Verve

Hoarding

The only way you could have missed them was if you were AWOL (Absent without leave) from Mumbai for the fortnight. There they were, prominently displayed at Peddar Road, Walkeshwar and Marine Drive, eye candy for city stargazers. We are, of course referring to the very hard-to-miss Verve hoardings with the city's well-known faces, Yash and Avanti Birla, famous for being famous, togged out in their designer best. An eye-catching attraction against the backdrop of the not-so-clear Mumbai skyline, with the slow-moving traffic doing a double take at their unexpected, towering presence. A splendid site, specially by night.

Verve

At The Movies

Verve ventured forth into the world of international film festivals by being one of the sponsors of the first ever South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF), presented by Time Warner Cable and the South Asian Networking Association (SANA), that was held in New York. An event that started out with ambitious dreams and optimistic hope climaxed into a weeklong celebration of South Asian films, with most of the films screened boasting a full house. The resounding success in the first year itself has already prompted preparations for the next one. As SAIFF Founder, Shilen Amin, puts it, "The moment the curtain closed this year's festival, people were clamouring for the next one. We owe it to the community to keep getting bigger and better." Bravo SAIFF!

Verve

In The US

Washington DC was witness to an onslaught of South Asian invasion like never before. No, it wasn't a convention of software brainiacs. The universe of the arty and the literati descended upon the world's most powerful capital. With the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program (APA) as the main sponsors of the South Asian Literature and Theatre Festival (SALTAF), along with the Network Of South Asian Professionals (NetSAP-DC), Verve did its bit in partaking in this two-day event that educated the West about the vast, relatively undiscovered culture of the East. The venue was the Baird Auditorium, National Museum of Natural History at the prestigious Smithsonian Institution, the torchbearers of all things cultural. From a stalwart literary panel presenting their expert comments on diasporic literature, to a photography exhibition and a display of histrionics through one-act plays, India ruled in Bush country.

Verve's

Campus Capers

Verve took its first steps into college campuses and firmly ensconced itself into the consciousness of the dudes and dudettes of Generation Next. Verve was the sponsor of the fashion show, Vogue 2004, held as part of IIT Powai's Mood Indigo, the best known annual college fest of an institution as famous for churning out brains of superior make, as your favourite glossy is for its unarguably stylish content and eloquent prose. The winners were in for a treat of a lifetime, getting a whole year's free subscription of the mag and the runners up taking home an issue. Fantastic fortune what!