Author: Mohit Pagaria

Categories
Places to Visit

Chunda Palace Café: The Hunger Savior at Sajjangarh

Overlooking the city and also famous for its beautiful picturesque atmosphere, Sajjangarh Fort has always topped the traveler’s bucket list. The expedition to the lakecity is incomplete if one hasn’t explored this fort. The magnificent view from the best and the highest point around the city is unforgettable.

The only thing that was being missed by the tourists, as well as the local public, was a proper food junction.

The Chunda Palace Café:

We are glad to share the good news with you that this magnificent place now also has a café reloaded with new cold beverages. The cafeteria is managed by the grand Chunda Palace so the legacy of the hotel follows the café too. It caters to the needs of local public and tourists which makes sure that there is an increase in the graph of positive reviews.

This café is the new addition to everyone’s go-to list as one can enjoy peaceful evenings with delicious food at a single place. The café is loaded with many irresistible delicacies which can be enjoyed amidst the breathtaking view of the city.

Customer satisfaction has always been the motivation for the café owners. Keeping in mind the upcoming summer season, the café has introduced many delicious smoothies, mocktails, Ice teas and shakes as well making this café a perfect place to hang out with your friends, family and loved ones. The new menu makes the place more happening than ever.

So what are you waiting for?

Go out and capture the essence of this city with your DSLR’s in one hand a cold refreshing drink in the other only at the CHUNDA PALACE CAFÉ.

For any queries, Call at : 0294-2430252

Categories
People

[Intro Entrepreneurs] Kunal Bagla – The path builder to ‘ARCGATE’

We all know how Udaipur has evolved greatly over time and marked its presence across the world as a well-known tourist destination. While roaming around the city, it came to my surprise that it also has many “OMG” aspects apart from the city’s hospitality and tourism. Since I have become a part of UdaipurBlog Team I’ve seen many things developing around the city but one thing that attracted me the most was well booming IT city. Yes, you read it right, Udaipur has left a great footprint globally in the IT industry as well. A separate IT park in the Mewar Industrial Area commonly known as Madri speaks for the IT thing itself.

Being from an IT field myself, I was more than curious to know that how did an IT industry grow in such a comparatively smaller and technologically unremarkable city than the metropolitan. While the search was on, luckily I got a chance to have a cup of coffee with one of the most successful people running an IT industry down in Udaipur. I happened to meet this ever motivating and inspiring person, Mr. Kunal Bagla, Founder of Arcgate. The conversation was more than just a normal interview and it would be wrong on our part if we don’t share such great views with you.

Let’s find out how the cup of coffee turned into an ever inspiring interview:

Q.1. Let’s start with first things first, how did the journey started from being a normal Udaipur boy to an inspiring businessman?

-So born and brought up in Udaipur, I got admitted to St. Paul’s. I studied till class 6th over there, went to boarding school in Dehradun for higher studies. Then I flew abroad to the University of Texas, Austin for my undergraduate course in Master of Information Systems & Business Honors. Since then, life has always been a rock and roll ride.

Q.2. Being from the IT field itself, you must have a vast sea of experiences, feel like sharing it with us?

-The journey started by moving to Houston. I was a technology consultant there for one of the big elephants at that time, Deloitte. Being there for good 6 years where I did a lot of large scale technology development for clients spread across all over the US. It inspired me to do something like this for my city as well.

Q.3. Tell us about your inspiration which helped you to build a corporation like Arcgate?

-It’s never a single person as such, it’s typically a journey of events which molds you and motivates you to go in a particular direction. In my case, as I mentioned I saw a huge potential in providing world-class services like Deloitte which takes it to where it is now. Again it is back in 2004-05 after the dot com burst. Even today the fast-growing companies typically do not get the attention because of:

a.) It requires a lot of attention is required.

b.) The size of the business is also very small as compared to the other industries and the risk factor in which they don’t do well.

And in our experience, no one was tapping that market, we saw an opportunity and thought to grab it. I started Arcgate while I was still in Austin. We set up a back office in Udaipur itself, pretty much a garage kind of setup. We’ve grown organically from the last 14 years by taking one step at a time. So it’s not just a person, it’s a combination of people who see the good work and contribute in different ways.

Q.4. Can you please share with us some of the fond memories from your schooling till building such a corporation like Arcgate?

-You always have good days and bad days, right, you always learn something new lessons and that’s the beauty of the IT industry that you get to learn new things every day. The key is to do something you enjoy and be open to learning new things. Make sure that you never get overconfident and complacent. Every success and failure is a fond memory in growing a startup like we are, from 2 people to 2000, the ride has been amazing.

Q.5. That accounts for the many amazing delights connected with the journey. Speaking about the darker side, what all challenges did you have to face??

-I feel challenges are part of your journey, right. All the hardships you face from schooling till you are grown up, from learning chapters in schools to meeting deadlines for your client, shapes you as a person you are. I think if you dodge those tough time and opt for shortcuts, cause mind it, you’ll be offered those, it catches up with you real soon if you fail to take it in a good stride.

Q.6. So when you are not working, what are your favorite go-to things to recreate yourself?

-Unfortunately working for a startup like Arcgate you don’t get much of the time to spend for personal life and hobbies but that’s a decision or a lifestyle choice I made. No complaints about that. As soon as I get time, I go back to the family and be with them. Apart from that I also like reading interesting success stories and business books like ‘Work Rules’ by Chief People Officer at Google, Laszlo Bock, ‘Value Investing’ and many more by Warren Buffet, there’s no end to learning.

Q.7. A piece of advice for all the budding entrepreneurs out there in the city?

-Today entrepreneurship and startups are a worldwide thing happening as far as the remote areas in Africa or be it Northern Europe. Youngsters today are trying to innovate new things and believe in taking their chances. But on the flip side, the startup culture is made to look glorified and sexy by our media whereas the reality is nothing close to that. It’s a different dynamic, DNA and yes, of course, a long journey as well. You just don’t start it because it’s a wave, you have to be in it for long term.

Q.8. Setting goal is a tough task too nowadays, how do you set it, like is it for long terms or for shorter periods?

-You should always have a long vision like planning your next 6 to12 months because anything bigger than that is more of a life goal. There’s no point coming up with a business plan for 5 years in today’s world where the things are changing drastically in the 6 months itself. Make milestones for every month, what you want to be and you are already halfway there.

Q.9. The life mantras which have always worked for you?

  • The biggest mantra is to “WORK HARD”, keep your focus and stay grounded. Never let success or overconfidence get to you.
  • Be nice to people around you as they are working for you day and night, appreciate them for strengths and weaknesses as well.
  • Focus on ethics, never try to take shortcuts in life because they catch up to you very fast.
  • Do good things that help other people as well. That’ll help you to have a good night sleep at the end of the day.

Q.11. A special message for us at Udaipurblog?

-Udaipur’s hospitality and travel industry has always made into the news worldwide; hopefully a decade from now, it can also be known as the world’s IT hub! And we look forward to platforms such as Udaipurblog that has always been the best in increasing the awareness about the potential for IT Industry. Udaipurblog has always been the best at growing things digitally as well as socially in and around Udaipur. We wish that Udaipurblog continues the great service it has been providing to its customers from the last decade.

 

If you like to share something or have feedback for us, Feel free to share with us on mohit@vivirmedia.com

Categories
News

MMPS ranked no.1 in Udaipur

Udaipur – the city of lakes never fails to surprise the world. Standing out Maharana Mewar Public School secured rank one in the Udaipur’s top school ranking 2018. This list was released by Digital Learning website. DL conducted a survey across India ranking under 5 major parameters– Reputation, Academic, Futuristic Infra, sports/cultural activities, Online/social presence. MMPS ranked number one in all the parameters except sports/cultural activities where they scored 2 none the less. Apart from MMPS, Witty International School and Ryan International School secure second and third position in the chart.

Schools are trying to match up the steps with the changing era and as we know educational institute is a very important part of our lives where one not only gains knowledge or education but also learn moral lessons of life. Most of the schools in India have basic old structures, methods, even books, and syllabus. The pattern is changing fast as digital classrooms have been introduced but at a higher rate. Getting the education for a student, their parents go through various permutation and combination to find the best institutes.

MMPS firmly believes in imparting quality education while integrating Indian values perfectly amalgamating with the western approach is surely the best school in Udaipur. Thus, preparing students with all-round development and getting them ready for future challenges.

 

For admissions and queries- https://www.udaipurblog.com/mmps/

Categories
News

Techno India NJR’s Principal visits UK for Education Leadership Development Programme

Dr. Pankaj Kumar Porwal, Principal, Techno India NJR is participating in one week Study Tour from 1st April to 6th April 2019 in the UK under the aegis of UKIERI-AICTE Education Leadership Development Programme.  UKIERI (United Kingdom India Education Research Initiative) is an initiative of the British Council to enhance educational links between India and the UK.  AICTE is nodal agency in India to promote and regulate Higher Educational Institutes in India.

This study tour is the culmination of 4 workshops organized in India to provide leadership training to more than 100 participants from various higher educational institutes.  In this study tour, 10 selected participants will be provided with first-hand international exposure to improve ongoing work in their institutes and establish a Center of Excellence for jaeducational leadership.  The study tour will also involve visits to industries like Jaguar Land Rover in Wolverhampton, Kuka Robotics in Halesowen, Warwick Manufacturing Group, RDG Group in Coventry and educational institute like University College London, University of Warwick, Dudley College, Dudley College’s Construction Training Center in London.

About the Study Tour:

British Council is the secretariat of the United Kingdom India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI). The UKIERI has started in April 2006 with the aim of enhancing educational links between India and the UK. It has been recognized as a key multi-stakeholder programme that has strengthened the educational relations between the two countries and been successful in covering all segments of the education sector. The initiative contributes to achieving internationalization of HEIs in the UK and India to promote institutional and individual excellence in educational practices, research, and employability.

The UKIERI-AICTE Technical Education Leadership Development Programme is an activity under the UKIERI Phase Three project of the British Council. It aims at providing leadership training to 600 academic leaders from technical HEIs (spread across 3 workshops of 4 days each in one year) from AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) recognized institutes. Dudley College is the delivering agency for the programme. The programme also entails three study tours to the UK per year to select participants. This document presents itinerary and joining instructions for the participants of the first study tour scheduled from 1st April 2019 to 6th April 2019.

Categories
News

Start-up from Udaipur gets selected for a program in Japan with funding of 10M

The Journey: 

It was a long process which had a total of four phases over a duration of 4 months. The team had applied to the website of OIST(Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology) that required all the information about the start-up.

OIST shortlisted the start-up from n number of applications which came across from various parts of the world. They stated that a total of 50,000 applications were received. Top 100 ideas were shortlisted for the interview with OIST professionals and Japanese Government.

They took an interview of the whole startup team which comprised of four members from Japan.A final interview was conducted in last, impressed by the start-up idea the team received a confirmation email which stated that the idea was selected for the 1-year Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program in Japan.

The Japanese Government is going to sponsor all activities including Visa, travel, accommodation, and R&D works on the start-up. They funded the team with a huge amount of 10M Japanese Yen to start a business in Japan. Two members from the team Mr. Narayan Lal Gurjar and Mr. Puran Singh Rajput are selected to visit Japan for a 1-year program.

About the Game changing Start-up:

Keeping in mind that India is an agricultural dependent economy and a big part of the country’s economy depends on agriculture. The production in agriculture is directly proportional to water availability. In India, 266 districts from 11 states are declared as drought affected. The average food grain production between 2010-2011 and 2014-2015 was 255.59 million tons, while in 2015-2016, it was estimated to be at 253.16 million tons. More than 70% of the districts are drought affected in 8 states. The data clearly shows that scarcity and unavailability of water cause too many losses.

So the team tried to create something helpful to retain water for a longer duration of time, and in the process, the team was successful to create a polymer named “Eco-Friendly Water Retention Natural Polymer”. Keeping in mind all the conditions of the country and its farmers the team designed the product at low cost with much more efficiency.

Brief about the Polymer:

Eco-Friendly Water Retention Natural Polymer works on the properties of SAP. As the team knew SAP had properties to absorb a large quantity of water. The team used properties of SAP and designed natural polymer, which has more capacity to store water for longer time.

On testing of the product, the team found that it may retain water for 4 to 6 weeks that means crops irrigated at intervals of 2 to 4 days can now be irrigated up to 7 to 8 days with less water consumption. Finally, farmers can get more crop production in low water consumption.

The natural polymer was produced by using natural waste material like orange peels, banana peels and peepal barks with gel. All the ingredient used are biodegradable, the designed product is also biodegradable and completely pollution free. It can be easily mixed with soil and does not create any problem for the future. Also, the team has not used any type of chemicals, so it is harmless to crops, soil, and farmers as well.

About the team: 

We all know that the source of income in our villages is mainly agriculture. The team witnessed a big draught in a nearby village which caused complete damage to the crops. The situation was very bad and it became worst when the villagers started to fight for the water. At that time few relatives came to the team and said that one thing that you need to and should do is to find a solution to this problem.

The idea popped up for the first time when they saw how the orange peels were able to store water for a long time. With some google search in the start and shared the idea with one of the old friends. They both researched and found that orange peels have special property to store water for a longer time. The team started to work on this idea.

Being the students of Agriculture Engineering at the College of Technology & Engineering, Udaipur they got the best environment to develop this idea. They shared the idea with the professors and got appreciated by the Dean of College as well. This and having support from a good team with dedicated people inspired them to work with more power.

The team started to work more deeply as well as started researching the idea. After 6 months of research, the team created a process to develop EF Polymer. After college hours, the team used to go to the juice shops and collects fruit peels. Everyone there was of helping nature.

Apart from this idea was presented in front of the state and central government. They were appreciated by Rajasthan’s C.M. Ms.Vasundhara Raje Sindhiya in Rajasthan Education Fair. Recently they were also awarded GYTI award from Honorable President of India Mr. Ramnath Kovind Ji.

Help from UdaipurBlog:

Narayan Lal Gurjar says:

“Udaipur Blog interviewed the team last year and motivated to get the idea out in public. Also, the interview helped the project to receive more orders. This motivated us to do the work with more dedication.”

Categories
News

Udaipur’s Maharana Pratap Airport ranked as one of the best Airports

Our very own lakecity’s Maharana Pratap Airport has made all the Udaipurites proud again. It was ranked as the 2nd best airport under the Annual CSI Award across India. The Customer Satisfaction Index survey, which is done twice in a year, 1st between Jan to June and the 2nd one between July to December announced the results recently.

Raipur Airport was again ranked at the top of the index. Trichi Airport came in third place.

The award will be given to the Director of the Maharana Pratap Airport at the 24th Annual Day celebrations of the Airport Authority of India.

There are 33 Parameters under which the airports are ranked, some of them are:

  • Cleanliness
  • Baggage delivery speed
  • Security
  • Internet access
  • Troller facility
  • Check-in facility
  • Washrooms
  • The behavior of the staff
  • Restaurants
  • WiFi
  • Executive lounge
  • Business lounge

In its constant efforts to guarantee best customer services and helpful atmosphere and environment at the Airports, the Airport Authority of India ensures that the best services are allocated by the service providers. This is why the survey on customer satisfaction is conducted by a third party, which is hired by the AAI.

If you like to share something or have feedback for us, Feel free to share with us on mohit@vivirmedia.com

Categories
News

Co-founder of Polaris and Nucleus Yogesh Andlay visits NJR iCUBE

Techno NJR, to push innovation among students, has started 6000 Sq. Ft. modern  Incubation Lab at its campus in Kaladwas. This lab is open 24 hrs and students and their mentors can work there to give shape to their ideas. Purpose of this lab is to innovate, then incubate and finally create an industry product.

NJR i³ Incubation Lab

In order to encourage students of Techno NJR,  who have won many Hackathons including Rs. 15 Lakhs First prize and Rs. 10 Lakhs Second Prize in Rajasthan Digifest and many other national awards for their innovative projects, many powerful innovators are invited to the lab to interact with these students.

First, in the series, Mr. Yogesh Andlay, Co-Founder of IT giants Nucleus and Polaris visited NJR i³ on 28th March.  Yogesh , after graduating from IIT, Delhi, formed the company Nucleus with his two friends Arun Jain and Vishnu Dusad (on the lines of  3 idiots film) in 1984 when IT industry was just finding its feet in India. Starting with Citibank as their first client, the trio started Polaris in 1994. Presently He runs an Incubator for Start-Ups in Noida.

He shared his experiences with young enthusiastic students and mentors and answered many question including the BIG question every student has in their mind – I have a great idea but how do I convert this into a Start-Up ?

Yogesh Andlay with Techno NJR students

Categories
Events

Get ready to delight your eyes with something crazy at MLSU

As some wise man said, “Art is something that doesn’t need to be confined within four walls, it’ll be as great as it is allowed to fly.”

Today, too many people try to come up with a contemporary art definition but it’s quite a troublesome task. While its title is simplistic and straightforward, its modern-day meaning is not precise. Fortunately, understanding what constitutes as “contemporary” is entirely possible once when one traces the concept’s history and explores its underlying themes.

What is contemporary art?

In the most basic sense, the term contemporary art refers to art mainly, painting, sculpture, photography, installation, performance, and video art today. Though seemingly simple, the details surrounding this definition are often a bit fuzzy, as different individuals’ interpretations of “today” may widely and vividly vary.

The Department of Visual Arts is one of such esteemed institutions which is providing the students with a world-class education in the field of visual arts. The department has successfully completed its 50 years. Some of the prominent professors of Rajasthan Contemporary Art are its alumni and the department is still operating under their high-class experience.

Various open art workshops are organized where the renowned artists from all around the globe and hardworking students get a chance to showcase their talents. One such workshop is ‘Udaipur Spring’19’ which is organized by the department.

The event consisted of 2 workshops, the canvas painting workshop was organized from 24th to 28th Feb 2019 whereas 19th to 28th was the workshop for scrap sculpture workshop.

40 Canvas painting and 10 Modern Art Scrap Sculpture were made during the workshop. The sculptures and the paintings that were made during the 10-day workshop speaks for the event’s success itself. Everyone was eager to contribute their bit to create something exemplary. Regardless of gender, female students showed some exemplary skills as well.

Around 50 eminent artists from all over the globe were invited to take part in the 10-day workshop

2 International Artists, 10 National Artists and 32 to 35 alumni’s of the department participated in the event.

The Artists were:

  • Clemens Sou, Vienna
  • Katherine Karlsoon, Denmark
  • Bhupesh Kavdia, Naseem Ahmed, Dinesh Upadhyay, Sandeep Paliwal, Rokesh Kumar Singh – Udaipur
  • Alay Mistri, Arpit Biloriya, Tahir Merchant – Ahmedabad
  • Hansraj Kumawat, Jaipur
  • Gagan Bihari Dhadich, Nathdwara

Prof. Hemant Dwivedi head of the Department of Visual Arts, MLSU wishes to carry forward the legacy which has been bestowed in his hand and also plans to organize an International Camp very soon.

 

If you like to share something or have feedback for us, Feel free to share with us on mohit@vivirmedia.com

Categories
News

Why Badala Classes is the best Commerce Institute in Udaipur?

  • Creating an All-time Record by capturing 25 ALL INDIA RANKS in CA & CS in the year 2018

Udaipur’s popular Badala Classes is one of the best institutes for Commerce Education in the whole city and this has been proved from time to time. Badala Classes has created more than a thousand professionals in its past and still continues to do so.

This year also Badala Classes produced a tremendous result by giving 25 ALL INDIA RANKS in CA & CS Examination in one year which is far too ahead than any of the benchmark previously set. Team Badala strongly believes in conceptual clarity & overall development of students as classes are second home nowadays for the students. Apart from academics, Badala classes also focus on extracurricular activities with the academics which helps to create a more responsible and mature human being and this serves as one of the main reason why almost more than 5000 students from commerce stream enjoy the joy of being a BADALIAN every year.

ACADEMIC SUPERIORITY (Tremendous Results):

The results have always shown that the level of the teaching methodology at Badala Classes is great and impactful. The results for the 2018 Commerce courses clearly reflect the hard work of the Team Badala.

CAPTURING 25 AIR’s in the academic year 2018:

Toppers from 12th

 The Key Pillars:

The foundation stone of the classes was laid by Mr.Himmat Badala and Mr.Chatar Badala and the legacy is now being carried forward by the 3 directors, renowned CA Rahul Badala, CMA Sourabh Badala, and CA CS Nishant Badala. The directors with their ever enthusiastic team work day and night with their whole strength to reap the students to showcase their best-hidden talents. This effortlessness acts as a great example of good teaching qualities and strong leadership for every other institute in Udaipur.

Courses Offered:

The various courses offered by Badala Classes are CA, CS, CMA, CFA, MBA, XII, XI, B.Com, BBA, M.Com, NIOS, and RSOS. These courses include detailed study material and regular test series. The idea of bringing these courses at a single platform is that students can save their precious time which is wasted by traveling for different courses from one place to another.

Things that make Badala Classes to stand out from the other institutes:

  • SELF GENERATED STUDY MATERIAL: Specially prepared study material for every student is one of the best facilities provided by the classes. The material is designed in such a way that every student is comfortable enough to learn about topics in their own ways.
  • REGULAR TEST SERIES: Regular tests are conducted for continuous evaluation and assessment of students which helps the faculty and parents as well to keep a regular check on its students.
  • SEPARATE BATCHES FOR ENGLISH & HINDI MEDIUM: Separate batches are conducted for Hindi and English medium students so that the language doesn’t act as a barrier for the students. One of the main features that have helped classes to stand out for years.
  • PROBLEM-SOLVING COUNTERS: Separate counters for problem-solving are setup which helps the students to clear their doubts on the spot and help them learn new concepts easily.

Awards:

  • Excellence in Education Award By Former HRD Minister Smriti Zubin Irani
  • Felicitation by Dr. Kumar Vishwas
  • Excellence in Education Award 2018 by Dainik Bhaskar
  • Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 by 91.9 FM & DNA
  • Young Achievers Award 2018 by 92.7 Big FM

Feel Free to Contact Us at:

1.) Office: Vinayak Complex-B, I-Floor, Durga Nursery Road, Udaipur

2.) Study Center 1: Khalsa Public School Premises, Sikh Colony, Udaipur

3.) Study Center 2: Badala Aadhar Classes, Sec. 11-13, Main Road, Udaipur

4.) Study Center 3: Badala Smart Education, Mahaveer Nagar, Sec. 4, Udaipur

If you like to share something or have feedback for us, Feel free to share with us on mohit@vivirmedia.com

 

Categories
News

Udaipur’s Leela Palace to be taken over by Brookfield

leela palace udaipur

Brookfield, a Canadian asset management company has bought the properties of Hotel Leela venture. The list includes its key hotel properties in big cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Udaipur and Chennai for a sum of Rs.3950 crore.leela palace udaipur

On Monday evening, Leela venture announced that the company’s hotel business with all the assets and liabilities of hotels located in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, and Udaipur were being acquired by a Canadian company.

The company also stated that the shareholders would be eligible for a consideration of Rs.300 crore from Brookfield on account of any intellectual property held by them that concerns to the assets that are being sold and also for certain business expansion services that the promoters have agreed to provide the investor.

Leela venture, which has debt exceeding Rs 3000 crore, notified shareholders that all borrowings of the company from banks and financial institutions would stand repaid after the completion of the transaction and lenders dues would be retired. The company will continue to operate the hotel in Mumbai and hold land in Hyderabad and operate the joint development project of residential apartments with Prestige Developers in Bangalore. Brookfield will have a right of first refusal over the company’s hotel in Mumbai as a part of the transaction, implying it will have the right to match the highest offer for the property in the eventuality of its sale at a later stage.

Vivek Nair, Chairman, and MD of The Leela venture is confident that the brand will be developed and further strengthened. The hotels will continue to be known for its unmatched services.

Ankur Gupta, MD, and head at India’s Brookfield Asset Management branch said he is looking forward to completing the transaction at the earliest while making sure that all operations remain unaffected. “We expect the Leela hotels to continue to be market leaders.”

Brookfield Asset Management globally owns and operates $350 billion worth of assets with interests in various sectors.

Earlier, a group of investors including Blackrock, SSG Capital, and RB Capital had also been in the affray for acquiring the hotels.