Author: Rabindra

ALTF Unleashes Workspace Marvel in Okhla: Power Hub Emerges with 50,000 Sq. Ft of Innovation

20th November NEW -DELHI. AltF Coworking, a trailblazer in innovative workspace solutions, will inaugurate its highly anticipated three floors of prime co-working space in Okhla, New Delhi. The state-of-the-art workspace exemplifies AltF’s vision to provide professionals and businesses with exceptional environments that bolster collaboration, productivity, and success. AltF Coworking will open its doors in Okhla on 1st December 2023, displaying the elevated facilities and features of its new coworking space. The property to be inaugurated
at Okhla is strategically situated near to NSIC Okhla Metro Station. 

It offers unparalleled convenience and connectivity for businesses, start-ups, and fledgling enterprises. The new facility occupies an impressive area of over 50,000 square feet, AltF Okhla facility boasts a contemporary design. It will open with 1500 total seats. It offers the members to choose from a range of seating options, including private seats, four-seater, and nine-seater meeting rooms, one ten-seater conference room, ample parking space, and a spacious 60-seater ALTF signature cafe. The facility provides start-ups, and entrepreneurs to choose from private seats, dedicated desks, and well-equipped meeting rooms, ensuring utility and adaptability for every business requirement.

The expansion of AltF Coworking into Okhla, New Delhi accentuates the increasing demand for flexible and collaborative workspaces in the region. ALTAF’s keen focus is on delivering privacy, productivity, and an unmatched experience parallel to large organizations and multinational companies. ALTF is aiming to raise $1-2M in Q1 2024. The funding will help in acquiring more properties, key partnerships, and brand building as ALTF will start expanding to PAN India from next year.

Yogesh Arora, Co-Founder of AltF Coworking, expressed his enthusiasm about the launch, and highlighting the future plans, said, “We are thrilled to introduce these cutting-edge coworking spaces that combine aesthetics and functionality. We plan to take our operations to pan India in 2024. We are expanding our presence in Hyderabad and Pune markets, while also strengthening our presence in Delhi NCR parallelly. Our expansion principle is based on monopolizing one city at a time and then moving on to the next city, as compared to focusing on launching 2 to 3 properties in each city and increasing national geographical presence. We think aggressively expanding in Tier 2 – Tier 3 cities might be a challenge at this stage as the markets are still not as mature.

However, mature Tier 1 cities, at the same time, are highly competitive and have higher barriers to entry. Hence, we have narrowed down our expansion plan to growing tier 1 cities like Hyderabad and Pune.”

Hyderabad to host Grand Festival 23, the 293-year-old Freemason Organisation’s meeting

Hyderabad, November 20, 2023…. Hyderabad to host Grand Festival 23, the 293-year-old Freemason Organisation’s meeting. It will be held on November 25th and 26th at Imperial Gardens in Secunderabad. It is the annual gathering of Freemasons of the Grand Lodge of India. It is hosted by the Freemasons of Telangana. It is the city’s first ever grand festival in the 62 years history of Grand Lodge of India.

The event is also being clubbed with another landmark milestone – the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the Supreme Grand Chapter of India.

1200 plus Freemasons from across India and abroad are expected to participate in the Grand Festival. Delegates from several different Grand Lodges of countries such as the United Kingdom, Scotland, Paraguay, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Russia, Mauritius and others are expected to participate.

It is a historical moment as the Grand Festival is being held in Hyderabad for the first time in the 62-year history of the Grand Lodge of India. Grand Lodge is the apex body of Freemasons in India, which was formed in 1961. Freemasonry traces its roots in India in the early years of the 18th century. In 1730 officers of the East India Company held their meetings in Fort William in Calcutta. Hence it is a historical moment all the Freemasons in Telangana should be proud of, said Mr Anish Kumar Sharma, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of India. Anish Kumar Sharma is the head of Freemasonry in India.

The local freemasons are organising the “9th leg of Gift-a-Livelihood”, a charity initiative to support talented, hardworking, poor but who lack the right tools for the job by providing tools necessary to discharge their professional duties on 24th November where 50 poor street vendors, pretty traders, self-employed, women doing business from home etc. The initiative of local masons, ‘Gift-a-Livelihood’ because of its impact to the society, it is replicated across India.

Freemasonry is a Moral-building organization, A.K. Sharma added. It teaches values and makes good men better. It teaches values such as Brotherly Love, Relief, Truth, Faith, Hope, Charity, Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, Virtue, Honour, Mercy, Wisdom, Strength, Beauty, Secrecy, Fidelity, Obedience, Courtesy, Benevolence, Gratitude, Duty, Kindness, Affability and many more.

Hyderabad has another unique distinction. It has the oldest building “Goshamahal Baradari Masonic Building’, which Freemasons in Hyderabad use as their meeting place. It is the oldest building used as a Masonic Temple in India. The meeting place of freemasons is called as Masonic Temple, Grand Master Anish Kumar Sharma said.

Freemasonry is a way of life Anish Kumar added while interacting with the media. When asked to comment on how he would like to make the organization more relevant to the present generation, since most of its members are old people, Sharma said, things are changing. We have a good mix of old and new members. We need both. We don’t solicit members. But we can get more and more youth and millennials joining us.

People have their reasons why they enjoy Freemasonry, Anish Kumar said. Many come for the brotherhood, for others it is self-improvement. Freemasonry is an ocean. You can learn many things –brotherhood, charity, education, values, discipline, character building, knowledge etc. In one word, it offers a journey of personal discovery. Its preachings appeal to all generations, he said and added that more and more millennials are becoming Masons.

Low moral values are creating unrest and turmoil in our society. Honest are struggling and facing hardships. When moral values are fading and there is a fast decline in moral values in these times, Freemasonry makes a lot of difference to society and creates a lot of impacts. Freemasonry Teaches Kindness in the home, Love for one another, Courtesy in society, Resistance towards evil, Help for the weak, pity and concern for the unfortunate, Forgiveness for the penitent, Fairness in work, Honesty in business, and above all, Reverence and Love for God.

Grand Lodge of India (GLI) is the parent body of over 22,000 Freemasons in the country. There are masonic lodges (Branches or units) in over 160 cities across the country. Members of the fraternity address each other as ‘brothers’, and only the Grand Master has the title of ‘Most Worshipful’, according to the norms of Freemasonry.

GLI is the main governing body of Freemasonry within India.

The Freemasons fraternity counts industrialists, bankers, engineers, media professionals, chartered accountants, and lawyers, among others from across the country, as its members.

Nationally the Masonic Fraternity is involved in several charitable projects. The General Williams Masonic Polyclinic and a Masonic Public School in Delhi, as well as a Masonic Medical care centre for children in Coimbatore; Construction of Sheds for cyclone victims in Andhra Pradesh.

Under the “Jyothirgamaya Project” 110 remote and inaccessible villages in the country were provided Solar Lights etc., which are examples of some of the socially relevant activities of Masonic organizations all over the country. This project is highly talked about the project in the country. Most remote villages are electrified under this project.

They are one of the world’s oldest secretive societies whose members included Motilal Nehru, Vivekananda, JRD Tata, King George VI and George Washington, among others.

Freemasonry is a very unique organization. It is a very silent organisation. Freemasonry has been in existence In Hyderabad, since 1810. It has 23 lodges (branches) in the twin cities of Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Warangal and Nalgonda with about 800 members. Hyderabad is one of the most vibrant Masonic Centres in India. Freemasons of this region rose to the occasion during the pandemic and ran some most impactful service activities to society.

It is today known for its 3 initiatives—Covid Relief during the first spell of Covid, a novel initiative ‘Project Bun”, a Bun-Banana-Biscuit distribution initiative and Gift-a-Livelihood, an initiative to help petty traders with tools required to re-start their livelihood that was lost during the Covid as well as to earn sustained living. During this COVID, the Freemasons of Telangana reached out to the masses through their two-month-long COVID-19 Relief Activities. Charity is an integral part of every Freemasons.

Freemasons practice what they are taught. Projects worth Rs 40 lakhs were executed during the covid. Telangana tops among the 180 plus Lodges (Clubs) in South India in COVID Relief Work.

Locally masons organise Walk for Values, occasionally to propagate moral values.

Notable local Freemasons in the past and present include Salar Jung Bahadur, P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Sir Terrence Keys – the British Resident, Raja Venkata Ram Reddy, Nawab Mehdi Nawaz Jang and Nawab Ali Yavar Jang Bahadur, who became Governors of Gujarat and Maharashtra, Bakshi Raghunath Pershad, Syed Mohd. Bilgrami, Nawab Shamsher Jung Bahadur, Meher Ali Fazil, Nawab Bashir Yar Yung, Raja Rajwant Bahadur, Syed Hali Ali.

Virgio: The New Revolutionary App is Now Live!

Virgio, a circular fashion-tech startup is thrilled to announce the official launch of the Virgio app, a pioneering mobile application dedicated to promoting and revolutionizing the world of circular fashion. Virgio prides itself as The Only Good Fashion Company that works meticulously to build high-quality products that bring together earth-friendly fabrics, flattering fits, and impeccable finish. This innovative app is designed to redefine the way we shop, understand, and embrace fashion, aligning with the ethos of pro-planet and conscious consumerism.

Key Features of Virgio:

Educational Resources: The product pages give detailed information on the fabric of the garment, its environmental footprint and earth-friendly methods to care for the clothes. Each garment also comes with a Smart QR Code Label that gives customers more information on styling tips, origin, wash care among others.

Complete Transparency: The application gives detailed information about the material used in each garment, partners they work with that focus on fair wages, and the carbon footprint of each garment.

User-Friendly Interface: Seamlessly navigate and interact with the app’s intuitive design for an enhanced user experience.

Circular Fashion Brand: Access a curated app where users can buy responsibly made clothes that align with Virgio’s circularity pillars: Product, Process, and People – all for the Planet.

Virgio is committed to reshaping the fashion industry by promoting the principles of a circular economy. By embracing fabrics that are long-lasting and less harmful to nature along with pre-owned fashion and encouraging conscious consumption, Virgio empowers individuals to contribute to a more pro-planet future.

Naiknavare Developers Announces the Launch of its New Residential Project ‘Aranya’ in Talegaon

November 20 th, 2023 | Pune: Naiknavare Developers, renowned for its well-thought-out community-centric residential and commercial projects in Mumbai, Goa, and Pune, has announced the launch of its new, mid-luxury residential project, Aranya.
Located near Vadgaon Maval area of Talegaon, the project comprises 3 residential towers

 with several apartments, including 1 BHK, 2 BHK, and 2 BHK Comfort apartments, sized 366 sq. ft., 544 sq. ft., and 597 sq. ft. onwards, respectively. The project also offers retail convenience shops, sized 102 sq. ft. onwards.

 Strategically developed near Pune’s game-changing Ring Road, the project extends the right blend of opportunities and offerings like connectivity to the popular Mumbai-Pune Expressway and other local prime areas such as Chakan MIDC, Hinjewadi, and Pirangut
MIDC; environmental benefits; better lifestyle; and appreciation in property rates as a result of ongoing social infrastructure developments.

 This announcement comes at a time when the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) has taken a significant step towards intensifying the construction of the Pune Ring Road, which is slated to get operational by December 2026 and aimed to ease traffic congestion in the city. Consequently, the project’s close proximity to the 170 km-long stretch will help investors and home-buyers of Aranya to commute seamlessly and witness an uptick in their property value.

 The project provides ample facilities, which include a yoga/meditation area, indoor gymnasium, multipurpose hall, amphitheater with stage, kids play area, jet fountain with landscape area, party lawn, senior-friendly seating area, clubhouse and party lawn, swing plaza, and walkway, among others. Furthermore, it is in close proximity to key landmarks and enjoys the benefits of social infrastructure such as educational institutions like High Vision International School, Mamasheb Khandge Medium School, and Eden International
School; industrial hubs like Talegaon MIDC and Hinjewadi; major hospitals like Harneshwar Multispecialty Hospital, General Hospital, and Sai Jeevan Children’s Hospital; and tourist attractions like Visapur Fort, Yelghol Caves, Tung Fort, and Karla Buddha Caves.

 Speaking on the launch of Aranya, Anand Naiknavare, Head of Business Process, Naiknavare Developers, commented, “We are elated to add this landmark project to our portfolio of residential developments in the Pune market. With the current demand and evolving trends among home buyers, our spacious and premium 1 and 2 BHK apartments with top-notch amenities will effectively cater to the needs of customers who prefer a comfortable, convenient, and high-quality lifestyle.”

In addition to the launch of Aranya, Naiknavare Developers has so far completed 55+ projects across 5 cities, accounting for 15 million sq. ft. of built assets. The projects include a mix of residential, commercial, hospitality, SRA, and redevelopment segments.