MUMBAI: Forbes India, the country?s most influential business magazine, is set to declare its choice for the ?Person of the Year? in its upcoming edition that will hit the stands on Friday, December 18. In the race for the honour are 21 eminent Indians who have shown leadership, courage and enterprise and in many ways, exemplify the unique ?Indian Way?.

Forbes India invites its readers to take part in the process of discovering the one person who will top that list. From today, until 11.00 p.m. on Thursday, December 17, readers can vote for their choice of the Person of the Year by logging on to www.forbesindiamagazine.com/personoftheyear.

There are prizes to be won too. Among those who vote for the eventual winner, to be chosen by the Forbes India editorial team, 25 people will be picked by a lucky draw for a special prize.

Similarly, among those who vote for the popular choice in the online poll (who may or may not be the eventual winner), 25 people will be selected for a lucky prize.

The idea behind the Person of the Year package had its genesis in the newsroom discussions at Forbes India, where senior editors debated about what is gripping the minds of the readers as a very volatile and action-packed year draws to a close. They figured it is the emergence of India as an economic power and its arrival on the world stage.

But India has a long way to go before it realises this potential. The country must find ways to develop its economy while making sure the growth is inclusive of the less privileged. It must make its governance more efficient while safeguarding its democratic institutions. Such a comprehensive economic solution for nearly 1.2 billion people has never been attempted in the world before.

This cannot be achieved by a cookie-cutter approach, by importing models from the developed world and implementing them here. India must find its own way, by blending the best from all corners of the world, but also evolving local solutions from the hearts and minds of its citizens.

The 21 personalities in Forbes India?s People of the Year List are those who are finding out this Indian Way. In 2009, they have demonstrated a rare ability to bridge the country?s traditional strengths with modern thoughts on development. As 2010 unveils, they will help us find answers for many of our development problems.

But there is one person among the 21 who stands out for an ability to blend visionary ideas with surgical execution. Who is that Forbes India Person of the Year?

The answer will be known on December 18, when Forbes India?s last issue of 2009 comes out.

The Nominees are:

A.R. Rahman, Music Composer

Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson, Hindustan Times Group

Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India

Chetan Bhagat, Author

Lalit Modi, Commissioner, Indian Premier League

Facebook, everybody?s Man Friday to connect with humanity

Pranav Mistry, Student and Inventor

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Captain, Indian Cricket Team

Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Group

K.G. Balakrishnan, Chief Justice of India

Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary, Congress Party

Karambir Kang, General Manager, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai

Anjali Gopalan, Founder, The Naz Foundation

Kiran Karnik, Interim Chairman, Sayam Computer Services

Mehmood Khan, Managing Trustee, Rasuli Kanwar Khan Trust

Rahul Dhir, CEO, Cairn India

Francisco D?Souza, CEO, Cognizant Technology Solutions

Rahul Bhatia, Chairman, IndiGo Airlines

Sunil Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Group

Vikram Akula, Founder, SKS Microfinance

Jean Dreze, Development Economist

MUMBAI: It?s the honey-sweet taste of success for Corporate Voice|Weber Shandwick India. The agency has won the inaugural Asia-Pacific SABRE (Superior Achievement in Branding and Reputation) Award for its Dabur Honey PR campaign. The campaign- ?Drop sugar for a Healthy Honeylicous Life!? ? was adjudged as the ‘Best campaign across the Indian Sub-continent‘, a category which attracted close to 400 entries from across the Asia Pacific region.

Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick India CEO Shiv Reddy said: ?The SABRE Award for the Dabur campaign, adjudged as the sole winner from India, underscores our ability to consistently deliver quality results out of India and win global awards in the face of ever-growing competition. Our advocacy approach to PR is standing our clients, and us, in good stead. At Cannes this year, a Gillette campaign we co-led won the gold and silver in the Media Lions Category, while 2007 had seen the UN Grand Prize for PR Excellence, the IPRA Golden Award and the Media?s Asia Pacific PR Campaign of the Year awards being bestowed on us. Yes, as the list of awards grows longer, the responsibility to deliver and surpass client expectations is even greater.? 

The Dabur Honey campaign surpassed the internal business targets set by Dabur India. The campaign was instrumental in a dramatic sales turnaround for Dabur Honey by 26% in 2008 and maintained the brand?s No. 1 position in the market place.

Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick India President Atul Ahluwalia said, ?Over past years, we have consistently built our agency as a centre of excellence with the delivery-mechanism for best-in-class PR services for all clients, be they global MNCs or Indian business houses. I am proud that the culture of innovation that we have cultivated has progressively borne fruits for us and the present Sabre award win for the Dabur campaign from India in a perfect reinforcement of the success of this endeavour?

The Corporate Voice|Weber Shandwick India team, who spearheaded the campaign, was managed by core team members Gunjan Bagga - Group Account Manger, Vani Khurana- Account Supervisor and Swati Bhandari- Account Executive from New Delhi branch. Dilip Yadav, Executive Vice President who supervised the campaign said, ?It was a challenge to consistently create fresh news around honey as a category. Our focus was on the Indian housewife and her desire to experiment with healthier food options for her family. Yes, the extensive use of advocates, on television and off it, gave enormous credibility to the Dabur Honey PR campaign.?

MUMBAI: Get ready to witness the final 14 contestant?s of ?MTV Hero Honda Roadies Season 7? as they kick start their journey from the 1st ever Roadies concert! As India?s hottest reality series goes on air, VJ Rannvijay has the daunting task of selecting the final 14 roadies from among the shortlisted 24 riders. Get ready for a rocking evening as the ultimate Roadies concert will showcase performances by bands like Agnee, Raghu Dixit Project and MTV?s very own Saadhak ? winner of ?Rock On?.

With a brand new surprise spin on the Roadies Theme as well as the smash hit Splitsvilla Theme Song, Agnee - the new face of Indi-Rock is ready to set the stage on fire. Not to miss, Raghu Dixit Project and their unique style of creating not only music but a dynamic sound and expression, with hits like ?Mysore se aayi?, ?Hey Bhagwan?, ?Har Saans Mein? and many more. There?s a lot more in store for all those who could not get enough of the hit musical reality series ?Rock on with MTV?! The winning band Saadhak will be performing a mix of hits.

Says VJ Rannvijay Singha, ?Ride with Rannvijay gave me the opportunity to spend time with the ?riders? and judge each of the aspiring roadies to find out who was really in it for the adventure. Being an ex-roadie and with the show for the past 6 years, it is easy for me to find out who is in to play politics and who is in it to face their fears and brave the adventure. It gives me immense pleasure to reveal the final 14 Roadies and I look forward to the journey ahead in Africa!?

Says Raghu Dixit, ?I?m super excited to be performing at the Roadies concert. I am looking forward to all the energy and enthusiasm. It is definitely going to be an awesome experience and a rocking show.? 

The Agnee duo (Koco and Mohan) add, ?It?s an honor to be associated with a show like Roadies. We are looking forward to perform at the Roadie?s concert and we wish the final Roadies best of luck!?

?We would like to thank MTV for the amazing opportunities they have given us to showcase our talent, first on Rock On and now at the Roadies concert. We are really excited about the performance as it will be our first big performance after we won Rock On!? says Nirdosh, the band leader of Saadhak.

For all those who missed the action on ?Ride with Rannvijay?, now is the time to get updated! The round of auditions chose 24 ?riders?, beginning with online auditions moving on to group discussions and personal interviews on ground. These ?riders? then went on to the next level ?Ride with Rannvijay? and performed the toughest tasks from the past 6 seasons. For the first time in Roadies history, 10 riders will be eliminated before the journey kicks off, purely based on their performance. The Roadies concert will now announce the final 14 that have moved from being ?riders? to ?roadies?!

Brace yourselves as the journey of a lifetime is yet to begin!

Catch all the action, on December 20th, Sunday at 7 pm on MTV!
 

MUMBAI: The Embassy of France in India and Culturesfrance present the young Indo-French group, Sharik Hasan trio. Their unique style is a blend of different genres like jazz, hip-hop, rock and classical. Their first performance, as a part of the Bonjour India festival, will be in Mumbai, 15th December 2009, Blue Frog, 9:30 pm

The trio Sharik Hasan, Gael Patrina and Thibault Perriard, all coming from diverse backgrounds, got together in 2008 with a common musical vision. Their music with a touch of jazz, rock, hip-hop and classical, is bound to enthrall the audience.

"We are pleased to be a part of Bonjour India and we look forward to performing here. We intend to bring out the harmony between different styles of music." Says Sharik Hasan.

Sharik Hasan: Born in 1984, he started learning classical piano at the age of five. He was drawn to the sounds of jazz in the US. After studying music in France, he performed at various events across Europe. Later, he formed a trio with two talented young French musicians, Gael Patrina and Thibault Perriard.

Gael Patrina: Born in Ecuador in 1985, he picked up the electric bass guitar at the age of 12. He has given several international performances and has also played at the North Sea Jazz festival in 2007. Gael, currently performs as a stage musician in bands like Kandinsky Effect, Sharik Hasan Trio, Emrflies Quartet, amongst others.

Thibault Perriard: Born in 1984, the drummer received his diploma in classical percussion (marimba/drums) from the Conservatoire de Fontainebleau as well as a degree in musicology. He has also won several jazz awards. Along with his studies, he composes and works on projects such as Oxyd or Word Out Trio. His first album ‘A Casa Supranational‘ came out in 2006.

MUMBAI: When one goes down the memory lane one gets nostalgic? memories rewind one after another!! Here is Class of 84 taking you through a beautiful journey of college days reminiscing the feeling of love, hatred, jealousy & resentment that one goes through in their youth. Class of 84 captures such moments and presents a magnificent play with substance exploring the innermost viewpoint of ones heart.

UTV World Movies in association with RAGE theater group presents Class of 84 - A Roller Coaster about Friendship filled with pathos and humor at St Andrews Auditorium on 12th December at 7:30 PM. This show will be a benchmark as ?Class of 84? celebrates its 200th show across country. Association with this event is a part of UTV World Movies long term involvement with RAGE.

The channel has expanded its reach beyond just the TV medium and adopted a 360 degree approach to reach out to its viewers, Theatre is one more step in this direction. Through this innovative marketing initiative, UTV World Movies hopes to achieve its objective of reaching out to its target group at all times and at all points. Since it is the 200th show, there will be an ?80?s cum college ambience created around. The foyer in St. Andrew?s auditorium will see a graffiti wall, a live band belting tunes from the 80?s and a notice board (like those in colleges) in addition to a ?cake-cutting? ceremony.

The RAGE theater group started off with the play Class of 84 started in the year 2002 and since then there has been no looking back. The group has performed on numerous occasions across the country and has received thunderous response from its audience every time. The class of 84 crew consists of ace theater actors like Rajit Kapur, Shernaz Patel, Devika Shahani, Zafar Karachiwala, Sohrab Ardeshir, Dipika Roy, Vikrant Chaturvedi, Joy Sengupta & Rituuraj Singh.

UTV World Movies has always believed in creating a unique experience for its audience. Taking forward with its previous slate of one of a kind on- ground activities like Celebrate France, Celebrate Germany, music and movie nights & theatrical premieres. UTV World Movies also recently has taken a leap further by introducing to Indian Audiences to World?s greatest comedy hypnotist-Alan Bates. Now in association with RAGE theater group the channel just adds another feather to its already well decorated hat of 360 degree approach for its on-ground activities. UTV World Movies also has an excellent and acclaimed line up on-air with 650 titles in its library from across 40 cities.

Sameer Ganapathy, Business Head ? UTV World Movies says ?We have always believed in bringing interesting formats offering great experiences for our consumers both on air and on ground through cinema and other unique initiatives. After the success of ?Music and Movies nights? and giving the audiences an enthralling experience with the Alan Bates show, we are thrilled to celebrate 200th show of ?Class of ?84?. I am sure this initiative will be highly appreciated by our patrons and we are looking forward for more such initiatives in future.?

Rahul DaCunha from Rage theater group says, ??It?s been an amazing ride- the fact that my years in St. Xavier?s College have produced a play that has achieved 200 shows. And that UTV World Movies is presenting it? a perfect fit. (and the fact that Ronnie Screwvala started his career in theatre)

MUMBAI: The BDO Men?s Champions Challenge 1 is organized every two years, with the winner of each edition qualifying for the Champions Trophy the following year. So the winner of the 2009 Champions Challenge in Salta will play the 2010 Champions Trophy, in Monchengladbach, Germany. Ten Sports brings you live action from both the semi finals , the 3rd and 4th position match and the final. (please check schedule)

The tournament got underway on December 6th, 2009, in the northern Argentinean city of Salta. 8 teams, ranked between 7th and 15th in the world are participating in this event. The Champions Challenge was created by the FIH (International Hockey Federation) in 2001 and features the 8 teams just behind the elite top six who took part in the recently concluded Champions Trophy that was won by world No 2 Australia.
Pakistan, 7th in the world, is the top ranking team in the tournament. Coached by former goalkeeper Shahid Ali Khan, Pakistan appear solid all around. Powered by the legendary Sohail Abbas ? who reached a world-record 300 goals in the team?s first game against Canada ? the sub-continental giants are the favourites to win the title.

 
On the other hand, India, the hosts of the 2010 World Cup will be hoping to turn in a good performance with coach Jose Brasa?s first major tournament in charge. It?s an event where they could pull up their ranking from their current 12th position.

The other teams in the fray are hosts Argentina, New Zealand, Canada, Belgium, South Africa and China.