The Indian Hospitality Congress (IHC) will felicitate university toppers from different streams in the hospitality sector across India, at its two-day national conference on 27 and 28 March at Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. According to Ashish Dahiya, the Joint Secretary of IHC, the organisation has requested universities for the profiles of toppers in hospitality institutes affiliated with them.  Dahiya said that universities such as Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra; Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak; Bhundelkhand University, Jhansi; MJP Rohelkhand University, Bareilly; Mumbai University; Bharti Vidyapeeth University, Pune; Mangalore University, and Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, have already submitted the student details, and these students will be honoured during the conference. "One of IHC's objectives is to promote hospitality education in India. Initiatives like these will act as a morale booster for students pursuing hospitality education. Unfortunately, there was no formal platform for honouring these students at the national level so far," says Dahiya. Looking at the current dearth of manpower in the industry as well as in academics, Dahiya says that it was important to create interest among brilliant students to pursue higher education and become role models in the hospitality segment. "Since most of the universities have incorporated hospitality education into their curriculum, there has been a need for research-based programmes in hospitality education. Motivating these toppers to take up advanced programmes based on more research work is very important," says Dahiya.

 The ongoing International Yoga Festival at Rishikesh is drawing a large number of foreign tourists.
The seven-day long festival that started on March 1 has been jointly organised by Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board and Parmarth Niketan Ashram.
The festival was first organised in 2001 and since then it is being held every year.
A large number of visitors are coming every year to attend the yoga sessions and perform yoga exercises.
"The environment is such that people can learn, enjoy and also listen to speeches of big people. There is serious study and exposure," said Birju Mehta, a visitor.
The participants said that attending the festival has been an enriching experience for them.
The festival is held on the banks of the river Ganga, it offers a wide variety of yoga including Kundalini Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Reiki, Pranayama, Power Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Pranic Healing, Music Therapy, Yoga Therapy, Nada yoga, Meditation and special satsangs.
The question-answer sessions with prominent exponents of Yoga are one of the highlights of the Yoga Week.
The Yoga festival has been uniting people of different cultures and faiths as it promotes the unity of the body, mind and soul.

Rishikesh (Uttarakhand). With a three-pronged objective of saving the
Himalayas from ecological disaster, cleansing the River Ganges of
pollutants and also saving the cow, 5000 volunteers who have embarked
upon a 'Ganga Yatra', have reached Rishikesh. The rally termed as
'Ganga Yatra' commenced on February 11 from Gangotri Dam and will end
on February 28 in New Delhi, where the Government will be persuaded to
take steps to save the region from ecological damage. "We will strive
for the protection of the holy cow, the holy river Ganges and the
Himalayas. These are the basics of our journey," said Gopal Maniji
Maharaj, a volunteer. "The Ganges has been forced to change its course
with bridges and tunnels being built across it, and as a result, the
sanctity of the river has been destroyed," Maharaj added. The cow is
regarded as the saviour of mankind, and its slaughter can threaten
Indias entire population, he claimed. "The cow, Ganges and Himalayas
have not received adequate attention needed for their preservation.
And whatever little has been done, is not sufficient. The cow is being
sacrificed often and this is not right," said Subhash Sharma, one of
the organisers of the Ganga Yatra. "For 24 years, Gopal Maniji Maharaj
has been monitoring the situation and following an analysis. He has
suggested that around 5001 people should come forward and begin the
holy journey to draw the attention of the Government to these issues,
so that they may take relevant steps to protect them," Sharma added.
According to a recent official report, only 39 percent of the primary
target of the Ganga Action Plan, which the Central Government had
started in 1985, has been met so far. The Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was
originated from the personal intervention and interest of the late
Prime Minster Indira Gandhi, who requested a comprehensive survey of
the situation in 1979. After five years, the Central Pollution Control
Board (CPCB) published two comprehensive reports, which formed the
base from which the action plan to clean up the Ganga, was developed.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi may have been born in India but his real fame
and following as a meditation guru was in the West. The Maharishi's
ashes will be immersed in the Sangam after 20 days, but not before
small urns of his ashes are sent to each of his thousands of ashrams
around the world. His funeral, on the banks on Ganga in Allahabad, saw
his foreign following outnumbering Indians.

They were all there in their white robes, most of them middle-aged
followers of the Maharishi, who made headlines when the Beatles first
came to his ashram in Rishikesh in the year 1968.

When the last flavours of the hippie movement was pushing many in the
West to look towards alternative philosophies, with the Beatles as
brand ambassadors, the Maharishi's transcendental meditation became a
global mantra.

Through the 70s the Maharishi cult grew into what is today a
multi-billion dollar global empire, a cult that drew not only the
faithful but even foreign press.

Given Maharishi Yogi's global footprint, his successor is not an
Indian but a Lebanese follower Tony Nader, who now has been
rechristened as Maharaj Raja Ram.

Millions of devotees took a holy dip in the Ganga here today on the
occasion of 'Mauni Amavasya'.

Braving cold, millions of devotees from across the country gathered
well before dawn to wash away their sins and attain salvation.

'Mauni Amavasya' is considered special in Hindu scriptures as the sun
and the moon are in the Tropic of Capricorn, a rare configuration.
Hindus believe that on this occasion water everywhere becomes holy.

The ritual, observed on the last night of the dark fortnight of 'Magh'
month in the Hindu lunar calendar, began at midnight with the faithful
keeping a 48 hours silence prior to the auspicious hour.

"On this day, the people observe silence and take a holy dip and make
religious offerings and by doing so one can earn religious merit,"
said Swami Vishwanand Saraswati.

Hundreds of Naga Sadhus or the naked saints were amongst those saints
who took bath at the Sangam.

In Haridwar, besides taking the holy dip, devotees make offerings and
perform various rituals to please the gods.

Born Mahesh Prasad Varma in Jabalpur, India, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
dies at age 91. Probably the most memorable of all was his association
with The Beatles and the use of Transcendental Meditation.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was the founder of the Transcendental Meditation program.
TM Program website about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is widely regarded as the foremost scientist in
the field of consciousness, and considered to be the greatest teacher
in the world today. Maharishi has completely restored the thousands of
years-old scattered Vedic Literature for the total significance of its
theory and practice, and has organized it in the form of a complete
science of consciousness.
Maharishi's Vedic Science and Technology unfolds the full potential of
Natural Law in human consciousness as the basis of improving all areas
of life.
The Transcendental Meditation(R) program, the subjective technology of
Maharishi's Vedic Science and Technology, is the most widely practiced
and extensively researched program of self-development in the world.
Maharishi is now establishing Maharishi Vedic Universities and
Maharishi Vedic Schools throughout the world to offer mastery over
Natural Law to every individual and to perpetuate life in accordance
with Natural Law -- perfection in every profession -- and create
Natural Law based problem-free government in every country --
governments with the ability to prevent problems.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Beatles' Spiritual Guru, Dies

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Indian founder of Transcendental
Meditation whose teachings captured world attention after he became
spiritual guru to the Beatles, has died in the Netherlands. He is
thought to have been 91.
The Maharishi died at home in his sleep at about 7 p.m. yesterday
local time. John Hagelin, a U.S.-based spokesman, said the cause of
death was ``natural causes.'' The guru lived in a hermitage in
Vlodrop, the Netherlands, since the 1990s and made it his
international headquarters.
The Maharishi was one of the first to bring Eastern religious
teachings to Western popular culture. The ``giggling guru'' -- so
named for his tendency to laugh in television interviews -- appeared
on the cover of Time magazine in October 1975, when almost 1 million
people around the world practiced TM twice daily, including an
estimated 600,000 in the U.S.
``He brought meditation to the West, out of mysticism, into where it
is mainstream and widely researched,'' Hagelin said. ``He created a
momentum dedicated toward peace that was so irreversible that he
retired three weeks ago because he felt his work was done.''
Though the Maharishi's popularity waned in the 1980s, his brand of
meditation continued to attract devoted celebrity practitioners,
including actor Clint Eastwood, filmmaker David Lynch, radio host
Howard Stern, Beach Boys singer Mike Love, songwriter Donovan,
magician Doug Henning, singer Sheryl Crow and British musician Sting.
Rishikesh Trip
It was the Beatles who lifted the Maharishi to prominence when
guitarist George Harrison persuaded the band to visit the meditation
master in Rishikesh, India, in 1968.
Based on unfounded rumors that the Maharishi had made advances on
women in the entourage, John Lennon broke with the guru. He then wrote
the song ``Sexy Sadie,'' with the lyrics ``Sexy Sadie, what have you
done? You made a fool of everyone,'' allegedly directed at the
Maharishi.
``The celebrity tag he gained by association with the Beatles will
always serve to attract attention to the Maharishi and his
teachings,'' Paul Mason, a Maharishi biographer, said in an e-mailed
interview in 2007. ``He certainly succeeded at turning the world's
attention to things Indian.''
Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Harrison continued their
association with the guru, said Bob Roth, TM director of
communications in the U.S.
McCartney Visit
``Paul recently visited the Maharishi in Holland, and George left a
large sum of money in his will for scholarships for the Maharishi's
university,'' Roth said in an e-mailed statement in November 2007.
``Only John Lennon had a misunderstanding, which was later corrected
and he continued to meditate.'' Lennon was assassinated in 1980, and
Harrison died in 2001.
Mahesh Prasad Varma is thought to have been born on Jan. 12, 1917, in
a village in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the third of
four children. He earned a degree in physics and mathematics from
Allahabad University.
In 1939, he became a disciple of Swami Brahmananda Sarawati, who was
based in the Indian Himalayas, and decided to be a monk.
`The first sight of his personality was enough to make me surrender at
his feet,'' the Maharishi wrote in his 1986 book ``Thirty Years Around
the World: The Dawn of the Age of Enlightenment.''
The swami, also known as Guru Dev, revived a lost meditation technique
that originated in the Vedas, the oldest Hindu writings. According to
one legend recounted in Time magazine, Guru Dev gave the Maharishi the
mission of finding a technique that would enable the masses to
meditate.
Change of Name
After the death of his mentor in 1953, the Maharishi spent more than
18 months alone in a Himalayan cave. In 1955, he traveled to the
southern Indian state of Kerala, where he was asked to deliver a
series of public talks on spirituality and a new form of meditation.
He changed his name to Maharishi, meaning Great Seer in Sanskrit.
Two years later, in a public address, he announced his Spiritual
Regeneration Movement, a meditation technique, in the southern Indian
city of Chennai. The Maharishi then started the first of several world
tours, traveling to Southeast Asia and to the U.S. in 1958.
``I had one thing in mind -- that I know something which is useful to
every man,'' he wrote in his book. ``Therefore, no matter where I am,
people will find in me the commodity that they want.''
Twice a Day
His Spiritual Regeneration Movement was renamed as Transcendental
Meditation in 1959 in the U.S. The program is a seven-step course
involving public lectures, private instruction and group seminars.
Meditation requires practitioners to sit still for 20 minutes each
morning and evening and silently repeat their secretly assigned
Sanskrit word known as a mantra.
An author of more than 15 books, the Maharishi held a series of
meetings in the U.S., Europe, Africa and India on his meditation
techniques to attract followers. By the mid 1970s, he operated 370 TM
centers in the U.S. with some 6,000 teachers.
With the promise of offering ``perfect, invincible management,'' he
opened the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, in
1995. The school was previously known as Maharishi International
University. The Maharishi moved the school there from Santa Barbara,
California, in 1974.
He also headed a Global Consulting Group to advise companies on
improving corporate health and boosting profit.
`Float in Happiness'
``My University of Management will create managers who will float in
happiness, success and fulfillment,'' he wrote in a 347-page handbook
released at the opening his university. Transcendental Meditation, he
claimed, could combat inflation and unemployment. The first management
program began in India and offered bachelor degrees and doctorates.
In 2007, the Maharishi's Global Financial Capital of New York opened a
headquarters close to the New York Stock Exchange to create funding
support for the group's programs, including building 3,000 global
``peace palaces'' to teach TM and the art of ``yogic flying.''
``It appears the Maharishi (the self-styled guru) convinced himself
(and many others too) that through transcendental method of meditation
it is possible to gain instant enlightenment and that enlightened
world was only just around the corner,'' biographer Mason said.
Although the technique seems to work effectively as a ``non-medicinal
tranquilizer,'' enlightenment is dependent on more than just
Transcendental Meditation, Mason said.
TM Funding
``This lack of apparent success has not deterred the Maharishi from
coming up with an endless flow of other ideas to fix the world, all of
which come with a high price-tag,'' he said. ``Over the years he has
appeared to grow ever more cranky, perhaps even more senile.''
Organizations such as the David Lynch Foundation, which raised $5
million, help fund the programs of the Maharishi, spokesman Ken
Chawkin said in an e-mailed statement. A course in Transcendental
Meditation costs 2,000 euros ($2,928).
``His legacy will continue to have a positive influence for
generations to come as he continues to transform life as it is known
today with its wars, conflicts, stress and strife to a Vedic
civilization of perpetual peace,'' Chawkin said.

To overcome the long and arduous distances in the hills and boost
connectivity, the Uttarakhand government has chalked out a plan to
start its own airline.
For this purpose, the government has roped in the Uttarakhand
Infrastructure Project Company (UIPC) Pvt Ltd which would buy at least
two planes for the proposed airline. A total of Rs 34 crore is being
estimated for running the airline with the government already
sanctioning an outlay of Rs 14 crore. The rest of the amount would be
contributed by Infrastructure Leasing and Finance Services (IL&FS), a
joint partner with the government in the UIPC. For the time being, the
government is mulling two options — capital model and revenue model.
Either the UIPC buys the planes and hypothecates them in the name of
the government, or the government would compensate the initial losses
suffered by the company for running the airline. There is the third
option — the government may rope in the Nepal-based Buddha Airlines.
This airline would be asked to operate the two planes in Uttarakhand.
Initially, the government is thinking of operating the services
between Dehra Dun and Pant Nagar. Later, the service can be extended
to areas like Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Uttarkashi where three
airstrips already exist. The government is currently upgrading the
Naini Saini airstrip in Pithoragarh. Plans are afoot to upgrade
Chinyalisaud airstrip in Uttarkashi and Gauchar in Chamoli district.
Significantly, experts believe the mountain airline will play a vital
role in view of the new hill industrial policy announced by the
government. Under this policy, the government is seeking investments
in hotel, tourism, small-scale industries and other sectors in the
hills. But poor connectivity is the bane of development in the hills.

Mussoorie on Sunday received its first major snowfall as the coldwave
sweeping Uttarakhand continued unabated.

The snowfall which began this morning covered the Mall and other
scenic spots in Mussoorie with white sheets much to the delight of
tourists. Nainital, another hill resort in Kumaon region, also
received intermittent snowfall this morning.

Uttarakhand Hotel Association President S P Kochar said the snowfall
would augur well for the tourism industry in the hill state which was
badly hit by the lack of snowfall this season. "The snowfall will
bring tourists back to our state," Kochar said.

The high reaches of Nanda Devi, Kedarnath and Gangotri in Garhwal
region and Munsuiyari and Panchashuli in Kumaon region experienced
heavy snowfall that further lowered temperatures in the region.

The Centre would set up six AIIMS-like health institutions across the
country with construction on the sites expected to begin shortly,
Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss today said.

Ramadoss said that the construction of houses and hostels would start
early this year and would be completed next year.

"Work on hospital medical college would be completed by 2010-11," he
said at the social editor's conference here.

Plans for the construction of the hospital and medical college as well
as residential complexes in Bhopal, Jodhpur and Rishikesh have been
approved and the process for selection of Project Management
Consultants for the institutions has begun.

Explaining the progress of work, he said each AIIMS site would be
treated as a separate and independent project instead of clubbing all
six together and that the construction of housing complex should be
separated from that of the hospital and medical college, so that it is
constructed earlier.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), it had been
decided to set up one AIIMS-like institution each in Patna, Raipur,
Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur and Rishikesh, Ramadoss said.

The estimated cost of setting up each institute is Rs 332 crore.

The state governments have provided the land. The construction of
boundary wall around the sites has already been completed, he added.

Discovery Channel will be launching 'Discovery Atlas', a portrait of
the World's greatest Nations seen through the lives of their
extraordinary people, from January 26, starting with a two hour
episode on India.
Acclaimed Film Director Mira Nair would be narrating the episode
'India Revealed' to be telecast at 9PM on Jan 26.
As India strives to join the leading edge of the world's powers,
century old conventions are coming under pressure forcing deep shifts
and changes within the Indian society. 'India Revealed' will capture
all those shifts and changes, tensions and conflicts. Varanasi, Indian
Wedding, the Sunderbans, the 2000-year tradition of Gurukul system of
Rishikesh, Jama Masjid, the Indian Aerospace industry and the hi tech
revolution and outsourcing have been touched upon in the Indian
episode.
Discovery Communications, a non fiction media company, raches out to
over 170 countries.

Bird group, under its wholly owned subsidiary Bird hospitlaity
services (BHS), is looking at opening 10 hotels and resorts in India.
The group ventured into hospitality last year by forming a joint
venture alliance with Thailand-based Dusit hotels and resorts.

It has already bought land in Rishikesh. The upcoming properties will
be developed under the premium brand 'Dusit Thani'. The construction
of these properties will start soon and are likely to be operational
by 2010. The first property is expected to come up by 2009.

The group has a two-fold plan to increase its portfolio. Apart from
these four properties, two more luxury properties are planned to be
built by 2015. To fuel this expansion, it is eyeing the management and
franchise route simultaneously.

For the ownership model, the group is opting for 'Dusit Thani' brand
while for the management and franchise model, the group aims to bring
the budget category brand 'Dusit Princess' and Dusit's lifestyle brand
'D2' to India. It is also looking at introducing its 'Dusit Devrana',
the high-end spa brand and 'Dusit Residence' serviced apartments to
the Indian market.

Rishikesh-Haridwar and Dehradun in Uttarakhand have been named in the
top ten tier-III cities in terms of real estate development by
global realty consultant Knight Frank.The cities were judged on five
parameters - real estate, people, business environment, physical and
social infrastructure, Knight Frank said in its report on Emerging
Growth in India.

Heavy rain over the last three days in Uttarakhand has claimed over
two-dozen lives. The record rainfall has made rivers cross the danger
mark.

Landslides are not the only worry. Swollen rivers claim hundreds of
lives each year. Lakhs of pilgrims visit Rishikesh each year to take a
dip in the Ganges.

Four persons were swept away by various rivers in the Kumaon region
that are in spate while another died in Tharali area of Garhwal region
since yesterday.

The water level of the Tehri reservoir was rising alarmingly
inundating several areas and the Ganga was hovering around the danger
mark at Rishikesh and Haridwar threatening to flood more areas in the
plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Ever tried "inner engineering"? "Enlightenment-intensive retreats"? The busy executive is finding curious options to de-stress
 
When was the last time you found time to stop and smell the roses? The answer, in all probability, may require you to strain your memory hard. That's the least daunting deadlines, hopeless traffic jams and long work hours do — rob us off our sense of well-being. We are left yearning for a few moments just to 'be'.

And there are many new options available, beyond the traditional spa and naturotherapy farms. Busy executives are now seeking out exotic getaways of peace, checking out enlightenment and past-life workshops, attending inner engineering programmes, visiting the hills to do nothing but yoga or meditation. Read More

New Delhi, July 02: What if Greater Noida does not have an airport?

A Heli-base has already come up in the sprawling suburb, where the
Uttar Pradesh government has proposed to locate a new international
airport, and chartered chopper services would be launched by Vectra
aviation, a private helicopter company, from July 15.

In the first phase, Vectra Aviation Pvt Ltd would offer chartered
services to Agra, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Dehradun, Rishikesh, Chandigarh,
Shimla, Badrinath and Kedarnath.

Vectra, which already has a fleet of three helicopters of EADS firm
Eurocopter, has launched a separate division called Heliair, to
provide dedicated on-shore chartered services across the country.

"Our fleet includes both single and twin-engines. While the AS350 B3
(Ecureuil) is suitable for high altitude operations, the twin-engined
EC 155 B1 was one of the technologically most advanced, with more
seating capacity and best suited for long range flights," Severine
Rodosavljevic, Heliair's marketing manager, said here. Both the
helicopters are produced by Eurocopter.

She said her company intended to make helicopter travel "affordable,
accessible and hassle-free" and added that more hubs like the one at
Greater Noida would be set up in other major metros. The Greater Noida
facility would also function as the maintenance, repair and overhaul
(MRO) facility for Eurocopter choppers in India, estimated to cost
about six million euros.

About its future plans, the Vectra official said Vectra planned to
induct eleven more EC-135 twin-engined choppers in the next few years.

Ghaziabad, May 2: Pawan Soni, 20, loved swimming. On Tuesday evening,
out on a leisure trip to Rishikesh, the Ghaziabad lad saw two
strangers drowning in the Ganga, and did not think twice before
jumping in to their help. He saved both, but was swept away by the
strong current.

A day on, the Rishikesh Administration today decided to recommend
Soni's name for a bravery award.

The braveheart's family, based in Ghaziabad's Gagan Vihar, today told
Newsline that Soni left for Rishikesh on Tuesday morning with a few
friends. He was doing first-year graduation, through correspondence,
and wanted to take a break from studies," elder sister Kiran Soni
said.

His father Ramesh Chandra Soni, who works in a private company as a
supervisor, said he is shattered by the news but is touched by "my
son's bravery". He said: "I left (for Rishikesh) last night on getting
the news and reached there this morning. The two boys he saved fell at
my feet and cried inconsolably.

"They kept saying that Pawan had saved their lives but could not save himself."

Soni senior returned to Ghaziabad on Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, the
police are still trying to find his son's body.

According to Rishikesh police, the incident occurred around 6 pm on
Tuesday, when Soni and his friends saw two youngsters — Nitin Sharma
and Anil Kumar — shouting for help in the river. The police said both
Nitin and Anil had come from Meerut.

"The river is very deep and strong at the point where Pawan drowned,"
Lakshman Jhula Police Station SHO Ravinder Singh said over phone. "He
had rescued the two and helped them along towards the bank, where his
friends took charge."

But the river's strong current had by that time overpowered Soni — the
police suspect the youth was too exhausted after rescuing the
youngsters to muster strength to pull himself out.

"We are trying to fish out the body but it will take some days because
the current is very strong," Superintendent of Police (Pauri Garhwal)
A P Anshuman said. About the possibility of Soni's survival, the SP
said "chances are very bleak", and applauded his "exemplary bravery".

The family said Soni's mother Vidya Devi was deliberately kept in the
dark about her son's fate till this evening — she was told the news
only after her husband's return from Rishkesh today.

Soni was the youngest of five siblings.

Incidentally, last August, Kakan Banerji, 25, an alumni of Lady Sriram
College here, had drowned after slipping into Mandakini river while on
a trek to Rudraprayag. Her body was found after more than 10 days.

Thursday, December 28, 2006 (New Delhi):