Dwelling on the importance of AEI, an ET report by Nalini S Malaviya mentions that talks by experts in the field, and an opportunity to interact with artists, gallerists, critics and other members from the art fraternity, sure add great value to such events. Insights into various aspects related to the art market, such as world markets, evaluations, regulations and so on, make the event more interesting, it points out.

The event is bound to act as a catalyst in building the art market in India. With more and more Indians becoming wealthier, there is a huge untapped potential waiting to be exploited. The new-found prosperity, a highly sophisticated audience and international exposure now present a perfect opportunity for art dealers to project buying, collecting and investing art a modern lifestyle statement.

Importantly, no other market can be as huge as the Indian market for Indian art itself. If it has to do well, it must ’sell’  in India to start with. AEI is looking to make this happen. Its aim is to build a community of art connoisseurs by building awareness and imparting knowledge of Indian art history as well as current art trends.

The event to be hosted at Nehru Center, Mumbai (September 25th-27th) strives to serve as a link among keen art viewers, artists and experts. It will provide you with an insight into the contemporary art trends.

Mr Vickram Sethi of The Arts Trust and AEI organizer, concludes: “Our exhibiting galleries are constantly bringing fresh perspectives to Indian art. We only invite galleries who are passionate and ground-breaking in the artists they foster.”

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For an added personalized touch to make your gift truly innovative and indeed unique, we suggest you one of its kind avenue! Gifted Lifestyles offers you a selection of mouth watering chocolates, jewelry or flowers to enhance the aura of your present.

Also on offer are wonderful wrapping services to enhance the beauty of your gift. Personal consultation is another value-add to the gifting service. Tarana Khubchandani, Kanchan Khubchandani, Armaiti Bhagwagar and Rashna Talati launched Gifted Lifestyles with the very purpose.

They all have combined their passion and professional skills in conceiving Gifted Lifestyles in November 2007. It’s a full-fledged boutique that has on offer a wide array of charming gifts that can be perfect for every occasion – social or personal.

Their collection of gifting items has been an outcome of proactive search and in-depth research done over two years after traveling to a host of fairs and events apart from visits to internationally acclaimed markets of Paris, Hong Kong, Florence, Barcelona, Dubai Milan, etc that has gave rise to this fabulous range of gifts.

Gifted Lifestyles is indeed a treasure trove of exciting gifts like mahogany desk boxes, silk mannequins, filigree lamps, golden fortune cookies and hand embroidered lap trays. What you get on the shelves of this cozy, captivating store is a range of exclusive home décor products and amazing accessories, as well as personal luxury items plus a distinctive display for men.

Another admirable aspect is the constant revamp of the extensive merchandise on offer to suit the different moods and seasons like Diwali and Christmas. The creative team gives inputs to come up with gift hampers, to match any occasion.

If you are searching for a unique gift that would suit your budget and also reflect the recipient’s personality and tastes, Gifted Lifestyles is your best option.

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“Gifts should be so presented that they suit the receiver’s personality.”

..so thinks Nidhi Agrawal. Importantly, she acts upon what she preaches. Want to know more about her passion that culminates business and hobby? Well, just hand over a picture of your choice to her and she will apply her imagination to convert it into a dramatic present to reflect the person’s interests.

It can be anything from a Hello magazine cover for someone who is an aspiring model, a book of personal achievements for a dotting husband celebrating his birthday, to a calendar with key dates marked on it, a fine family video, or an apron for a person who relishes cooking.

It was about three years back that the idea struck this aspiring fashion designer. She was confused as to what to offer as a gift to one of her relatives. Se then decided to opt for something innovative as well as highly personal. She presented a wrist watch that carried a picture of the recipient on the dazzling dial. The idea was received very well and she extended it into a small venture for offering functional and useful gifts.

Nidhi Agrawal’s personalized gifts make a memorable and unique choice. Using watches, cushions and even blankets as mediums of her expression, she has now moved on to visiting cards, candles mouse pads, towels and baby books. She has even tried the idea on a jigsaw puzzle.

She first designs the idea on her personal computer. She makes modifications to it till the customer approves it. She secures most of her work through word of mouth publicity. 

For example, she has devised a clock with its hands fixed at a specific time to represent ‘memorable moments in one’s life with the pictures in place of the numbers. What’s more the creator has on offer a satisfaction guarantee the gifts.

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As the festive season begins with Ganesh Chaturthi in the months of August-September each year, it his a crescendo in the next couple of months with popular festive occasions like Navratri, Diwali and Christmas.

The mood of celebration and joy lasts well up to December and extends right into the new year. This is the time for corporate entities to uplift the spirit of their employees and celebrate the festive season by involving them in all the glitter and glamour.

The festive season essentially marks as a perfect to increasing the relationship and the bonding with your employees. Most corporations take this opportunity to spread goodwill. Many of them come up with different incentives to strengthen the bond with their employees.

The ideas include a festive bonus for Diwali and New Year or even a performance linked bonus. The latter may be in cash or kind i.e. a corporate gift, or even both. Business houses looking to retain their efficient employees and reduce their attrition rates, come up with attractive ideas to encourage them.

Such schemes that boost the team spirit help increase their productivity market and ultimately the company’s core value as a brand. Many corporate entities use the festive season to achieve the same. The top managements realize the importance of this and even opt to celebrate the festivals in-house with their employees.

The best way to seek their participation in such festivities is to present them with apt corporate gifts. No surprise, many of them make plans to order gifts on a large scale for their employees well before the festive season.

This exactly is the reason why Giftex show is held every year in the months of August-September. For those keen on sourcing the best corporate gifting options, Giftex 2009 provided the perfect opportunity.

If you have missed out on the event, there is no need to worry. The site will act as a perfect touch point to access the best from the corporate gifting industry. 

Tags: business gifting, Gifting events, low cost gifts, business gift baskets, corporate gifts companies, gifting etiquette, gifting to clients, Best business gifts, Cheap corporate gifts, promotional products

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Gift cards are just one among the various types of prepaid cards that are offered by banks. Other types comprise forex cards like those offered by HDFC and SBI. They can be utilized for purchases and cash withdrawals in the requisite foreign currency overseas.

Other prepaid cards are meant primarily for corporate entities and not individuals. For getting a gift card, you need to fill a basic form and hand over the identity proof plus the cash to any local bank branch. You will be issued it on the same day.

You need to check about the fees and limits, if any. Processing your gift card application incurs a fee. The amount is in the range of Rs 100 to Rs 200. It varies from one bank to another. The amount is higher in banks such as IDBI and Axis, where the activation fees are one percent of the amount that is loaded onto the card provided the card value is more than Rs 10,000.

You can get a gift card for any denomination, from Rs 500. The ceiling on the gifting amount varies depending on the bank you approach. The cap roughly ranges between Rs 10,000 (at banks likes HDFC) and Rs 50,000 (at Axis and ICICI).

Though the gift cards are supposed to be easily available at all local bank branches, this is not always the case. Smaller bank branches may not stock gift cards at all times. The personnel there may ask you to visit the main branch. Also, your cheque may take an additional day to be processed and the card will be activated only after that.

If the gift card has been presented before the activation has been done and if the receiver immediately uses it, the transaction will be declined.

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In one of our previous blog posts, we checked the various features of a gift card that make it user-friendly. We shall continue with our informative series on gift cards that are perfect for personal and corporate gifting.

As we have explained, a gift card offers flexibility to both the receiver as well as the giver. Importantly, it is not limited to one time usage. It is valid to be used on more than one occasion, and at different shopping avenues, for purchasing items of varying amounts until, of course, the card exhausts its value.

Check for their validity as these cards invariably come with an expiry date. Of course, the time span allowed to use it is quite extensive. It can be anywhere between a year to five years depending on the issuing authority.

However, it makes sense to use a gift card without delay because rising inflation can eat into its value as the cost of something you want to purchase might well increase before you know it.

If you fail to use its full value and there’s any amount balance on the card after the date of expiry, the bank will most probably return the amount pending after deducting certain fixed charges.

Also, banks usually impose a time limit after the expiry date within which the gift card must be returned to it in order to collect the balance amount. If the outstanding amount on the gift card has been used up fully before expiry, you should return the card to the bank.

If the card carries substantial amount of value, it may become a tedious task to constantly keep track of the amount spent and the balance remaining on it. To overcome this issue, each card carries the Internet banking user name and secret password, as well as a personal ATM pin.

The balance amount may be checked either through the issuing bank’s ATM services or its net banking facilities. We have discussed how to use a gift card, but you may want to know how and where to purchase one. We shall check the details in the next blog…

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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.

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Teacher’s Day is celebrated in India on September 5 as a sincere tribute to the hard work and devotion of the teachers. The occasion is dedicated to the first ever Vice President and the second President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. He was known to be a passionate advocate of education to all.

Here are some of the touching themes we have collated for you from online greetings sources. You can pick the one of your choice.

Love You Shower: Give this card to your teacher and shoe your love and respect to him or her.

Sincere Efforts: Appreciate your teacher for his or her unconditional support & efforts through this card.

You are my parents at school: Thanking you for being there.

Your helping hand…: Express your gratitude to your teacher.
Adjectives for a TEACHER: Express the respect you hold for your teacher.

Dear Teacher, Remembering You With…: A Thank you card! 

You Have Helped Us…: A card to your favorite teacher.

God Understood our…: Tell your Teacher that he is the best through this Card

Helping, guiding and tutoring me…: Wish a very happy teacher’s day!

You have always shown me the right way: Show your gratitude.

The Best Teacher!: For your all-time favorite teacher.

Award For A Teacher…: A charming way to make your teacher smile.

Guidance And Support!: Thank your teacher/ teachers for all what you have got from him/ her/ them.

Really Can’t Be Like You…: Send this fun card to your teacher and make him/ her smile.

You’ve Been A Friend…: A beautiful message for your teacher who has been a friend to you.

Missing You…: A cute ecard to let your teacher know how much you miss him/ her even after leaving the school.

‘Happy Teachers’ Day!’ greetings serve as an expression of our gratitude towards them.

Teachers’ Day wishes sure will make a touching gesture.

Take this opportunity to wish your teacher/s with some nice greeting cards and ecards.

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Ganesha, the elephant-headed God of success, help us overcome any obstacles in life. The deity is associated with virtues like wisdom, learning, power and prudence.

Ganesha is the first deity to be worshipped at the start of any auspicious occasion or a new venture. Ganesha or Ganpati is a very popular God idolized not only in India but all over the world.

Won’t it be a gratifying gift for an ardent Ganesha devotee? Mumbai’s Shree Siddhivinayak is highly revered by common people and celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan.

The official website notes: “The idol of Shree Siddhivinayak was carved out of a single black stone and is 2′6” (750mm) high and 2′ (600mm) wide with the trunk on the right. This is rather unusual appearance of Lord Ganesh.  The sanctum sanctorum housing the deity was altered time and again and finally gave way to a monolithic and magnificent structure, which was accomplished by a series of rituals.”

Book a Siddhivinayak Pooja online, which is very convenient. The following holy ceremonies are performed under the instructions and directions of competent priests.

Type of Pooja ceremonies that you can gift to someone:
1. Shodashopchar with one recitation of Atharva Sheersha
2. Shodashopchar with five recitations of Atharva Sheersha
3. Shodashopchar with eleven recitations (MahaPooja)
4. Nava-dampathya Ashirvachan Pooja (for the newly weds)
5. Pooja to seek blessings on a special occasion like birthday, marriage anniversary

The prasad along with Sindur, tilak, Shree’s picture will be given to the person mentioned by post after the Pooja is performed. You can register for the holy ceremony on any day of the month.

The priests perform them by Name of the devotee registered online. One time postal charges are included for the address within India or outside. If you book multiple Pooja, the prasad will be sent for multiple times.
Book the Shree Siddhivinayak Pooja here

Tags: Corporate gifting, promotional products, Gifting events, Best corporate gifts, business gift baskets, Business Gifting
Corporate gifting, gifting to clients, Cheap corporate gifts, promotional gifts, Best business gifts

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