Mahesh Sharma flags off vintage car rally from Delhi to Noida

Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Tourism & Culture, and Minister of State of Civil Aviation Dr Mahesh Sharma flagged off a vintage car rally and concours show from Red Fort on Sunday.

125 Classic Vintage Cars and 65 Bikes rallied including 1908 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, MAYBACH SW 38 1937, Horch 780 Cabriolet, 1959, Lister Costin Jaguar, 1933 Jaguar SS1 Coupe, JAGUAR XK 120, Mercedes 630 Murphy, Rolls Royce, Stutz, Buick, Ford, Chevrolet, Austin Martin and Bentley adorned the roads in New Delhi. 

The motoring enthusiasts dusted off their bonnets and made their way from historic Red Fort Delhi and India Gate towards Rashtrapati Bhawan, Purana Qila Road and then to DND Toll, to go to Greater Noida Express Way towards Sports City ( B.I.C ). The rally culminated at Buddha International Circuit in Greater Noida. 

Sandra Button, The Queen of Concours; Martin E. Button, Member of the Selection Committee for the Pebble Beach Concoursd'Elegance; Claus Mueller, German Representative Ambassador for the car rally & concours show; and Douglas Fox, Secretary of the Malaysia-Singapore Vintage Car Club offered their enthusiastic support to make the event a world class affair. 

"The vision of the rally is to establishing India as a world-classing Motoring Tourism destination. Also, this was the first time that vintage cars rally happened at F1 racing track in Noida," said Madan Mohan, who owns most of the vintage cars and bikes. He also owns a restaurant in Gurgaon.

National Green Tribunal allows vintage car rally in Delhi on February 6

NEW DELHI: In a relief to vintage cars connoisseurs, the National Green Tribunal today agreed to make a one-time exception to its order which had banned all vehicles older than 15 years from plying on Delhi roads.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar granted its nod for the 6th edition of 21 Gun Salute International Vintage car rally in the national capital on February 6 and 7.

The green panel, however, made it clear that this rally was being permitted as a one-time event and in future it will not allow such events without hearing them on merits.

It also asked the rally organisers to file an undertaking stating that this is a charity event and they have made all requisite preparations.

"Prima facie, we are against running of such vehicles and you are totally barred by our order... However,  we permit this rally as a one-time event on February 6 and 7 for three hours," the bench said.

The order came on a plea filed by Madan Mohan, founder trustee of the 21 Gun Salute Heritage and Cultural Trust and organiser of "21 Gun Salute International Vintage Car Rally and Auto Show".

The petition had sought exemption of NGT's November 26, 2014 order banning from Delhi roads cars which were over 15 years old, thus disqualifying vintage cars from participating in any rally.

During the hearing, advocate ADN Rao, appearing for the petitioner, said the rally was being organised from Red Fort to Greater Noida and all the preparations in this regard have already been made.

Seeking nod for the rally, he told the tribunal that even the money received from the car rally would be used for social causes and for welfare of spastic children.

Around 100 vintage cars and 25 vintage bikes will go from Red Fort to Greater Noida and around 50,000 people are expected to participate.

The petitioner had moved NGT after the Supreme Court said that it has not put any bar on the tribunal to hear matters relating to air pollution.

Last year, NGT had allowed Fifth Edition of 21 Gun Salute International and said, "We make it clear that none of the vintage cars would be otherwise permitted on the roads of NCR and Delhi nor any authority would issue fitness certificates to them without specific order of the tribunal."

From Flea Market to Boutique: Business Cloud Marketplaces Reflect the Goals of Providers.

Business cloud marketplaces differ significantly from one another, in target market, terms and conditions, and user-friendliness. In this analysis, Stratecast reviews leading business cloud marketplaces, assessing how each reflects the provider's own strategic goals and positioning.

Executive Summary

The number of business cloud marketplaces is rising, as providers of cloud, communication, and managed services launch sites for their customers to easily purchase and manage business software.
Successful marketplaces will bring value to all three stakeholders:
- Enterprises benefit from convenient access to a catalogue of relevant software from multiple vendors, often with centralized management and billing.
- Independent software vendors (ISVs) benefit from low-investment reach into a highly qualified target market.
- The service provider benefits from greater customer retention and upsell opportunities, as customers use the provider's services for a greater percentage of their software purchases.

While all business cloud marketplaces function as eCommerce sites, the sites themselves vary considerably based on the goals of the provider. Some target developers or IT professionals with catalogues of developer tools; others target business managers, and even end users, with commercial software. Some marketplaces welcome any application that meets basic technical requirements; others impose a highly rigorous vetting process. Some marketplace providers continue to support their customers' software purchases after the transaction is complete; others hold the ISV at arm's length. Furthermore, the investment required by ISVs ranges widely, as marketplace fees can include some or all of the following: listing fees, per-sale commissions, security testing fees, and revenue sharing.

In this analysis, Stratecast reviews the marketplaces of six leading service providers: Amazon Web Services, Comcast, Google, Microsoft, Rackspace, and Salesforce. We also examine the marketplace technology platform offered by AppDirect.

Rare Franz Sedlacek Oil Blooms at £85,000

An oil on panel by Franz Sedlacek (1891-1945), an Austrian artist prominent in the Vienna Secession group of painters, drew international bidding at Toovey’s of Washington, West Sussex.

Director Rupert Toovey spotted Blüten und Insekten Nr. 3 among a stack of dusty pictures on the floor on a routine visit to a house near Petworth. Most of the items were described as "traditional English country house taste".

The 19 x 15in (49 x 38cm) oil on wood panel was understood to have been in the family for several generations and the vendor was unaware that it might be valuable. The condition was good, apart from some minor cracking and dirt on the surface.

Signed with initials and dated 1935, it was accompanied by a label on the verso indicating that it was shown at the Vienna Secession's autumn exhibition of the same year.

It was one of a series of works in which Sedlacek explored the theme of fantastical flowers and insects - the title translates asTrumpet Blooms and Insects.

Estimated at £50,000-80,000 for the auction on June 17, the contest was taken up by three phone bidders. It eventually came down to a competition between a leading Viennese gallery and a private German collector, selling to the latter at £85,000.

Source: Antiquestradegazette.com

Bottle of ice-cold beer that costs you £3300

A fine 1875 vintage… never opened… so what did this bottle of wine sell for?

Er, no. We are actually talking about beer. And a very interesting bottle of beer at that. Shropshire auctioneers Trevanion & Dean have sold a brew produced for the British Arctic Expedition sent to reach the North Pole in 1875.

After attracting international interest, internet and phone bidders battled it out at the Shropshire saleroom on June 13 until the bottle was eventually secured by a UK phone bidder for £3300 (plus 17.5% buyer's premium).

It was discovered in a box in a garage in Gobowen, Shropshire, by Aaron Dean, auctioneer and partner at the firm. He says: "I noticed the bottle poking out of the top of a box in the garage. The shape of the bottle is unusual and so immediately my mind started whirring. It wasn't until I got up close to it that I realised how historically significant it is.

"After extensive research I found another example which sold in 2004 for £1200. The market has changed dramatically and so I was conservative with an auction estimate of £400-600."

The sealed bottle top is marked Arctic Expedition 1875.

The 1875 voyage by HMS Alert and HMS Discovery, under the leadership of Vice-Admiral Sir George Nares (1831-1915), failed to reach the North Pole but succeeded in mapping the coast lines of Greenland and Ellesmere Island. Dean says: "This may explain why the ale remained undrunk - if their mission had been successful and celebrations were had, we may not be looking at the piece today."

Will the buyer be drinking the ale?

"I doubt it; part of the appeal of the piece is that it has remained unopened for so long, although some have been drunk and tasters report that it was 'sweet tasting with a hint of tobacco'."

Nares, in taking both ships successfully north through the channel between both land masses, became the first explorer to do so and the stretch was named 'Nares Strait' in his honour.

The Story of Arctic Ale

In a 2011 online article, beer writer Roger Protz shed light on the origins of Allsopp's Arctic Ale, "brewed not by Bass but by its major 19th century rival in Burton, Samuel Allsopp".

• After the Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage disappeared in 1845, various search parties were sent out to find out what happened, urged on by Queen Victoria. Protz said: "Along with the Admiralty, the queen asked brewers in Burton, famous for their strong beers exported round the world, to create a 'life-sustaining ale' - vitamin B helps prevent scurvy - to supply five ships commanded by Sir Edward Belcher. He led an expedition in 1851 to find any clues to what had happened to the Franklin mission. Bass, Salt, Truman and Worthington competed to produce the beer but the contract was awarded to Allsopp's."

• Four of Belcher's ships ended up trapped in the ice and he had to abandon the expedition. "Two bottles of Arctic Ale from 1851 exist but are in the US," Protz added. "In 1857 Allsopp's again brewed Arctic Ale for a second search for Franklin led by Sir Leopold McClintock. He was also unsuccessful and, as far as anyone knows, no bottles of beer from that year exist." Arctic Ale was brewed again for that 1875 North Pole expedition.

• "Allsopp's merged in 1935 with the neighbouring Ind Coope brewery, which later became part of the Allied Breweries group. When Allied left brewing, the former Allsopp's brewery was turned into the offices of Punch Taverns and passed to the Spirit Group. When the cellars were inspected last year [2010], dozens of bottles of old beer were discovered, including some samples of Arctic Ale from 1875."

• Protz opened one of the bottles. What does a 140-year-old Arctic Ale taste like? He said: "It was dark amber in colour and had an astonishingly complex aroma of dry chocolate, cocoa powder, molasses and vinous fruit. The palate offered creamy malt, sweet fruit and further chocolate and cocoa hints, followed by a bittersweet finish with dark fruit, rich malt and light hops."

Source: Antiquestradegazette.com

Ganesha, The Fashion Lovers’ Muse

The elephant-headed God is undoubtedly all fashion lovers' delight. Now the obvious question that comes to our mind is that why is Ganesha a popular muse for art and fashion lovers?

Ganesha inspires creativity. Fashion celebrates the fusion of beauty and grace, and Ganesha is both. He is also the good luck charm for any new project. Ganesha is a benevolent God. Gargi Chkravarty, an advertising professional says, "Unlike say Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga it is much easier to connect with Ganesha. I believe he is extremely cute. Because he is 'Siddhidata', I think the fact that over years people have started believing that having his image around the neck will bring good luck. It has also helped in building him as a fashion muse. I have Ganesha pendants black metal, terracotta, wood and oxidized silver. For amateur painters who know how to hold a brush it is easy to replicate or draw a basic Ganesha .It's lot tougher to reflect Shiva's calmness or Kali's anger."

Ganesha is an uber cool god with mass appeal. There's something sacred about him, but not distant. He's really like a divine icon appealing to all ages and groups. "I have temple jewellery set with a Ganesha figures gifted by my dad that I love. It's very antique and I feel very auspicious each time I wear it. Saving it for special occasions," says Ranna Sing, a youngster from the city.

Fashion lover, Kunika Menon says, "Personally I love Ganesha because he is the epitome of a god who loves life and food! Secondly because Ganesha symbolises a mother's love for her son. As Indians we have this notion of Vighna Vinashak so a pendant or an earring depicting Ganesha is always reassuring. I guess Ganesha in jewellery comes out very pretty. The form of Ganesha with the elephant head is very enigmatic; it also depicts prosperity and knowledge."

Recent times Kitsch has been so popular and with that incorporating Indian Idols especially the form of Ganesha comes on the top of the list. To this Apolina Fos, a foodie and fashion lover says, "May be because Ganesha is different from normal? We (my French husband and I) are atheists but we've already each had a Ganesha collection before we met each other. Ganesha is in spite of his difference is cute." It's a bit 'anti-institutional' metaphorically-fat, short, elephant head, god of gourmets and thieves at the same time, but yet it has a distinct charm of its own.

Nafisa Chunawala, a banker from the city says, "The pachyderm deity is auspicious and wards off all obstacles. Security and success assured by Ganesh cuts across all the sections of society and his appeal is universal. Aesthetically the body contours of the Lord are amenable to innumerable design possibilities. There are so many youthful Ganesha pendants available in the road side shops and I simply love them all."

Ganesha is known for his versatility. Rangoli Dhigra, a home maker who loves her collection of Ganesha accessories says, "You will not see any other deity being as creatively modified as much the Ganesha is. I'd say Ganu (as I lovingly call him) is one fashionable God. He is very modern, very experimental and so open to being adapted and so he looks the best and hence he is such a hit. Oh my friend Ganesha.

Source: The Times Of India

A £23,000 Benson Light Show In Oxford

The work of designer and architect William Arthur Smith Benson (1854-1924) entered a new price arena when this silvered brass ceiling light sold for £23,000 at Mallams Oxford.

With a scrolling flower head design and three tapering opalescent striped glass shades by James Powell & Co of White friars, a similar model is pictured in the original Benson catalogue of Electric Light Designs published in WAS Benson: Arts and Crafts Luminary and Pioneer of Modern Design by Ian Hamerton, but it is not identical.

Several bidders were prepared to pay well above the £2500-3500 estimate at the auction on May 13 for a rare design but just two combatants were involved above £10,000.

A second WAS Benson electrolier - also part of a group of 'ready to go' Arts and Crafts lights from the same retiring trade consignor - was a more recognizable design with three copper petal shades forming a flower head and four hanging 'bud' shades, again by Powell.

It sold online at £8200 - a price more in keeping with the previous upper levels for ceiling lights by Benson.

The buyer's premium was 20%.

Source: Antiquestradegazette.com