US president Barack Obama told students on Sep 14, 2010 at a school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania “At a time when other countries are competing with us like never before, when students around the world in Beijing, China, or Bangalore, India, are working harder than ever, and doing better than ever, your success in school is not just going to determine your success, it’s going to determine America’s success in the 21st century”.
Obama has been urging American students to toil harder at school, saying their success would determine the country’s leadership in a world where children in Bangalore and Beijing are racing ahead in science and technology.
Bangalore is home to world renowned institutions like the Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Management (IIM Bangalore), Indian Institute of Information Technology, National Law School of India University and Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology. Continue reading →
The recession which started in 2008 has bottomed out but many economies are yet to see signs of recovery in 2010. Growth in the global economy is likely to slow towards the end of 2010, the International Monetary Fund has warned, due to weakness in the financial sector and the crisis of confidence in some national economies.
Travel and tourism was hit hard by the credit and housing market collapses experienced in many countries, with households cutting back on leisure travel and corporations reducing business travel.
According to a recent Business Travel Survey, travelers in 2010 have become smarter about value, and have found ways to reduce expenses over the last year. 71 percent of travelers surveyed changed their business travel habits. More business travelers are flying economy class, cutting meals costs and sharing rooms with colleagues due to the economic slowdown. Hotel location and price are the most important factors to a majority of business travelers.
Bangalore hotel apartments industry is dependent on business travel associated with the IT & BPO industry. The city has seen rates fall as a result of a drop in demand due to the global recession coupled with significant new hotel openings. Serviced apartments have grown in popularity among both business and leisure travelers. Continue reading →
Alcove Service Apartments is pleased to announce the launch of it new property in Bangalore on 19 September 2010. In the year 2003 Alcove founders set up the first “Alcove Service Apartments” for companies & travelers who are interested in experiencing homely stay. Since then, the group has expanded its serviced apartments across Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and a resort in Coorg. It has been voted by customers as among the best-run service apartments in India.
The new property consists of a 3-bedrooms, hall and Kitchen apartment in the ground floor, two apartments on the first floor, each with 2-Bedrooms, hall and Kitchen and another two apartments on the second floor, each with 2-Bedrooms, hall and Kitchen. In all, it has eleven rooms. These can let out as individual rooms or as a 2 BHK or a 3 BHK complete unit. Continue reading →
Pune is a vibrant cultural city and home to people of various religious denomination and demoninations. It also hosts various national festivals and cultural events throughout the year. The festival of Ganesh Chaturthi falls on Saturday 11th September in 2010. Continue reading →
Dasara (Dussehra in North India) is a 10-day festival in South India, culminating on Vijayadashami or tenth day. In Karnataka, Dasara is observed as State festival – Nadahabba. The city of Mysore has a long tradition of celebrating the Dasara festival and the festivities here are famous, attracting tourists from all over including foreigners.
Mysore Dasara in 2010 will be celebrated from 8th to 17th of October. Continue reading →
Chennai has a rich tradition of classical music. Carnatic music enjoys well informed & sophisticated audience. Chennai Sangamam brought classical music to the open. To the commoner it came without any cost, thanks to the top line carnatic classical artists who gladly sang in the parks & beaches.
The classical tradition is an ancient & sophisticated art from stretching back over thousands of years. Originating in the temples & performed by the devadasis, the classical styles have been associated with mythology, philosophy & spiritual beliefs of the Hindu culture and in more recent times, the Islamic tradition, classical dance has its roots in the Natya Shastra, the earliest known written text on comprising speech, mime, dance & music and lays down the principles governing technique & aesthetics.
Chennai music & dance festival is a celebration of classical music & dance of South India (Carnatic Music) held during mid December to mid January in the capital city of Chennai. Continue reading →
Diwali Celebrations in Hyderabad
Expats are always inquisitive about Indian culture and festivals. One of such guests Mr Michael was in Hyderabad during Diwali and stayed at our service apartment.
We got his apartment decorated with candles, lamps and Rangoli of flowers (auspicious motif) . We also gifted him an ethnic Kurta from FabIndia & explained him the significance of the festival of lights. He really enjoyed every bit.
Another pair of expat guest was treated for a traditional Indian Dinner on the occasion of Diwali.
Indian Treat
An Indian (Bengali) family had their daughter marrying an American boy and the reception was to be given in Hyderabad. All their Indian & American guests came down for a span of a week. The entire wedding party stayed at two of our service apartments in Hyderabad. All the arrangements for their stay, transportation, logistics along with deciding on the menu for all the days & wedding occasions were done by Alcove manager and staff without any service charges. They appreciated that Alcove went out of the way to show care & make them happy & comfortable.
Helping a guest undergo Retinal Operation
One of our Expat customers from IBM had to undergo an eye surgery in Sagar Apollo hospital in Chennai due to retinal detachment. I was personally present there at hospital & helped him to get discharged from the hospital and brought him back to the service apartment in my car. I then trained my staff on precautions that need to be taken post operative recovery, like boiling water, sterilizing cotton for cleaning his eye, ointment application; special diet as per doctors recommendations. I always gave him a homely feeling that made his recovery faster.
He sent me an email expressing his delight that he could get personal care in Alcove Service Apartment in Chennai.
Continue reading →
Guidance on Indian education system to a guest
One of our guests in Service Apartment in Koramangala, Bangalore, Dr. Raman from HP US had come down to India on an official trip accompanied by his family to explore the possibility of relocating to India. He was not very happy with the existing education system in US, hence wanted to explore the Indian education system.
I, being from teaching background, could give him valuable insights on the education system prevalent in India. I spoke about traditional and holistic education approach in India. Also gave him references of parents who had similar concerns & had kids of same age group being studying in different schools. This helped him make his decision to come back to roots.
He now recommends Alcove Service Apartments to all his friends
Continue reading →
