Marital Bliss at Cidade de Goa !

Wedding is an important day which one would treasure for a lifetime. Facing the serene beach of Vainguinim near Panjim, Central Goa, Cidade de Goa a premier 5-star luxury beach resort in Goa, provides one of the best exotic locations to have a dream destination wedding. 

In a peaceful location, with modern amenities and a multitude of entertainment options, Cidade de Goa is that rare venue - one singularly exquisite location with everything you could ever want!

A Wedding is the starting point of memories, which you would cherish forever. Cidade de Goa has a choice of settings when it comes to holding a wedding. Both for a grand and an intimate wedding, Cidade de Goa provides you with everything that your heart desires.

The wedding planners at Cidade de Goa take care of everything to create your special occasion as personal and unforgettable as you wish.  From the exquisite floral displays to innovative gourmet menus, from unique baarats to mehendi, sangeet parties besides the shimmering bay, you would find Cidade de Goa is an ideal marriage destination offering world class luxury and Goan hospitality.

Cidade de Goa has two “Indoor venues”:  Grand Sala which has an architectural detail, conferred ceiling arched opening and French doors complimented by chandeliers and more with the capacity of setting arrangement of 475 people. Sala de Banquet is another indoor venue, which can hold up to 180 people in a theatrical style which creates a perfect ambience for a romantic evening.

Terraced on a hillside overlooking the bay, Cidade de Goa’s breathtaking view abounds at every turn, sets the mood for wedding celebrations.

One can extend the event outdoors in any one of the Cidade de Goa’s beautifully landscaped lawns. The Sunset Lawns, the Mandovi Lawns and the Zuari Lawns provide a large idyllic setting for your family and friends to gather and celebrate your special day and can be a creative location for your wedding bash.

Your wedding day will spellbind your friends and family as they marvel over the

picturesque backdrop of the blue waters at the Vainguinim. Cocooned in this sprawling expanse of pure indulgence and makes Cidade de Goa a perfect way to turn your nuptial vows into wedding “wows”.

About Cidade de Goa :

Nestled in the serene beach of  Vainguinim near Panjim, Central Goa, Cidade  de Goa, premier among 5-star luxury beach resorts sprawls across 40 lush green acres, created to resemble a self-contained Portuguese hill hamlet (the resort's unique architectural grandeur, earned an international R.I.B.A. award). Cidade de Goa is centrally located near the capital city, a 30-minute drive from the airport or railway station.

The only five star luxury beach resort in Goa that is situated between a green hill and nearing the proximity of the sea – the sort of setting that can turn even the most ordinary person romantic. Surrounded by picturesque bay views, lush green spaces and attentive hospitality, it is ideal for a family getaway, total rejuvenation, wedding celebration and even business conference.

The 5-star resort's dining facilities include The Chef’s Specialty Dining, Alfama; Open-air Beachfront Grill, Barbeque, Poolside Café, Café Azul; International Buffet, Laranja; 24-hour Coffee shop, Doçaria; Poolside Bar, Bar Latino; the Lobby Bar, Taverna and 24-hour in-room dining. It’s an experience that seamlessly combines the old-world charm of Goa with the finesse and professionalism of a world class 5 star luxury beach resort.

Ambuja Cement launches new ‘Arjun Deewar’ TV campaign

Mumbai: Ambuja Cement has launched a new TV campaign after four years, focusing on social awareness.

The principal concept of the campaign captures, how there are many walls around us and not all of them are made of cement and concrete. There are walls of the metaphysical kind, the kind that infuse disrespect and disharmony among people.

Have you seen these walls that are invisible but yet exist? If you have seen them, then come forward and join in to become a good citizen of India.

This is the first time Ambuja has brought an exciting campaign on social awareness. The commercial subtly focuses on strength to break the walls of disparity and disharmony. Strength is one of the key elements of the Ambuja brand.

Ajay Kapur, Deputy MD & CEO of Ambuja Cement appreciated the concept of the TVC, as he said ‘’Strength is key aspect of Ambuja Cement hence the TVC is very well gelling with our tag line Giant Compressive Strength. He wishes that TV audience across the country will like the concept, as it is currently one of the key issues bothering citizen of the country. It is the responsibility of the good people to break the barrier of all such social stigma.’’

The 60-second TV campaign is already doing the rounds on television channels to coincide with the run-up to the general elections and the recently concluded T20 Cricket World Cup. The approximate total spends of the campaign will be 60 Cr for PAN India.

The advertising campaign has been designed and launched by a leading creative agency, Publicis, a part of Publicis Omnicom Group. This will be followed by digital advertisements in the leading social networking sites.

Kejriwal on a free-hit!

Aam Aadmi Party head Arvind Kejriwal is on a free hit, literally. Anyone from anywhere can come and slap or beat him and go. If we call it as a democratic right of those who attacked him, then our democracy is in for a real danger.

Ironically, no party, be it national or regional, has condemned the violence act against the poll campaigner, who’s fighting election on the basis of uprooting corruption. Probably, that is why, no one has come forward to denounce the attack on the AAP leader. After three attacks Congress and BJP reluctantly gave statements against the attack on AAP chief.

First, he was sprayed ink and mobile oil on his face while campaigning in Varanasi, where he is pitted himself against the BJP’s  prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.

Later, the 45-year-old AAP chief was attacked by a man, who claimed to be a supporter of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, during an election rally at Charkhi Dadri in Haryana.

The attack on him continued when he was campaigning in Delhi as he was hit in two places – first in Dakshinpuri area of South Delhi and second, which is the latest, but hope to be the last one, he was slapped by an auto-rickshaw driver in Sultanpuri in north-west Delhi on Tuesday.

On his attack the AAP leader tweeted, "Our religion teaches us non-violence. If we raise our hands, this movement will come to an end," Kejriwal said. Is he a modern Mahatma?

Has Kejriwal become a butt of ridicule among his political opponents for fighting a lone battle to ward off corruption from the country?

Agreed, he lacks experience to take on political bigwigs. He needs to devise his plan according to the modern day’s need. He needs a team of good advisors. Like other political party leaders, he should too engage private security guards while campaigning. But this needs funds. All the more, he should be practical in his approach.

The former chief minister of Delhi could have been provided with the highest security by the Delhi police, had he been heed to their advice, as he worried a strong posse of police would stop him connecting with ‘Aam Aadmi.’ By doing so, he exposes himself to such unmindful attacks from a group of hooligans.

Can anyone dare to touch Mamata, Jaya, Mulayam, Mayawati or for that matter, Sonia? Leave alone hitting, no one would dare to show a black flag when their cavalcade passes through.

Though almost all political leaders, cutting across the party line, ganged up to criticize Kejriwal for his comments on them and corruption, they failed to get united when he was attacked, not once but many a times.

In the arena of polls, all the political leaders are just players. They may mud-sling on others, can talk ill about their political opponents or can heap accusations on them even without any base. All are acceptable, but when any of them was attacked, it is highly undemocratic and unethical to keep quiet. In the democracy, there is no place for violence and those who remain salient on such attacks are indirectly endorsing it.

Like a person on a hunger strike is force fed to save his/her life, Kejriwal should be given full police protection to thwart any such attack on him in the coming days. Or, his supporters should form a security ring whenever he goes out in public.

Hope Kejriwal would answer those slaps through ballots.

Congress scripts its doomsday

It seems Congress has conceded defeat in the Lok Sabha polls even before commencement of polling.

With senior party leaders refraining to contest polls fearing debacle and several others admitting openly the negative sentiments among the party cadres and people, the battle lines are clearly drawn for Congress – for a sure shot defeat!

Several senior leaders and heads of UPA allies have openly predicting the doom for Congress with Sharad Pawar of Nationalist Congress Party and senior Congress leader and Union Minister Jairam Ramesh joining the bandwagon recently.

So, it is clear that even before the start of the election, the Congress has lost its way while its political rival BJP, driving on ‘Modi wave’, is surging ahead towards the victory line -- a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha to form a government.

While Sharad Pawar, who has until recently insisted that there is "no Modi wave," has been quoted by a Marathi newspaper as predicting that the Narendra Modi-led BJP will be the single largest party after the general elections.

He said, the century-old party will come second followed by regional parties such as AIADMK led by Jayalalithaa or Trinamool Congress headed by Mamata Banerjee vying for the third place.

Being a strongest ally of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, Sharad Pawar’s observation has been seen as a clear differerence among the UPA partners and possible bickering inside the party.

Union Minister Jairam Ramesh has openly admitted that the party has lost the battle of perception, as the top leadership has not been ‘communicative’.

Give reasons for his view, he said, “Hyperactive judiciary, overactive constitutional functionaries like CAG, aggressive media and irresponsible civil society combined… Our reaction was also slow. We did not communicate our point of view effectively. Our top leadership was not communicative.”  He later maintained that his party would get a decent three-digit figure.

Recently several of the senior leaders such as Finance minister P Chidambaram, Union shipping minister GK Vasan, former union minister K V Thangkabalu, Commerce and Industries Minister Anand Sharma, Manish Tiwari among others had expressed their inability to contest the elections for reasons better known to them.

According to political pundits ‘fear factor’ might be the reason for these leaders to back out from the polls. 

The Congress and its allies have involved in series of scams, which has given a stick in the hands of opposition to beat them up in the election.

Also, there is a lack of bonhomie witnessing among the Congress leaders and cadres across the country in campaigning, which indicates that all is not well in Congress. Probably, the party has become tired of ruling the country for the last one decade.

Another important thing is that there is no leader in the party who can be projected as ‘prime ministerial candidate’ like BJP did much before the announcement of the election dates.

Though Rahul Gandhi is a prominent leader, he can’t take on Modi or any other senior leaders from the opposition camp. He is a political naive and need more grooming to face the real life situation.

So, on paper, it is BJP all the way. But electorates are highly unpredictable, whoever convince them better will get their votes, that is India.

Blabbering Varun again puts BJP in tight spot

Varun Gandhi has again created a political storm of kind, this time within his party.

What he did was simply ‘praising his estranged cousin brother, Congress general secretary and candidate for Amethi Lok Sabha constituency Rahul Gandhi.

At a meeting with a group of teachers at Sultanpur, where he is the official candidate for BJP, Varun praised Rahul for his efforts towards empowering women in Amethi.

The BJP candidate said Rahul is doing a good job through self-help groups for ameliorating the status of women in Amethi and added that he would like to do the same in the his constituency.

Though nothing wrong in praising one for his good work, Varun’s comment, however, did not go down well among his party colleagues and senior BJP leaders, who have seen this (his comment) as a deterrent and would go against the prospect of actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani, who is pitted against Rahul at Amethi.

When asked about Varun’s comment, Rahul Gandhi, who was accompanying his mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi at Rai Barelli, said, "We have been working continuously in Amethi according to a strategy... we have laid foundation of education hub.. done work for farmers .... got a food park... what Varun is saying is right."

Though the prospective BJP leader quickly gave a clarification on Twitter saying that his comment was misquoted and his comment should not be seen as an endorsement of Rahul Gandhi.

In 2009 election too, Varun created a big embarrassment to his party and virtually given a stick to Congress to beat BJP by saying in an election rally at Pilibhit that he would chop off the hands who hurt Hindus. He was later arrested for his hate speech and subsequently acquitted after two years of court battle.

His party had distanced itself from him during the trial.

His speech had dented the prospect of the party in 2009 Parliamentary polls, where LK Advani was seeking to become Prime Minster.

He got his ticket to prove his political maturity, but by praising his political opponent, he has again put his party in tight spot.

Though Varun has clarified his stand, his praise will give a chance to Rahul Gandhi to convince his electorate to get more votes and Smriti will have to do extra work to nullify the damage done by Varun.

Too many PM aspirants and too many confusions

Chennai: Compared to 2009 general elections, 2014 polls have thrown up too many Priministerial aspirants and associated confusions.

While the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has managed to find a consensus among its party cadres on PM candidate and announced Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s name well ahead of others, the ruling UPA lead by Congress is still keeping its card close to its heart on its possible PM nominee with the incumbent Manmohan Singh announcing his decision to retire after the elections.

Though chief heir of Gandhi family Rahul Gandhi would be the most likely choice for the coveted post, if at all Congress mustered a convincing majority, the century-old party wont take a risk but go for a senior most leader among the battery of veterans.

Though there is no third front as such due its fragmented dispensation, regional parties such as AIADMK from Tamil Nadu, Trinamool Congress from West Bengal and underdog Aam Aadmi Party lead by Arvind Kejriwal will give a tough fight to both BJP and Congress in their respective states.

Not to forget, AIADMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minster J Jayalalithaa has already set her eyes on securing all the 40 seats (39 from TN and one from adjoining Pondicherry). She had started her groundwork well in advance by launching several welfare and pro-poor schemes in the last few months. Her most recent ones Amma Canteen, Amma mineral water, small buses connecting interior stretches, rice subsidy, education schemes, and other social welfare schemes would surely transform into votes for their candidates. To keep her flock together, she even refused to form an alliance with any regional or national parties in the state. She will surely play a decisive role at the national level if AIADMK gets 40 or even 30 seats. Her eyes are surely set on the PM's chair.

Another silent PM aspirant is Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress, who has fielded several movie and sports stars to muster majority and out win the plans of Left parties.It is interesting to see Didi role in national politics after the elections.

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh and BSP leader Mayawati in UP too are in the fray and are nurturing their ambition to become Prime Minister of India. Sensing that this election would be the right chance, as Congress would be most likely to get ousted, these two leaders are burning extra night oil for achieving their goal.

Recently, Janata Dal (U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar too surprised many by offering himself for the post in case his party gets adequate seats. He called himself as ‘the most suitable man’ for the post.

Not to forget, the fledgling AAP and new kid in the block may also spring a surprise if they win quite a few seats in their maiden Lok Sabha Polls by playing a spoilsport for several political bigwigs.

Whether the elections will provide a stable 15^th Lok Sabha or a hung Parliament with hosts of confusion, the time will tell. But keeping in mind the delicate economic condition, a strong government with efficient leaders would take India to next level of development.