Bring Home the Essence of Mahabaleshwar This Diwali with Courtyard by Marriott Mahabaleshwar’s Exclusive Hampers

Mahabaleshwar, 22nd October 2024: This Diwali, elevate your celebrations with Diwali by Marriott hampers that not only bring the authentic flavors of Mahabaleshwar but also embody the luxury and festive spirit Marriott is known for. Courtyard by Marriott Mahabaleshwar has carefully curated exclusive hampers featuring locally sourced ingredients and artisanal treats that reflect the region’s unique essence. These hampers are more than just gifts – they offer a true taste of tradition, crafted with the finest local produce, to make your Diwali celebrations even more special.

Marriott’s Signature Touch

A Celebration of Local Flavors with Marriott’s Signature Touch

Each hamper is thoughtfully designed to capture the heart of Mahabaleshwar, blending the richness of traditional Diwali delights with locally sourced ingredients, all enhanced by Marriott’s signature attention to detail. Whether you’re celebrating with family, friends, or colleagues, these Diwali by Marriott hampers bring a touch of authenticity and warmth to the festive season, making them the perfect gift to share the joy of Diwali.

Discover Our Exclusive Festive Hampers

Choose from a varied range of hampers featuring artisanal Indian mithais and delicacies like Bajra Bites, Millet and Seed Mix, Chilli Guava Bar, Chocolate Berry Bar, Nutberry Granola, Beetroot Chips, Almond Butterscotch Laddu, Jowar Butter Cookies, and more. Each hamper reflects Courtyard by Marriott Mahabaleshwar’s dedication to local ingredients and Marriott’s luxurious festive offerings.

The Perfect Gift Crafted with Care

Each Diwali by Marriott hamper is a reflection of Courtyard by Marriott Mahabaleshwar’s commitment to quality and authenticity, blended with the festive opulence Marriott is known for. Whether gifting family, friends, or colleagues, these hampers combine festivity, flavor, and Marriott’s touch of elegance, making every occasion memorable.

To make your Diwali extra special, place your order with Mr. Deepraj Vanju, Food & Beverage Manager, at +91 96997 68377 or via email at deepraj.vanju@courtyard.com.

This Diwali, gift the authentic taste of Mahabaleshwar with the elegance of Diwali by Marriott.

Amazon Great Indian Festival 2024: Amazon Business Reports 134% growth on Corporate Gifting Store

Bengaluru, October 22, 2024: The festive season in India marks a crucial period for businesses to strengthen relationships with channel partners, recognize employees, and celebrate with colleagues. Addressing this vital corporate need, a dedicated Corporate Gifting Store, launched by Amazon Business – India’s leading B2B online marketplace – featuring over 8,500 GST-enabled products with a wide range of gifting options, has resonated strongly with mixer grinders, and juicers emerging as the most gifted items showing 5.5X growth YoY followed by other kitchen ware like cookers which saw 3X growth.

Suchit Subhas, Director, Amazon Business, said, “The remarkable growth of our Corporate Gifting Store this festive season highlights the rapid adoption of e-procurement across India. This surge reflects both the convenience of online gifting and the evolving needs of modern businesses. It’s humbling to see how over the years, we have been able to build Amazon Business as an online B2B marketplace that has not just eliminated geographical barriers and connected sellers to buyers across the length and breadth of the country and serviced 100% of the nation’s pin codes, but also enabled seamless transactions across India’s dynamic business landscape.”

Kitchen appliances – The most gifted category

Mixer grinders and juicers emerge as the most gifted item showing 5.5X growth YoY followed by other kitchen ware like cookers which saw 3X growth.

Headphones emerge as the most popular tech gifting item

Headphones are leading the corporate gifting trend. Speakers have emerged as the breakout category, witnessing a 6X surge in orders compared to last year. Laptop bags was another top selling category with 2.5X YoY growth.

Snacks and Sweets gift hampers is another popular category

Chocolates is the most gifted category with 1.7X YoY growth. Dry fruit hampers saw 3.7X YoY growth and Tea and Coffee hampers also emerged as gifting items with 2X YoY growth.

Connecting sellers to customers: From Kerala to J&K & Gujarat to Nagaland

From home decor crafted by artisans in Ernakulam, Kerala, finding its way to eager buyers and recipients in Udhampur, Jammu & Kashmir; to an array of kitchenware items—including elegant glassware and sturdy mugs—journeying from enterprising sellers in Surat, Gujarat, to discerning customers in Tinsukia, Assam and Kohima, Nagaland; to Delhi-based sellers dispatching their wares to far-flung customers in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Amazon Business has facilitated connections between sellers and corporates across the diverse tapestry of India.

India’s own online B2B Marketplace

Since its launch in 2017, Amazon Business has always worked to add value and convenience to its customers’ businesses. In addition to the deals and offers, during the Amazon Great Indian Festival 2024, business customers can enjoy multiple convenient features by signing up for a Prime subscription to enjoy fast and free shipping or convert to multi-user accounts allowing their teams to add multiple team members under one Amazon Business account and set up approval policies and budget guardrails separately for each team. With the “Bill to Ship to” feature, businesses can buy from one location and ship to another without losing GST input credit. Customers can avail cashback up to INR 9,999 per order can be availed on 3 purchases, along with a 30-day interest-free credit option, extendable up to 12 months at minimal interest rates, and no hidden costs to manage their cash flow during the sale. Business customers can get instant bank discounts, and access rewards worth up to INR 10,000, along with flexible installment options*.

Business customers can also place bulk orders seamlessly and solicit assistance for bulk orders by sending an email to buybulk@amazon.com. Existing Amazon Business customers can gather more information about the event by signing into their business accounts. New customers can visit https://business.amazon.in to instantly create an Amazon Business account at no additional charge and enjoy the benefits of the Corporate Gifting Store.

Clark Art Institute Showcases Stunning Exhibition by Renowned Photographer Abelardo Morell

Abelardo Morell: In the Company of Monet and Constable opens November 23, 2024

(Williamstown, Massachusetts)—Featuring over a dozen large-scale photographs of the places where leading nineteenth-century landscape painters John Constable and Claude Monet made some of their most iconic works of art, the Clark Art Institute’s latest exhibition presents  Cuban-American photographer Abelardo Morel in Abelardo Morell: In the Company of Monet and Constable, , on view November 23, 2024 through February 17, 2025 in the Eugene V. Thaw Gallery for Works on Paper in the Clark’s Manton Research Center.

Morell (b. 1948, Havana; lives and works in Boston) is known for his distinctive photographic inventions based on the principles of a camera obscura. Morell’s Tent/Camera device used to make the images in this exhibition, makes it possible for him to combine in a single image the features of a landscape view with whatever happens to be underfoot—leaves, blades of grass, dirt, pebbles, and so on. Combining picturesque vistas with ground-level natural details, Morell’s luscious color photographs capture one’s relation to both art and nature through their complex fusion of the historical and the contemporary, the transitory and the lasting, the pictorial and the photographic.

“It is exciting to see the ways in which Abelardo Morell breathes new life into scenes that have become so closely associated with the works of artists who lived more than a century before him. The unique marriage of three artists’ perspectives—working generations apart—to create something that is utterly new is brilliant,” said Olivier Meslay, Hardymon Director of the Clark. “Not only will our visitors enjoy the haunting beauty of this exhibition, but I am certain that they will find the artist’s process fascinating.”

“Morell’s multilayered photographs have the power to surprise and delight,” said Anne Leonard, exhibition curator and Manton Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the Clark. “Like the best art, they allow us to see in new ways—and that goes for the natural world around us as well as beloved, familiar paintings. The dialogue that Morell’s photographs initiate with paintings by Monet and Constable is historically grounded in the nineteenth century and, at the same time, absolutely contemporary.”

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Abelardo Morell’s singular works are achieved through the use of a Tent/Camera that he has adapted to integrate the centuries-old device called a camera obscura (similar to a pinhole camera) with state-of-the art technology to allow him to capture distant vistas and juxtapose them with the granular aspects of a place in a single moment in time. For the last ten years or so, Morell has been connecting his innovative photographic techniques with storied traditions of nineteenth-century landscape painting. He has spent time in France and England and taken photographs at locations that directly inspired Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890), Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926), and John Constable (English, 1776–1837). By following in these artists’ paths, Morell seeks not to copy their paintings but rather to make new pictures in their spirit.

An interesting dialogue about the relationship between painting and photography began in the mid-nineteenth century, just after photography was invented. When Morell takes his fascination with optics and technology into the realm of landscape, he reactivates this dialogue. For him, the Tent/Camera pictures represent an effort to “marry photographic vision with painterly patina.”

In this exhibition focusing on Monet and Constable, who are not only touchstones for Morell’s artistic vision but also mainstays of the Clark’s permanent collection, Morell’s large-scale, richly layered photographs offer a bridge between historical and contemporary experiences of place.

ABOUT THE TENT/CAMERA

Morell’s Tent/Camera is made of light–proof material that wraps around a large, redesigned tripod, which has a plate on top that holds two devices. The first device is a 90–degree prism with a lens attached, called a diopter, which acts like a periscope projecting an image of the nearby landscape on the ground below. The focus of the image projected can be adjusted by raising or lowering the height of the tent. This has the effect of changing the focal length of the lens attached to the prism, resulting in a discrete focused area of the image. The second device is a digital camera looking straight down and focused on the ground. A picture made with a Tent/Camera shows both the granular details of the ground—for example, stones, grass, dirt, or cement—and a projected vista of the landscape, giving the overall image an illusion of a painterly patina. The camera is connected to a laptop outside the tent which allows the artist to compose, focus, and view the image with precision.

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 IN THE COMPANY OF MONET

The first section of the exhibition showcases eight Tent/Camera images Morell took in regions of France in which Monet lived and worked, including the artist’s garden in Giverny, poppy fields near Vétheuil, and the Rouen Cathedral.

Morell explains that Monet’s landscape paintings “interest me a lot because of his emphasis on linking seeing and painting. In his work these two things are inseparable! Undoubtedly, my photographs also suggest the look of many other painters and photographers who worked in France during the mid-19th century. What I have come up with contains some interesting new versions of the light and the land, now so familiar, in paintings and photographs by artists from the past. The feeling of sharing a common ground with them thrills me.”

Morell’s Tent/Camera images Yew Tree in Monet’s Garden, Giverny, France (2023); Water Lilies in Monet’s Water Garden, Giverny, France (2023); View of Monet’s Garden #1, Giverny, France (2023); and View of Monet’s Garden #3, Giverny, France (2023) reflect the landscape of the small village northwest of Paris where Monet cultivated his famous garden and painted the surrounding countryside beginning in 1883. By using richly varied brushstrokes and excluding distinct points of interest, Monet draws the viewer’s attention to the color and texture of the painting’s surface, much like Morell, with his use of the natural elements surrounding his Tent/Camera adding texture to his photographs.

Tent-Camera Image: Rouen Cathedral in Cloudy Afternoon Light, Rouen, France (2016) offers a similar perspective to Claude Monet’s Rouen Cathedral, the Façade in Sunlight (c. 1892–94) that is a part of the Clark’s permanent collection. Monet painted nearly thirty views of the cathedral’s façade, moving from one canvas to the next to capture different moments throughout the day. The encrusted brushstrokes on the canvas evoke the blinding radiance of sunlight glinting off pale stone. Morell’s photograph captures the building on a cloudier day and incorporates the cobblestones on the ground in front of the cathedral.

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Abelardo Morell, Tent-Camera Image: Rouen Cathedral in Cloudy Afternoon Light, Rouen, France, 2016, archival pigment print. Courtesy of the artist and Edwynn Houk Gallery

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Claude Monet, Rouen Cathedral, the Façade in Sunlight, c. 1892–94, oil on canvas. The Clark, acquired in memory of Anne Strang Baxter, 1967.1

 

IN THE COMPANY OF CONSTABLE

The exhibition’s second section displays five Tent/Camera images of English landscapes in the countryside in which John Constable lived and worked.

“In June 2017 I traveled to England with my Tent/Camera in search of landscapes where John Constable painted,” Morell said. “My Tent/Camera images are rendered on the ground, resulting in a photograph that suggests the painterly effect of his own canvases. I love the way his paintings have a kind of ‘ground’ quality to them, a roughness; that roughness was interesting to me. A lot of his work is so much about scraggly kind of ground, and then the clouds,” Morell explains. “I strived to look at the English landscape in his spirit. Constable stayed very attached to the countryside where he grew up. I made these images in the Flatford area of East Anglia, where he spent his boyhood, and in Hampstead Heath north of London, where he lived as an adult.”

The Clark’s permanent collection holds nearly sixty works by Constable. Beginning in 1819, Constable and his family spent several summers in Hampstead to escape London’s heat and pollution. The Hampstead landscape was admired by poets and artists alike, and the suburb also boasted a spectacular view of the city. The sky makes up most of the composition of Morell’s Tent/Camera images Pond in Hampstead Health, London, England (2017) and Clouds and Trees on Grass in Hampstead Heath, London, England (2017). Constable described the sky as the “chief organ of sentiment” in a landscape painting. He painted more than one hundred cloud studies while summering in Hampstead in 1821 and 1822.

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Abelardo Morell, Tent-Camera Image: Constable’s Hay Wain View, Flatford, England, 2017, archival pigment print. Courtesy of the artist and Edwynn Houk Gallery

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John Constable, Flatford Mill from the Lock, c. 1810, The Clark, gift of the Manton Art Foundation in memory of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton, 2007.8.23

 

Upon visiting Constable’s boyhood home in Flatford, England, Morell was struck by the attention the painter paid to the textures and details of the workaday landscape. For Constable, even the riverside mud was imbued with a noble quality. He once said, “I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, — light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.” Morell’s technique compresses the landscape around him and the ground beneath him into a single view. Like Constable, he delights in the richness of the humblest of surfaces.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in Havana, Cuba in 1948, Abelardo Morell immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1962. Morell received his undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College and a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale University School of Art. He was professor of Photography at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston from 1983 to 2010.

His publications include Tent-Camera (2018, Nazraeli Press), Flowers for Lisa (2018, Abrams), The Universe Next Door (2013, The Art Institute of Chicago), Abelardo Morell (2005, Phaidon Press), Camera Obscura (2004) and A Book of Books (2002), both published by Bulfinch Press, a photographic illustration of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1998, Dutton), and A Camera in a Room (1995, Smithsonian Press).

He has received a number of awards and grants, including a Lucie Award for Achievement in Fine Art, the Infinity Award in Art from the International Center of Photography, New York, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship.

Morell’s work has been collected and shown in galleries, institutions, and museums, including The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum in New York, and The Art Institute of Chicago.

RELATED EVENTS

OPENING LECTURE
November 23, 11 am
Manton Research Center, Auditorium

Artist Abelardo Morell introduces the exhibition Abelardo Morell: In the Company of Monet and Constable. Using his unique Tent/Camera technology, Morell captures the locations where Monet and Constable worked, blending historical and contemporary elements in stunning color photographs.

Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524.

FIRST SUNDAY FREE: LIGHTS, CAMERA, LANDSCAPE!
December 1, all day
Special activities in the Michael Conforti Pavilion 1–4 pm

Contemporary artist Abelardo Morell engages with history, place, and nature in his colorful images, reflecting Claude Monet and John Constable’s influence on him. Artists often draw inspiration from each other’s work, and we do, too! Taking inspiration from the layers in Morell’s works, experiment with creating transparent drawings that can overlap in surprising ways. Then, from the ground up, document place and perspective through a collaborative photo wall.

During your visit, be sure to pick up a gallery guide and explore the connections between Morell’s photographs and Monet and Constable’s paintings. Additionally, check out the special selection of photographs from the Clark’s collection at the Print Room Pop–Up installation on view from 11 am–1 pm at the Manton Study Center for Works on Paper.

Free admission all day. Special activities in the Michael Conforti Pavilion from 1–4 pm.

Family programs are generously supported by Allen & Company.

PRINT ROOM POP-UP: LIGHTS, CAMERA, LANDSCAPE!
December 1, 11 am–1 pm
Manton Study Center for Works on Paper

As part of First Sunday Free at the Clark, enjoy a special display of works on paper in the Manton Study Center for Works on Paper inspired by the exhibition Abelardo Morell: In the Company of Monet and Constable. Like Morell and the nineteenth–century figures that he points to in his photographs, artists throughout history have found inspiration in nature, working en plein air to observe the effects of light and atmosphere on the environment. The selected prints, drawings, and photographs illustrate artists’ engagement with the natural world. The display also highlights a type of photographic print that emerged in the mid– to late–1800s: the cliché-verre, or glass print technique, which was used by many of Monet and Constable’s contemporaries, including Jean–Baptiste–Camille Corot and Jean–François Millet.

Free. For accessibility questions, call 413 458 0524.

VIEWFINDING PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
December 15, 10:30 am
Museum Pavilion

What can a photograph say about our viewpoints of the surrounding environment? How can a frame change the ways we look at the world around us, and our place in it?

Join artist Anna Rotty for a photography workshop focused on the act of slow–looking and layering photographs, presented in conjunction with Abelardo Morell: In the Company of Monet and Constable. First, participants will look through viewfinders specially made with imagery by Claude Monet, John Constable, and Abelardo Morell. Then, considering Morell’s unique process of layering light and space, participants will combine personal experiences and views of the Clark’s landscape with representations of the artworks in the exhibition.

Anna Rotty is an artist and educator based in Albuquerque, New Mexico where she currently teaches at the University of New Mexico. She will be an artist in residence fellow at MASS MoCA in December 2024.

Free. Advance registration required. Capacity is limited. Recommended for ages 12+. No prior knowledge of photography required. Participants should bring their own camera (cell phone cameras work great for this workshop). If you do not have a camera and would like to participate, please contact education@clarkart.edu.

 

New Study Reveals the Most Relaxed US Cities to Live in 2024

A study by Ben’s Natural Health analyzed 31 U.S. cities to find the ten most relaxed ones worth living in 2024. The metrics for each city, including the Healthcare Index, Share of Adults Diagnosed with Depression, Unemployment Rate, Number of Parks, Green Index by State, Number of Wellness and Spa Centers, Work-life Balance (Average Working Hours), and Health Club Membership Rate, were sourced from publicly available datasets. Each factor was equally weighted, and the scores were averaged to create an overall Relaxation Index. Cities were then ranked based on this index, with higher scores indicating more relaxed environments.
State City Population Healthcare Index Share of Adults Diagnosed with Depression Unemployment Rate Parks Green Index by State Wellness and Spa Centers Work-life Balance (Average Working Hours) Health Club Membership Rate (%) Total  Index
Minnesota Minneapolis 425,096 71.46 20.2 (19.4–21.0) 3.80% 206 70.13 67 39.6 25.20% 69.19105266
Massachusetts Boston 650,706 72.7 18.2 (16.8–19.5) 4.60% 140 71.56 92 39.5 28.60% 67.79064985
Florida Miami 449,514 63.43 14.7 (13.4–16.0) 3.00% 177 50.27 307 42 23.10% 67.10194663
Colorado Denver 713,252 69.19 18.5 (17.6–19.4) 4.50% 142 67.58 191 38.3 24.80% 64.60082336
Utah Salt Lake City 204,657 68.43 22.7 (21.8–23.7) 3.60% 58 56.61 76 39.3 25.70% 60.87856621
Washington Seattle 749,256 71.47 23.5 (22.5–24.5) 4.70% 263 69.67 156 39.6 24.60% 60.8402443
Virginia Virginia Beach 455,618 73.61 17.4 (16.3–18.5) 3.10% 51 63.73 108 40.9 24.10% 60.22745946
New York New York City 8336000 62.64 16.7 (15.9–17.7) 5.00% 347 77.72 979 40.1 29.70% 59.7649238
South Carolina Charleston 153,672 69.71 21.5 (19.7–23.3) 4.00% 50 56.44 64 38.2 19.00% 59.24332793
California Los Angeles 3822000 61.32 14.1 (12.8–15.5) 6.60% 126 75.46 498 40.2 29.20% 58.82175086
Minneapolis, MN, tops the list as the most relaxed city with an impressive score of 69.19. It stands out for its high Healthcare Index, a low unemployment rate of 3.8%. The city also offers 206 parks, the third-highest on the list, contributing to its strong Green Index of 70.13. The combination of these factors contributes significantly to its high ranking, making it an ideal place for a balanced lifestyle.
Boston, MA, ranks second with a score of 67.79. The city has the highest Health Club Membership Rate at 28.6% and the second-highest Healthcare Index of 72.7. Despite a slightly higher unemployment rate than Minneapolis, Boston offers a great work-life balance, making it one of the most relaxed cities.
Miami, FL, is third with a score of 67.10. It has the lowest unemployment rate at 3% and the second-lowest share of adults diagnosed with depression. Additionally, Miami has the highest number of wellness and spa centers (307), making it an attractive destination for those seeking relaxation.
Denver, CO, ranks fourth with a score of 64.60. It has a high Healthcare Index of 69.19 and offers a shorter average working week, which contributes to a strong work-life balance of 38.3. While it has fewer parks than Minneapolis at 142, Denver provides plenty of opportunities for relaxation.
Salt Lake City, UT, is fifth with a score of 60.88. Although it has fewer parks than other cities on the list, the city’s low unemployment rate of 3.6% and a strong Health Club Membership Rate of 25.70% make it a relaxed environment for residents.
Seattle, WA, ranks sixth with a score of 60.84. Seattle has the second-highest number of parks totaling at 263 and a high Healthcare Index of 71.47, which contributes to its rank. Despite a slightly higher share of adults diagnosed with depression at 23.5, Seattle’s extensive green spaces make it a great city for relaxation.
Virginia Beach, VA, takes seventh place with a score of 60.23. It has the highest Healthcare Index of 73.61 among the top 10 and a low unemployment rate at 3.1%, although it offers fewer parks compared to other cities.
New York City, NY, ranks eighth with a score of 59.76. Despite having the most parks (347) and the highest Green Index of 77.72, the city has a higher unemployment rate and longer working hours, making it less relaxed overall compared to the top cities.
Charleston, SC, is ninth with a score of 59.24. It has a relatively low share of adults diagnosed with depression and one of the shorter average working hours of 38.2, contributing to its relaxed atmosphere despite having fewer parks.
Los Angeles, CA, rounds out the top ten with a score of 58.82. While it has a high Green Index at 75.46, and the second-highest number of wellness centers at 498, its higher unemployment rate and longer working hours make it the least relaxed among the top-ranked cities.
A spokesperson from Ben’s Natural Health commented on the study: “It’s clear that achieving a relaxed lifestyle goes beyond just one aspect, like access to parks or a low unemployment rate. It is important to consider a balanced combination of factors – from healthcare quality to work-life balance – in creating a truly stress-free environment. Communities that prioritize these elements are more likely to foster spaces where individuals feel less stressed and more engaged. It’s a testament to how a holistic approach, considering both physical and mental well-being, is essential for creating an atmosphere of true relaxation.”

Brookfield Properties Secures Renewable Energy from Bikaner Solar Project by Brookfield Asset Management

21st October 2024: Brookfield Properties has secured renewable power from Brookfield’s Bikaner Solar Power Project in the first partnership in India under the Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) bilateral arrangement. As a result, Brookfield Properties’ occupiers in Delhi NCR now receive 40% of their energy from renewable power.

This transition at its four marquee campuses—Candor TechSpace Sector 48 and 21 in Gurugram, and Candor TechSpace Sector 62 and 135 in Noida—is part of the BIRET portfolio and is expected to reduce more than 20,000 metric tons of CO2 annually. This is equivalent to removing approximately 4,300 cars from the road annually.

This collaboration will enable Brookfield Properties to achieve its sustainability goals. The partnership benefits the environment while providing occupiers with a sustainable, cost-effective energy solution delivered directly to their premises, without additional contracting or operational or capital expenditures, ensuring transparency and compliance with sustainability commitments.

Brookfield’s Bikaner Solar Power Project has been commissioned with 550 MWp of capacity, making it one of the largest ISTS connected renewable energy park in India. The site’s power output will cater to the energy requirements of the Commercial & Industrial (C&I) segment. The equity investment for Bikaner was provided by the first vintage of the Brookfield Global Transition Fund (BGTF I), the world’s largest fund focused on investments that aim to accelerate the global transition to a net-zero carbon economy while delivering strong risk-adjusted returns to investors.

Brookfield has invested in platforms which comprise a portfolio of over 25 GW of wind and solar assets in operation, construction and development.

Ananya Tripathi, Managing Director, Real Estate in India, Brookfield said, “Given our scale, we recognize the importance of both, addressing environmental issues that are most material to our business and creating positive outcomes for our stakeholders. This collaboration represents our ability to power our properties’ portfolio with renewable energy solutions and brings us closer to our goal of using 100% renewable power across Brookfield Properties by 2027.”

Murzash Manekshana, Managing Director and Head of Asset Management in India, Renewable Power & Transition, Brookfield said, “Companies are turning to renewables because it lowers their costs, reduces their carbon footprint, and improves energy security. This partnership harnesses the Brookfield ecosystem, with the Brookfield-developed Bikaner solar power plant fulfilling the renewable energy needs of Brookfield Properties. We remain committed to offer tailored solutions and being the partner of choice for Indian corporates in achieving their sustainability goals.”

Brookfield Properties continues to lead in sustainable development and operations, recognized as an EDGE Champion by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for its commitment to green building practices and decarbonizing its portfolio.

The planned transition to 100% renewable energy by 2027 reinforces Brookfield Properties’ leadership in sustainability across its entire 55 MSF portfolio in India. With over 450 leading Indian and global tenants, Brookfield Properties is committed to supporting their sustainability goals through innovative solutions. These efforts are central to Brookfield Properties’ strategy to achieve net zero emissions across its India portfolio by 2040 or sooner. By providing direct access to traceable renewable energy, the company advances shared sustainability objectives and enhances the value offered to its tenants. The strategic partnership facilitates scalability and aligns with global industry standards, establishing benchmarks that highlight its commitment to responsible development in India.

Housing sales in top 30 tier 2 cities decline 13%, launches fall 34% in Q3: PropEquity

New Delhi, October 21, 2024: In line with the trends seen in tier 1 cities, housing sales in top 30 tier 2 cities have fallen by 13% in July-September quarter of 2024 while new launches have declined by 34%, according to a report by NSE-listed real estate data analytics firm PropEquity.

Housing sales fell to 41,871 units in Q3 2024 against 47,985 units in the same period last year while launches fell to 28,980 units in July-September quarter of 2024 from 43,748 units in the same period last year, the report said.

The west zone comprising Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Surat, Goa, Nashik and Nagpur, contributed 72% to the total sales.

Commenting on the data, Samir Jasuja, CEO & Founder, PropEquity said: “The decline in sales and launches is on account of higher base effect as year 2023 had recorded historic highs. The low cost of living, availability of skilled workforce and advantageous operational cost for companies besides good connectivity and infrastructure in State Capitals have been driving demand for homes. However, as seen from an all-India context, the top 30 tier 2 cities have been underperforming as sales and launches with respect to top ten cities are only 1/3.”

Total Absorption
Location Q3-2023 Q3-2024 Y-o-Y
Agra 192 128 -33%
Ahmedabad 13855 12721 -8%
Amritsar 86 7 -92%
Bhiwadi 276 193 -30%
Bhopal 752 744 -1%
Bhubaneshwar 1486 1217 -18%
Chandigarh 406 334 -18%
Coimbatore 668 821 23%
Dehradun 173 255 47%
Gandhi Nagar 3356 3072 -8%
Goa 811 669 -18%
Guntur 371 242 -35%
Indore 491 267 -46%
Jaipur 2573 2492 -3%
Kochi 587 508 -13%
Lucknow 956 876 -8%
Ludhiana 254 150 -41%
Mangalore 447 317 -29%
Mohali 1161 930 -20%
Mysore 139 54 -61%
Nagpur 1959 1661 -15%
Nashik 3593 2689 -25%
Panipat 29 12 -59%
Raipur 745 414 -44%
Sonepat 80 37 -54%
Surat 5224 5015 -4%
Trivandrum 649 544 -16%
Vadodara 4813 4286 -11%
Vijayawada 557 440 -21%
Visakhapatnam 1296 776 -40%
Total 47985 41871 -13%

According to the report, the top three cities that witnessed maximum drop in launches were Sonepat, Panipat and Agra. Only 8 cities saw growth in new launches with top three being Bhopal (268%) followed by Dehradun (100%) and Coimbatore (77%).

West Zone contributed 71% to the total launches.

New Supply
Location Q3-2023 Q3-2024 Y-o-Y
Agra 64 0 -100%
Ahmedabad 14232 9190 -35%
Bhiwadi 0 0 0%
Bhopal 161 592 268%
Bhubaneshwar 2316 1107 -52%
Chandigarh 450 228 -49%
Coimbatore 515 909 77%
Dehradun 0 179 100%
Gandhi Nagar 2867 1879 -34%
Goa 521 398 -24%
Indore 351 194 -45%
Jaipur 2254 1743 -23%
Kochi 470 379 -19%
Lucknow 449 509 13%
Ludhiana 335 44 -87%
Mangalore 415 100 -76%
Mohali 966 1381 43%
Mysore 240 24 -90%
Nagpur 1670 1378 -17%
Nashik 3731 1290 -65%
Panipat 32 0 -100%
Raipur 351 363

Oberoi Realty Announces H1 FY25 and Q2 FY25 Results

Mumbai, October 19th, 2024: Oberoi Realty Limited, headquartered in Mumbai, today announced its results for the first half of FY25 and the second quarter of FY25. The Company recorded booking value of Rs. 2,509.45 crores for H1FY25 as against Rs 1,441.26 crores for H1FY24. Further, the booking value for Q2FY25 is Rs. 1,442.46 crores as against Rs. 965.01 crores for Q2FY24.

The Consolidated Revenue for H1FY25 is Rs. 2,800.57 crores as against Rs. 2,177.36 crores for H1FY24. Further, the Consolidated Revenue for Q2FY25 is Rs. 1,358.62 crores as against Rs. 1,243.80 crores for Q2FY24.

The Consolidated Profit Before Tax for H1FY25 is Rs. 1,557.50 crores as against Rs. 1,025.12 crores for H1FY24. Further, the Consolidated Profit Before Tax for Q2FY25 is Rs. 782.47 crores as against Rs. 598.89 crores for Q2FY24.

The Consolidated Profit After Tax for H1FY25 is Rs. 1,173.71 crores as against Rs. 777.45 crores for H1FY24. Further, the Consolidated Profit After Tax for Q2FY25 is Rs. 589.31 crores as against Rs. 456.06 crores for Q2FY24.

Commenting on the Q2FY25 results, Mr. Vikas Oberoi, Chairman & Managing Director, Oberoi Realty, said, “India’s economic growth story continues to captivate the world, and the real estate sector has been a key beneficiary of this positive momentum. We are pleased to report another strong quarter driven by healthy residential sales momentum and robust operating performance across our annuity assets.

Today, we launched our first phase ‘Jardin’ at our integrated development Oberoi Garden City Thane and the initial response is a testament to the power of the brand. The first phase comprises of 5 residential towers, of which the bookings have commenced for 2 towers. We are confident that it will set a new benchmark as a holistic integrated development spread across 75 acres offering luxurious homes with world-class amenities, a 5-star deluxe JW Marriott Hotel Thane Garden City, an exclusive Private Membership Club and an Oberoi International School.

Our commitment to deliver exceptional living experiences has solidified our position as a leading player in the market. With a robust launch pipeline, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for premium residential properties and drive sustainable growth.”

Transform Your Interiors with Hafele’s Columbia Series Architectural Lighting

Illuminate Your Space with Hafele’s Columbia Series Architectural LightsHafele’s Loox Range has been meeting the demands for lighting in furniture as well as the growing needs for networking and digitalization since the last 10 years. The solutions offered within this range maximize simplicity and flexibility as well as assure high reliability. The range presents itself as a unique combination of elegant design and state of the art technology making it the perfect choice for any home furniture application, be it Task Lighting for Kitchen cabinets and plinths, Decorative Lighting for Living Room Showcases, Mood Lighting for Bedroom Applications or pure Functional Lighting in Wardrobes.

With the ever-increasing demands for quality and specialized lighting solutions not just for furniture but also for rooms, Hafele in 2019 expanded its range offering to include ceiling cove lighting which incorporates our high-quality strip lights. It was during this period that we realized that among the numerous ceiling light types available in the market, interior architectural lighting had a huge demand, however there weren’t many prominent brands that offered these solutions. On one side, there existed local market players that offered these solutions without effective quality assurances, while on the other there were international brands that only catered to projects with no stable price offering or service support. This left majority of the customers without a viable choice in the market.

Identifying this distinct gap early on as an opportunity, Hafele initiated the research and engineering for a range of lights that enhances the design of architectural spaces as well as provides opportunities of achieving different illumination techniques and functionalities. As a brand, Hafele understands design and is known for its bend towards innovation. It also understands the importance of home ergonomics, lifestyle conveniences and ease of mobility within your surroundings. Our efforts towards this exercise led to the development of a versatile range of architectural lights; Hafele Architectural Lights was brought into existence.

With Hafele’s New Architectural Lighting Range, you will find all your lighting needs taken care of. Whether it is lighting up a small area, highlighting a wall texture, emphasizing on a work of art, illuminating the floor space at night or simply ensuring even distribution of light across the entire space – these lights have got you covered. The range, consisting of 9 series, covers various applications, installation techniques and design themes. Each series comes with a comprehensive offering of the different types of interior lights, be it downlights, spotlight or wall washers, which allows you to implement a consistent design theme (in terms of the lighting fixtures) across the space available, even with differentiated illumination techniques. The biggest advantage this range carries is the absolutely low Unified Glare Rating (UGR). The lower the UGR rating, the lower the glare from the light fittings which therefore results in comfortable illumination in your living spaces.

The convenient plug and play assembly, impressive product specifications, flexibility in ordering components, luminaire finishes, and availability of glare reduction accessories provide an overall customized option tailored to your specific requirements. Engineered on the same philosophy of ‘easiness’ and ‘flexibility’ as the Loox furniture lighting system, Hafele can now be your holistic lighting solutions provider, delivering premium ambient, task and accent lighting for your living spaces.

The Columbia Series

Experience true High-Definition interior lighting with Hafele’s new Columbia Architectural Lights Series that offers excellent true colour reproduction and sharper details. The compact luminaires from this series deliver a brighter light output, thanks to the premium reflectors that direct maximum light from the LED, efficiently illuminating your interior space.

In addition, the wall washer luminaires from this series give a soothing visual experience thanks to the reflector design which directs the light to the wall in a way that the light source is not visible directly. With an extremely low UGR of less than 16 and, single LED and multiple LED linear luminaire options, the Columbia series downlights and wall washers can be used to illuminate smaller and wider areas.

Aqua Metro Line Achieves 1,55,000 Commuters in 7 Days: Arkade Developers Highlight Real Estate Opportunities in Aarey & BKC

Record 1,55,000 Commuters in 7 Days for Aqua Metro Line: Insights from Arkade Developers on Aarey and BKC Real Estate DevelopmentMumbai has been evolving at an unprecedented pace with critical infrastructure development such as the Aqua Line. In the first 7 days of operation, the aqua line has managed to ease the commute of more than 1,55,000 people, hinting at the significance of the route that connects two extremely important mid-points i.e. Aarey and BKC. With an estimated daily ridership of 13 lakhs once fully operational, areas between Aqua-line stations will benefit from reduced congestion, better and faster connectivity, and a lower lifetime carbon footprint. Now, with Multi-Modal Integration, the focus would be more on last-mile connectivity ensuring seamless connectivity throughout the entire journey. Especially for stations like Aero City near the Santacruz Airport. It would be a game changer for people who have to travel daily to airports and nearby hotels for work. From a real estate standpoint, this line is poised to significantly boost home prices in the months to come. Overall, this development is part of a bigger trend in urban planning that focuses on integrated transport systems. By prioritizing this infrastructure, we’re not just improving access—we’re creating a more connected and adaptable city that can meet the changing needs of its residents. With the Aqua Line’s first phase open, it’s expected to cut 650,000 vehicle trips daily, easing traffic by about 35% on the BKC-Aarey route. It will also save 354,000 litres of fuel each day, helping to reduce the city’s carbon emissions.” – Mr Amit Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Arkade Developers Limited

Possession to Commence Soon for Migsun Janpath: A Premier Commercial Hub in Lucknow

Migsun Group announces that the possession process will soon commence for Migsun Janpath, a strategically located high-street commercial project at Shaheed Path, Lucknow.

Migsun Janpath blends high-street retail, premium business suites, studio apartments, and world-class amenities. Situated near Medanta Hospital, Migsun Janpath enjoys excellent connectivity to key city landmarks, including Lucknow Airport, Ekana Cricket Stadium, and Sushant Golf City. Its 4-sided open plot ensures easy access and high visibility, making it a prime location for businesses and investors.

“Migsun Janpath’s proximity to key areas like Charbagh and Hazratganj will ensure a steady footfall which will translate into robust business opportunities, price appreciation and high ROI. We’ve designed Migsun Janpath as an integrated space to cater to a wide range of needs, from luxury retail to healthcare services, offering businesses an unmatched opportunity for growth,” said Yash Miglani, MD, Migsun Group.

Migsun Janpath features high-street retail outlets that includes world-class brands, a food court offering diverse dining options, premium business suites and studio apartments, and a dedicated entertainment zone. Additionally, the project will also have multi-level parking facilities, ensuring convenience for both visitors and tenants, along with 3-tier security, ensuring a safe and secure environment.

With few units still available, Migsun Group also invites buyers and investors to take advantage of this opportunity and invest in ready-to-move-in iconic retail and business destination.

Migsun Group has delivered over 40 projects across the NCR region, earning a reputation for quality, innovation, and timely project completion. With a robust pipeline of upcoming developments, the Group continues to push boundaries and exceed customer expectations, solidifying its leadership in the real estate sector.