Showcasing flavours of India at Global Village

January 11, 2014

Global_Village

Dubai, Jan 11: Of the many country pavilions in the Global Village, the India Pavilion stands out in terms of size and variety. It is the largest pavilion at the village. Spread across an area of 11,500 square metres, it is popular with both residents and tourists alike.

“The India pavilion presents a kaleidoscopic view of India’s rich tradition and culture not only to multinational visitors but also to fellow Indians,” says Sunil Bhatia, CEO of India Pavilion, E4 Entertainment, a leading events and exhibitions company in Dubai, is the organiser of the pavilion.

“More than trade participation, the pavilion provides a cultural window. It has become one of the biggest retail exhibitions involved in the promotion of Indian culture, tourism, trade and small-scale industries such as handicrafts and handlooms,” adds Bhatia.

The theme state of India this year is Gujarat and the facade of the pavilion is the replica of the Lakshmi Vilas Palace of Vadodara in Gujarat. As you walk inside, you notice a wide variety of Indian products on display at the various stalls. Handicrafts and handloom products from various states in India dominate.

For the home, you have a choice of wrought iron and wooden furniture, cane and bamboo products, cushion covers, wall hangings, rugs, decorative items, clay/terracotta items, home accessories and furnishing, cotton, silk and designer bedspreads, kitchenware, cutlery and mats.

There are table covers, runners, accessories, handmade and machine-made carpets, candle holders, flower vases, paintings, wood and leather jewellery boxes, lamp shades, picture frames, marble and metal decorative items, coir and jute handicrafts, wood carving, coconut shell work, bidri craft, blue pottery, foot mats, silk painting, canvas, jute and leather bags, pouches and clutches.

There are different types of fabrics and fashion accessories for women. You have a choice of chaniya choli/lehenga choli (bridal wear), salwar suits, saris, tops, kurtis and skirts made of crochets. There is a selection of matching Jaipuri and Punjabi jutties. Besides fashion jewellery, there is a selection of real gold and diamond jewellery.

India is fast emerging as a medical excellence centre and attracts international travellers in large numbers. The allure is endless… be it ayurveda, yoga, meditation, rejuvenating spas, or high-tech healing. At the India Pavilion, there is a selection of ayurvedic and herbal products, Indian spices and packed ethnic foodstuff. Hair accessories and hair treatment products, healthcare products, gems, zodiac stones and vastu-related items also stoke the interest of curious visitors.

Performers at the pavilion continue to charm visitors. The India Pavilion is the only one that has its own stage with a seating capacity of 800. There are cultural programmes six days a week, held in the evening, for two to three hours during which performers from various states of India showcase traditional, cultural and Bollywood dances. Street performers and puppeteers from Rajasthan add to the attraction.

“The puppet show from Rajasthan is a big hit. Tribes of Rajasthan have been performing this art from ancient times and it has become an eternal part of Rajasthani culture and tradition. Demo artists have been specially flown down from India and show live demonstrations of their craft at a specially constructed ‘Handicrafts Hut’ and their skill at henna design is a real crowd-puller at the pavilion,” says Bhatia.

Children, especially the little ones, can experience the miniature merry-go-rounds specially brought in from India to ensure that kids here do not miss out on traditional fun.

Bhatia adds: “The success of earlier editions has encouraged us to increase not only the size of the pavilion but also the space between stalls. This will enable visitors to enjoy more walking space and reduce congestion in the pavilion, considering the favourable results it has achieved.

“Keeping in mind the past sales records, exhibitors will find the extensive promotion, immense popularity and convenient location ideal for the promotion of Indian products, particularly those interested in entering the market for the first time. The Global Village is an attractive retail location and known to have the highest sales of any shopping venue during the Dubai Shopping Festival.”

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News Network
November 27,2024

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Gaza health authorities say Israel’s military has "erased” over 1,400 Palestinian families in the besieged territory over the past year.

The Health Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the Israeli regime "completely erased about 1,410 families, numbering 5,444 people, from the civil registry during the same period.”

It said that there were 3,463 families with only one survivor, while 2,287 families had more than one survivor.

In northern Gaza, Israel’s warplanes have continued dropping bombs over Palestinian families, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

It said one airstrike hit a family home in Jabalia, causing numerous casualties on Tuesday.

According to Gaza's civil defense agency, at least seven people were killed and several others wounded in the attack.

Another person was killed in a strike on a house in nearby Beit Lahia, a town in northern Gaza, which has been declared “a disaster area" by the municipality due to "the Israeli war of extermination and siege, and it has no food, water, hospitals, doctors, services, or communications."

The health ministry said, “Israeli forces killed 14 people and injured 108 others in three massacres of families in the last 24 hours.”

“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them.”

International organizations and leaders believe that Israel’s genocidal war, now in its second year, is a deliberate attempt to destroy the population of Gaza.

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News Network
November 17,2024

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An Israeli airstrike on the office of Syria’s Baath party in Lebanon’s capital Beirut has killed the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's Media Relations Officer, Mohammad Afif, reports say.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli raid struck the Ba'ath party’s building in central Beirut district of Ras Al-Naba'a on Sunday, adding that the strike was an attempt to assassinate the leader of the resistance media front.

According to Baath Secretary-General Ali Hijazi, Afif was having a meeting in the Baath Party headquarters when Israel carried out the attack.

"Afif did not fight with weapons and did not lead a military unit in Hezbollah. Rather, he led a media unit," he said.

Reuters, Sky News, Al Jazeera and a number of Henrew-language media reported that Afif was killed in the Israeli strike.

However, Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Afif’s death or whether he was present at the site or not.

Earlier, the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and three others injured after an Israeli strike targeted a central district in Beirut.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network reported that five people were killed in the attack.

The latest development came after Afif said Hezbollah was behind the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home during a speech at the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburbs of Beirut on October 22.

This was the second assassination attempt on Afif in the last two months, after he survived an attack on the Hezbollah media relations office several weeks ago.

Israel launched a ground assault and massive air campaign against Lebanon in late September after a year of exchanging fire across the Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war.

At least 3,287 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past year, with the vast majority in the past seven weeks. Another 14,222 have been wounded, mostly women and children.

In response to the ongoing aggression, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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November 21,2024

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Hamas says the Israeli regime’s sole objective lies in “erasing” the entirety of the Palestinian population from across the Palestinian territories.

Khalil al-Hayya, a ranking official with the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement, made the remarks to the Palestinian al-Aqsa TV on Wednesday.

“The occupation targets everyone—it strikes hospitals, civil defense, women, children, and the elderly,” he said, adding that the regime sought to “empty Gaza of its residents, and displace the Palestinian people to fulfill its dreams of building a Zionist Jewish state across all of Palestine.”

The remarks came amid the regime’s October 2023-present war of genocide on the coastal sliver that has so far claimed the lives of nearly 44,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

“This unprecedented aggression in modern times evokes scenes from the dark ages of human history, having crossed all red lines and exceeded every expectation of brutality in the modern era,” the Palestinian official lamented.

He also regretted that the regime had added “systematic and dangerous starvation to its aggression, falsely claiming before the world that it allows 250 [aid] trucks into Gaza daily. In reality, the number of trucks is far fewer.”

Hayya, meanwhile, regretted that “scenes of children torn apart, women screaming over their children, and heart-wrenching destruction have failed to stir enough humanity to stop these crimes.”

He decried the United States for vetoing the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions that are aimed at bringing about a potential ceasefire in the war, saying this indicated Washington’s “partnership in the aggression” and a simultaneous siege that the Israeli regime has been enforcing on Gaza.

Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the official asserted that, despite what the Israeli official is after, Hamas would not hand over the regime’s captives “without [the regime’s] stopping the war.”

He called Netanyahu “the main obstacle” in the way of cessation of the aggression, saying the Israeli premier “blocks any progress for political reasons,” and citing his preventing conclusion of a ceasefire agreement in July.

Hayya also warned that the regime sought to expand the war beyond Gaza, but asserted that its goals are “impossible and will never happen.”

“Today, the enemy exposes its true intentions of extermination and displacement, but it will fail,” he stressed.

“The Palestinian people are resilient and will not surrender, as they believe in their humanitarian and political cause. The enemy and its allies will not succeed in achieving their goals. This steadfast people will endure, and the occupation will not prevail against them.”

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