44 August 2019 www.bahrainthismonth.com india in bahrain Indian 3D artists Limnesh Augustine and Jincy Babu, flew the flag for their adopted Bahraini homeland when they took the top spot at the International Street Art Festival in Blumberg, Germany. Concentrating on a theme of children at play and the importance of bringing back board games to counter the rise of mobile play, the pair created a giant piece called ‘Schlange argere dich nicth’ (Snake don’t argue with you) – which was a combination of the snakes and ladders game and the German version of Ludo. A second, slightly small piece, featured a baby dragon for kids to play with. This was the couple’s third consecutive win at the festival since 2017 and they were also invited to take part in the Sarasota International Chalk Festival, Florida, US. News Sofitel Bahrain led the way for destination weddings at the 6th Travel Wedding Show In India. As interest in destination weddings picks up in the USD30 billion Indian wedding industry, the hotel, along with wedding planners from across the world, travel agents, domestic and international tourism boards came together in a unique B2B platform held recently in Mumbai. Businesspeople from all over, including guest and panelist Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa’s director of sales and marketing, Emre Kirazci, gathered to showcase products and services, demonstrate their expertise and increase awareness, generating sales from a qualified audience with maximum exposure. Proudly cradling the award he received at the show, Emre highlighted the impact destination weddings have on Bahrain’s tourism and how the Kingdom is fully equipped to handle such grand scale weddings. India in Their Sights Bahrain recently said goodbye to a woman who has made it her mission to help the less fortunate for more than 16 years. Marietta Dias, former chairwoman and co-founder of the Migrant Workers Protection Society, has left the island after 56 years to head back to her native Bangalore. Mrs Dias is widely known for her compassion to lowly paid workers who find themselves in difficulty. Over the years, she had become a familiar face at both police stations and immigration offices, doing her best to help. She has been honoured by the US State Department for her volunteer work, receiving the Hero Acting to End Modern-Day Slavery Award in 2008. A Hero’s Farewell Bahrain’s national carrier, Gulf Air, has increased the number of direct daily flights to New Delhi from two to three. The company’s CEO, Krešimir Kucko said: “We are constantly developing strategies to satisfy the high demand to and from India and cater to our passengers’ needs across the Gulf Air network.” He added that the increased flights will both add flexibility and create improved connections for those travelling from India to Gulf Air’s connections across the globe. Gulf Air currently serves eight destinations in India – Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin, Hyderabad, Calicut and Bangalore – with 75 flights each week. India Flights Increased Bahrain-based Investcorp closed its maiden India private equity fund offering at USD142 million. In a filing to Bahrain Bourse, the firm announced the total capital commitment just a few few months since launching its presence in India. Fund partners include Indian banks, insurance companies, family offices and international funds. Investcorp’s co-chief executive Rishi Kapoor said: “The fact that we were able to close our maiden India fund offering at a size of $142m in a few months is testament to investor confidence in our market entry approach and investment strategy for India.” Investcorp entered the Indian market last year through the acquisition of the private equity and real estate funds businesses of IDFC Alternatives. Multi-million Dollar Investment Achieved Street Art Winners
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