Are you a football freak!!?

Is football all over your mind?

Then this is really gonna shake your mind!!! All you football freaks….Manchester City Football Club may be in India in the near future! Manchester City officials are in India these days looking forward to set up a Manchester Academy here in Lavasa!! Now that’s what I say “Prosper India Prosper”!

The academy will be accessible to residents of the Lavasa township and will train children from 9 to eighteen. Apart from a constant physical presence, the club will have online training facilities for its students. Opportunities will also be given to children from outside Lavasa to train with the club academy. Coaching children will initially be done by the academy coaches available before identifying local coaches and training them to take over.

The western trends & games seems to have made a great impact on our Indian youth today. Why would one mind, till the time the youth of today gets to learn something out of it. Who knows tomorrow we might have an apna Indian ‘Carloz Tevez’ setting football records or could be that we have a huge fan following for Football.

Kuddos to Lavasa!!!!

Check out David Pullan the Chief Marketing Officer of Manchester City Football Club in an interview with NDTV. Click here

Want to get away from the city heat??….want to enjoy the rains with your loved ones????

But one second guys….yeah I know its hard to think of getting drenched in these polluted, unhealthy and not at all eco-friendly cities…And yes how to forget water logging…..?Oh gosh……..

Pompous promises made on building a better infrastructure which will not hamper the cities with water floods…But guys what happens when it rains heavily…..for instance 26^th July 2005???? What after that???

Every year in Mumbai you ought to face floods, long hours on the railway platforms and yes no electricity!!Phew…..

Today rains are a threat to our so called urban and high standard cities……

Wish all these obstacles just vanish. What if we had our office just next to our residence…no worries about heavy rains, frequent transport and all the required facilities just round the corner!!!

Been to Lavasa? Heavy greenery around……..clean and neat environment……eco-friendly surroundings….and yes no water logging problem at all !!! Lavasa cities are built in such an organized manner that in every city one need not go far than a kilometer away to fetch for things he requires.

From schools, corporate buildings, shopping centers,fun activities and all the daily requirements just round the corner…Don’t you think we need more such organized and systematized cities like Lavasa?? Check this out!!!

Wish to own a dream house here at Lavasa???Why wait..!!

Looking at the current errant situations in the State of Maharashtra, where power cuts are more regular than your local trains what could be worst than this!! The tiff over two powerful companies has taken a toll on our cities, soft target being our suburban cities.

What does a citizen ask for? What are the things that he needs the most??Well….at least in the summers we need electricity 24/7….I bet nobody would disagree with me on this!!

So why is the common man suffering? Why cant we have a government or a private sector promising us with the basic requirements like water, electricity etc…?

I guess we need more systematized cities where much preference is given to the basic requirements of a human being. We need cities that are built on the basis of how we live today. One such well organized city that awed me is Lavasa.

Lavasa

Infrastructural Planning at Lavasa is built on a foundation of sound infrastructure so that residents have access to the world class roads, water, energy & waste management. The whole concept of Lavasa, where the use of Biomimicry, well planned township, energy & waste management is truly needful in the times to come !!

Check out what Lavasa has planned in for the future!!

Last weekend I and my friends decided to go out for dinner, this is the practice that we follow from God knows how many years. Talking over dinner, we were discussing about what exciting can be done so that we can escape these boring dinner plans. We came to know about the ‘Rock & Hills Music Fest’ at Lavasa through a common friend of ours!

The next thing I noticed was the lazy friends of mine who seemed disinterested, were seen back upright on their seats after hearing about the Lavasa Music Fest. The enthusiasm could be seen as they were deciding about how to plan and organize the trip to Lavasa. We all love being at Lavasa, the reason being, the well-built infrastructure which rejuvenates us completely. Also the route to Lavasa is magnificent, which makes our travel a memorable one.

The next thing we did was fetch the details about the Music Festival at Lavasa. After going through the itinerary, I was way more excited as the music concert was spread out for three consecutive days!! Phew…..!!
I always wished to attend or be a spectator of one such concert which covered Rock, Jazz and our Hindi masala songs.

According to me, the main highlight of this musical festival is the “Jazz Night”.  LOUIZ BANKS/JOE ALVAREZ collective are virtually the cream of all JAZZ in India. Also, you just can’t afford to miss the No.1 Orchestra featuring the all time favorite Shankar Ehsaan Loy!!

My whole group and I are eagerly waiting to attend the Music Festival at Lavasa. It’s like a double-bonanza, being at Lavasa and enjoying the music you love!! Great concept by Lavasa.

Thought of helping you guys, who, like me, adore the beauty of Lavasa and wish to spend their weekend at this Music Festival coming up!! Here are the details of the three day Musical Festival held at Lavasa –Lakeshore.

‘Rock n Hills’ Music Festival !!!

Day 1 – April 30 , Friday ”ROCK NITE”
Agnee, Whirling Kalapas (ex Indus Creed), Gary Lawyer.

Day 2- May 1 , Saturday ”DIVA NITE”
Shibani Kashyap, Mansi Scott, Shefali Alvarez, the popular female musical trio Cielo Bonito.

Day 3 – May 2, Sunday ”SUNSET JAZZ/BOLLYWOOD NITE”
Creme of Jazz artists like Joe Alvarez, Louis Banks, The All Stars, and lastly the celebrated composer trio Shankar Ehsaan Loy.

Let’s make the most of this musical weekend coming up!! Cheers!!

Having a long bike ride was always on my wish list, have spent so many classroom hours in a day dreaming about going to places and riding my bike! Wow!! Those were days of day dreaming, still that’s there but one of which became reality when 15 of my friend along with me decided to go to Lavasa-City which is 1.5 Hr drive  from Pune city i.e. 80km.

Let me brief you about Lavasa, it’s an envisage city on hill-top with river passing by. Lavasa draws its inspiration from city like Shimla and Nanital. Only difference one can find is that it is very much planned as compared to latter cities I mentioned. If you are in Maharashtra and want to see mountains near the river try Lavasa, you worth a trip like this with your closed ones.

Lavasa, another dream city near Pune, is a boon for riders like me. In past I missed a few chances to ride to Lavasa, so when on the last weekend evening, a plan was made, I decided not to miss this chance and just simply go for a ride with my friends. That was a ride, when the whole bikers group of mine, like about 15 of them decided to do so.  I decided to explore the unknown territory on my trustworthy Enfield.

After meeting all our friends who came from various corners of Mumbai, we started on our official ride towards Lavasa from Chandani Chowk.  From Chandani Chowk we took the road towards Mulshi. The surface of this road was a total contrast of what we have in Pune or Mumbai. In Pune, the genuine tax payers are gifted with moon surface whereas, on the way to Lavasa the inhabitants staying nearby are rewarded with outstanding road surfaces.  Enjoying the ride, we soon reached at the start of Pirangut Ghat. Here, there are two routes to reach Lavasa.

Going to Lavasa was just a plan to run down on the excursion and find out what’s in store in terms of photography. But as the journey progressed we discovered the joy of bike ride, which was very prominent on the faces of my dear old friends. Speeding around the pathway and enjoying the tilt of the bike on the curves of the road, was something we appreciated as we always do. To all bike riders out there, the road to Lavasa will give you nice kick while riding as it offers few of the steep turns but awesome landscapes to view.

Getting back to the trivia, the altitude had started rising slowly as we moved on, the next hold was an old Dam, standing alone, firm talking to the streams . It was like a man standing against the mob, safeguarding the valley.

As we reached our destination we were welcomed by the security people at the giant gateway. As we entered, it seemed, the city had kept many surprises for us to unfold, the well kept nature, the parks; lakes, buildings etc were truly amazing!!

Lavasa, according to me, is the best place to go for a night stay.

We opted for Ekaanth as we were suggested so by our friends earlier. And there it was!!!Ekaanth offered us a beautiful view of Lavasa. Every room had a splendid view. We later thought of going to the lakeside. We bought tickets for Water rides and preferred to go for water Bikes! It was great fun riding water bikes. We enjoyed clicking photos at the lake. Later, after some rest we headed to the Dasvino club. The whole elite ambiance added the much needed oomph factor!!

The next morning was a hard deal one. Sipping hot coffee, sitting on the soft cushioned couch, morning soft sunrays running through the window of my room, wow, I wished I could stay there for more. It was hard for us to leave the morning cool blue colored Lavasa. It was magical!! If you guys wish to visit this place, plan an over -night trip with your friends so that you would not miss a chance to see the beautiful morning at Lavasa!

First the scare!

It is estimated that India’s population will increase to about 1.26 billlion by the year 2016.

In other words – we are going to overtake China as the most populous country in the world by 2050.

That’s not too far away folks!

And according to a vocal advocate of the sustainable cities movment, Mr. Ajit Gulabchand, chairman, Lavasa Corporation  – close to 400 million people are going to migrate to cities in the next 40 years.

That’s a lot of people folks!

What’s more, India’s existing cities ain’t getting any bigger – so that’s a lot of crammed people! Estimates suggest its more on the lines of putting 18% of the world’s population in 2.4% of the world’s total area.

Now, that’s what I call crammed!

THEN THE SOLUTIONS! (and boy do we need ‘em)

1) Efficient Sewerage and Solid Waste Management : Use of human sewage for irrigation & composting

2) Minimum green house emissions

3) Generation of energy through renewable sources

All three solutions are present in current day – ECO CITIES!

Eco cities

In the context of environmental enhancement, Eco cities pose an excellent solution to help combat climate change and ensure a good quality of life on a sustainable basis. These cities are designed to create a small ecological footprint by minimimizing pollution emissions, effective waste management techniques, and efficient use of land.

Got a eco/green tip to share?

A line up of India’s most beautiful women, close to Mumbai!!!

Last March, 20 glamorous finalists of the Femina Miss India pageant, selected across all the major cities in India, visited Lavasa. The visit was a leisure trip to relax and rejuvenate the contestants before their grand finale as well as showcase the new and modern world of Lavasa.

And this year, it’s happening all over again!

A swinging party on the promenade of the newly-opened Fortune Select Dasve greeted the contestants on arrival. The next morning, they were taken around Lavasa for a site visit and enjoyed a stroll along the nature trail. And to cool off, they were taken for a spin around Lavasa’s lake!!!

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Ajit Gulabchand Chairman, Lavasa Corporation Limited, said, “Lavasa is a destination for spirited people of all age groups and the Femina Miss India contestants are quite an exuberant lot. Our activities and entertainment options cater to people who want to try everything from water sports, adventure sports, hiking and golf to theme parks and health and wellness centres. Lavasa’s tranquility and beauty offers a refreshing makeover for the participants of the Femina Miss India contest and will prepare them for the final lap.”

This year around as well, Femina Miss contestants will visit Lavasa and spend a weekend, resting, spashing around and generally having a good time!

Wanna catch them there?

How do dragonflies outmaneuver our best helicopters?

How do termites maintain a constant temperature of 86º F in their habitat through heat and cold?

How do hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico on less than one tenth of an ounce of fuel?

“The answers to these questions will be the solution to so many of our problems. It is time we learnt about nature, not with an intention to control, but with an intention to fit in and last for good”  – says Janine Benyus, world-renowned biologist, innovation consultant and author of six books including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, addressing participants during her three day workshop at Lavasa City, March 10 – 12.

Speaking about Lavasa’s efforts towards creating an ecologically sustainable city, Ms. Benyus said, “Today, we need corporates and business leaders to choose the path less trodden. We need new ideas and we need to revolutionize the way we live, create and exist. Lavasa is a brilliant attempt towards creating a human dwelling to emulate nature’s ideas. We need many more Lavasas in the world in order to ensure we last longer on planet earth”.

Got a green idea to share?

Ta- da!

A first for India!!! – and its got nothing to do with pollution, population, number of slums, HIV stats or other aspects that we’ve become infamous for….

it’s a first to be proud of!

A city in India, becomes the world’s first – to adopt Biomimicry standards.

Lavasa city’s second town, Mugaon will become the world’s first region to draw inspiration from the concepts of Biomimicry in design and architecture.

So just what is Biomimicry and how will it be adopted in Lavasa?

Biomimicry in essence is a concept that uses nature as a Model, a Measure and a Mentor in creating specific design and process based innovation.

Mimicking nature, its ideas and its organisms can inspire human beings to evolve designs and processes that can solve problems we face everyday. This is Biomimicry!

And, Lavasa is vying to become the WORLD’S FIRST CITY to adopt Biomimicy standards.

Mr. Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman, Lavasa Corporation Ltd, said, “Right from inception, our vision for Lavasa was very clear. We wanted to create a living space where man and nature co-exist in harmony while ensuring both, economic and environmental sustainability. Janine and her team along with HOK have brought this vision to life. Today, we are working briskly towards building the world’s first model town based on principles of Biomimicry at Mugaon in Lavasa. We hope this experiment will be a precedent to many future towns and cities across the world”

Should we care?

Is Biomimicry significant in today’s times? Should we really care if some city is adopting these ecological standards?

Science says… but of course!

There is an irrevocable law of nature that says that a species cannot occupy a niche that appropriates all resources – there has to be some sharing. Any species that ignores this law winds up destroying its community to support its own expansion. Tragically, this has been our path and we are soon moving towards completely destroying our ecosystem and depleting our resources. Biomimicry can teach us how nature and living things have done everything that we want to do, without guzzling fossil fuel, polluting the planet or mortgaging their future.

So, whether you’re a part of the current generation at the helm….

or the generation in line to inherit the mess our planet is current in….

or if you’re the future generation arriving at a point when resources are non-existent and the ecological crisis is fullblown…

An ecologial solution such as biomimicry will hold importance for us all and will have an impact all generations in equal measure.