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For your
ears only PACESETTER
Agastya
Mihir Dalmia
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Gift an experience Such gifts are no more a novelty. So how about an experiential gift — an unusual gift which one will never forget. The possibilities are immense: adrenaline-packed adventures, pampering experiences, romantic getaways, sporting or fun activity and cultural events. Experiential gifts stay much longer in a person's memory as these bring people closer while material gifts are apparently considered as a compulsion. A lifetime souvenir etched in memories — like gifting a loved one a trip to Auli for a skiing, paragliding at Solani, bungee jumping at Victoria Falls in South Africa, white water rafting on the Ganges, Alkananda or Teesta, kite boarding in Mauritius, micro-light flights in Bangalore, a ride on a Lamborghini or a romantic dinner in Dubai’s highest tower, Burj Khalifa! Who will ever forget these lovely experiences? Welcome to the world of ‘gifting an experience’. Affluent and not-so-affluent families in the cities are getting and gifting such experiences. “Gifting an experience, though a new trend, has indeed picked up pace in the last year and a half as compared to routine presents. People are open to ideas thanks to explosion of information,” says Prateek Rathore, co-founder, www.wishpicker.com. “Everyone wants to feel something unique. Something he or she can share with friends.” This site is one of the many portals which offers ‘gifting experience’ package. Google and you are likely to get several other sites, like www.delightgifts.in, www.excitinglives.com, www.tajonline.com. If you think experience offered are limited, check out http://www.cloud9living.com , www.buyagift.co.uk and others. A relatively new phenomenon in India, gifting an experience has been around for quite sometimes abroad. Pooja Lal, director, delightgifts.in, says she got the idea while she was living in Australia where gifting experiences like climbing, expeditions, trekking etc. were offered by many. It had hundreds of takers. On returning to India she thought of providing similar experiences to her countrymen. Two years after she began delightsgifts.in, Pooja has built up a good client base. Popular experience gifts range from dining at a five-star restaurants to fun and games like go-karting and paintball and adventure sports like river rafting, paragliding, kite boarding etc. The 20-35 age group has shown maximum interest in it. The financial background varies with the type of experience being gifted. Most buyers are from the upper middle class but there are plenty of experiences in a decent budget range and cater to the average middle class. “Youngsters prefer to gift their parents a luxury experience which the former may have never had,” says Pooja. She recalls a recent incidence where a girl wanted to give her mother a special gift on her 50th birthday. “She called us up and asked us to arrange for a day-long special ayurvedic treatment at a spa in Mumbai. We sent her mother the required coupons and informed the spa of the special day. They not only gave her wonderful treatment but had also arranged for a birthday cake for her and a gift hamper.” When the recipient is a youngster, then adventure sports are most common gifts. The most popular events in this category are go-karting and micro-light flights. Some prefer a trek to Leh-Ladakh, leisure sailing, kickboxing or learn salsa or belly dancing. Some, especially a bride-to-be, prefer to pick up cooking tips from a celebrity chef. The experiential gifts offered abroad are a crazy stuff and still to catch up the fancy of Indians. Like a butchering a pig, steam bath in a Korean bathhouse, acquainting one with Parkour, seat to a private piano concert or buying one a bag-piping lessons. May be, we, too, will catch up with them.
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For your ears only Every morning Manuj Ahuja enters Delhi’s Lodhi Gardens at 6.30 a.m. and switches off the world. He plugs on his headphones, and even as the soft music starts wafting in his ears, he hits the jogging track. For the next hour or so, the CEO of a German publishing house based in Gurgaon pounds the track to the music of J-Lo, Justin Bieber and Mariah Carey. The headphones he is wearing are no ordinary ones. Called ‘Quiet Comfort,’ these silver and black headphones are from Bose Corporation, one of the leaders in modern sound technology. These over-ear headphones, ensconced in pillowy-soft earcups, deliver audio with such accurate detail that these mesmerise the listener. Their revolutionary noise-cancelling feature, pioneered by the Bose Corporation, shuts out all extraneous noises and lets Manuj concentrate on his jogging with a single-minded devotion. But 36-year-old Manuj is not alone. A number of other joggers can be seen at Lodhi Garden and other big city parks around the country pacing the tracks plugged to their branded headphones from companies ranging from Pioneer to Sony and from Grado to Onkyo, Philips, Sennheiser, Shure, Skullcandy, Klipsch and more. Such is their growing demand around the world that even organisations like Prada and Apple are jumping in the fray with their own versions. Italian luxury house Prada, for example, has brought out a pair of headphones that deliver pitch-perfect sound and can be worn as a fashion accessory. Apple too is said to be entering the arena and there is talk of the company buying American sound major Beats Electronics which makes the trendy Beats by Dre headphones. If the deal — said to be worth a staggering $3.2 billion — comes through, Apple could give the leaders in the business a run for their music. Whether it is Apple or Prada, Sony or Sennheiser, most of these brands are not thinking in terms of cheap holiday headphones. What they are looking at is high-end earmuffs which could cost anywhere between Rs 25,000 and Rs 1,00,000. Performance and looks Gone are the days when one could buy good quality pair for a few hundred rupees. Of course, the inexpensive ones are still available but music lovers prefer quality. Connoisseurs are going for brands that are known as much for their performance as for their looks. Today branded state-of-the-art headphones come with complex features like electrostatic drivers, thermo-acoustic technology, ambient noise-reduction and noise-cancelling facility. Most top quality headphones are good at blocking distractions and letting a person regain privacy while working out in the park or in a gym. Interestingly, all headphones are not made equal. There are some that are suitable for listening to music at home. There are others which are travel-specific and suited for those on the move. The most important category, however, comprises headphones that are suited for wearing during workouts, jogging and other sports activities. Companies concentrate on the sports category as these clock brisk sales and require a different kind of engineering. Unlike the conventional headphones that transmit sounds through the ear canal on to the eardrum, the sports headphones use a person’s cheekbones to send the music straight down the line to the person’s inner ear. The benefit of this is that even when listening to music while running on the road, one can hear the sound of the approaching traffic and avoid any mishaps. Some of the best-known sports headphones include brand names like Sennheiser-Adidas, Philips Sports Ear Hook, Sony Active Series and a few others. Some headphones like the Iqua Beat also measure heart rate, distance walked or run, speed and calories burnt. Travel-friendly Like sports-specific headphones, there are those that are travel-friendly. These are made for the itinerant plane, train or bus traveller and perform best while on the move. Companies like Sennheiser, Phiaton, Etymotic, Shure, Klipsch, Polk and others specialise in these headphones. The most important aspect of travel listening is that these devices isolate a person from extraneous noises so that he or she can relax and enjoy both the journey and the music. Besides entertainment, many high-end headphones serve an important purpose. Those which come with the noise-cancelling feature help people to relax in an environment where the person can control the level of sound and cut out all other distractions. In many countries such headphones are also being used extensively by doctors to regulate blood pressure, heart rate and respirations as also the anxiety, calm agitation and induce restful sleep. Whether for medical purposes or pure entertainment, the high-end headphones are finding a legion of new admirers even as the sales boom and these become a music connoisseur’s treasure. BOWERS & WILKINS P5 SONY MDR 1R ONKYO ES HF300
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PACESETTER Agastya Mihir Dalmia This young entrepreneur identifies tennis talent among underprivileged children with the hope of making them world champions Neerja Bahadur As an avid Delhi-based tennis player, Agastya Mihir Dalmia would often come across children who were talented and passionate about the game but unable to pursue their interests due to the lack of funds. That’s when he realised the need for quality sports education and thought of training underprivileged children. While Agastya began privately supporting and helping a few students from government schools a few years ago, he soon realised that there were many talented children and funds were limited. He started thinking in terms of going about it in an organised way to provide quality sports education to as many deserving children as possible. He set up the Amba Dalmia Foundation in November 2013, named after his sister who died in a car accident, that fosters sports excellence for young and aspiring tennis players. So far in its nine months of existence, the foundation has helped ten students strive to achieve national rankings in tennis. “The foundation supports five students every year. It hones their tennis skills by enabling them to play matches across the country. Each child has to play around four tournaments a month to succeed in national rankings. The foundation picks up all the costs of these children,” says Agastya. Tennis is a sport where players have to participate in a number of domestic and international matches, as well as continually train to improve their rankings. The foundation enables young students to improve their skills and play in matches across the country. The foundation looks after the costs and logistics, provides infrastructure, equipment, guidance and also a nutritional diet puts the young people through a proper exercise routine for body strength. The expenses involved in participating in one tournament are between Rs 15,000 and 20,000, and each child has to play minimum of three to four tournaments a month to come in the reckoning of national rankings. “While there are many NGOs looking at various areas, there are very few that look into sports education and training for such children. A lot of talent goes waste due to the lack of funds,” says Agastya. The foundation holds tennis workshops in government schools which enables it to identify talented young boys and girls who are then nurtured through intensive training with the aim of reaching a definitive national tennis ranking. Agastya has an imaginative plan in place which ensures a steady flow of funds for the activities to continue. From time to time his foundation organises friendly corporate and expat tennis tournaments as fund-raiser events. Recently, the foundation held its second charity event, a tennis tournament for expats and corporates in Delhi. The foundation has also taken the arty way of raising funds. It organises art shows and a small part of the proceeds from the show go to the foundation. In early May 2014, it collaborated with Global Art Hub for an exclusive art exhibition featuring seven of the top art galleries of Delhi to put up an exhibition. On display at the exhibition were the works of distinguished artists like F. N. Souza, Paresh Maity, Ram Kumar, Satish Gujral, Thota Vaikuntam, Nilima Sheikh, Akbar Padamsee, Manjunath Kamath and many more. One per cent of the amount raised from the exhibition went to the foudation. To give world-class training to children with the aim of nurturing future champions requires funds and such activities are honourable ways of raising them,” says Agastya who hopes to train young players not just to achieve national ranking but to be world beaters.
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Bling it on
SLEEVE FOR AN iPAD
SEEING IS BELIEVING
WRISTY STYLE
TRUE TRAVELMATE
PAST DRIVE
FACE UP TO THIS LIPSTICK
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Gifting a solitaire, a Louis Vuitton tote bag, a Swarovski crystal-encrusted J. J. Vallya ghagra-choli or a designer saree to a friend or dear one? For all you know, somebody else might have already given such costly presents. 
What material gift do you give the person who has everything? Ashok Rai, an executive in a Mumbai MNC, was at a loss to find a perfect gift for his father who was to touch the landmark sixty years. He says, “My parents lead a simple life and have everything that they need in their lives. Gifting them an expensive gift was not at an exciting thought. ” That’s when the Rai siblings — two brothers and a sister — decided to gift their parents a candle-light dinner at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Hotel. The elder Rais had never been to a five-star hotel though they could afford it. Even six months after their dinner they still cherish the experience.
Choose an activity. Those looking to buy experience-based gifts need to book the experience of their choice online. Choose a gift pack for your recipient. The voucher to redeem the experience is delivered to the recipient’s address.
Noise-cancelling feature
GRADO SR60
PHILIPS FIDELIO X1
AUDIO TECHNICA-W5000
Especially suited for smartphones and iPads, the sound quality of the Bowers & Wilkins P5 hi-fi headphones is completely natural — as close to the sound of the original recording as you can possibly get. Their tight seal shuts out external noise and headphones don't leak sound making these great for people on the go.
AUDEZE LCD-3
PRADA HEADPHONES
FERRARI BY
LOGIC 3 R300
Dr DRE BEATS PRO
PSB M4U2
SENNHEISER HD700
KLIPSCH MODE 40
ULTRASONE EDITION 10
on the road.
IT’S A DOG’S BAG
iPad and Macbook sleeves made of leather are passé. Go for the new sleeve crafted from premium handcrafted wood veneer with geometric contouring by American company Grovemade. The new sleeve offers smart, natural protection and is an upgrade from the conventional stuff. It has a leather strap with brass accents to help remove the device from the sheath. It protects the iPad or Macbook from bumps and scratches on the go, and hardwood veneer with geometric contouring catches the eye, creating an instant conversation piece, while providing impact resistance and offering utility with style. 
In most western countries, Danish electronic giant Bang & Olufsen is a byword in quality and design. Take, for example, its new ultra-stylish 55-inch UHD BeoVision Avant television. Launched with the tagline “The One That Moves”, it comes with motorised automated movements which can be pre-programmed or adjusted according to the viewer’s choice. It features Ultra HD LED panel with backlight dimming and 3D. It has six HDMI inputs, of which five are UHD capable, two USB ports and connections for external speakers. With its silver frame tilted slightly backwards, it resembles more a piece of art than a TV set. It also lets you surf the Internet and the net radio as well as transfer content from
your PC. Indeed, this is not just a television but truly a multimedia gizmo.
The Swiss Knife has come to be associated with multi-tasking. It is a gadget that offers various tools such as screwdrivers, bottle openers, knife and fork all stowed inside the handle of the knife. Over the years there have been many lookalikes. One of those that has done extremely well is the Travelmate Kit by Buck Knives. This is a portable toolset for preparing and eating food while travelling. It includes a serrated butter knife, a fork—with integrated bottle opener, can opener, flathead screwdriver and even grill scraper—and an injection-moulded sheath to hold it all together when you’re not using it. It’s a bit of a novelty item, but it works amazingly well. And yes, it also makes a great gift for the outdoors-y kind of person.
Imagine a lady’s reaction at if a stranger’s face touches her lips? They could range from shock to disbelief. But for women who buy May Sum’s lipsticks, this phenomenon can be routine. The Hong Kong-based artist creates unique one-of-a-kind sculptures on lipstick. Using high-end brand lipsticks Sum creates tiny, 3-D faces of celebrities. She has sculpted Madonna, Lady Gaga and Marilyn Monroe among others. But her talent is not restricted to famous faces, she can create a lipstick bearing any face as long as she is provided with a photo. Guys, send a picture of someone close to your heart to the artist and give your special person a gift she won’t forget. 
THE ART OF SCENT