Predictions, Calculations and Preparations have begun for the Big Boom in Medical Tourism

Indian tourism experts have recently predicted that medical tourism in India is going to experience a major boom in the current year. More than a million medical tourists are expected to visit our Indian subcontinent by 2010 and to make the most out of this huge influx, both the hospitality sector and medical sector are gearing up fast. The Fortune Park Hotels recently ventured into the Indian medical tourism segment by inaugurating its new hotel wing - Fortune Park Lake City hotel in Thane, Maharashtra. The Jupiter Lifeline Hospitals own this property which boasts of 58 rooms as of now. 32 more rooms are in the making, which are expected to open up for guests by the end of 2010.

Fortune Park in collaboration with the Jupiter Lifeline Hospitals is looking forward to bring up a similar medical tourism project in Vizag in a couple of years. Plans are to create a 50-60 room hotel with a 250 bedded hospital. A sum of 150 crore rupees has been estimated to be required to complete this project. Medical tourism in India is already on the lines of scoring big because of its cost efficiency factors. In India, medical treatments cost about a fifth of what it is in the US. Majority of the travellers visiting India for medical treatments are from the West and South East Asian countries. This is followed by UK, US, Tanzania and Switzerland.

Research further predicts that a surge in influx of medical tourists in India will be majorly influenced by the availability of quality medical services at lower costs. Another study conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry and McKinsey consulting firm showed that the Indian medical tourism industry has a potential to rise up to $2 billion from $1 billion by 2012. Seeing such promise in the India health tourism business in the near future, the Wockhardt Hospitals group is planning to open 4 super specialty hospitals in a three years line. Way to go India!!

Travel and Tourism Industry Gets a Shameful Miss in the Union Budget 2010-11

In the Budget 2010-2011 presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the aviation and tourism sector of India again got a miss. While tourism disbursal has been shot up to Rs 1050 crore for the year 2010-11 as against 2009’s Rs 950 crore, several areas were still ignored. These included the key demands of the Indian tourism industry like the need for exempting the inbound tour operators from service tax, exporting status for the travel industry, including ATF in the list of declared goods for uniform taxation, making air travel within India cheaper by abolishing the fuel surcharge, rationalizing taxes on state transport and forming a National Commission for Tourism under the PM’s leadership. 

To sum it up, the only good thing to come out of this year’s budget for the tourism industry in India was the announcement which talked about the Income Tax Act investment deductions to the hotel developing companies (2 star hotels and above). Instead of focusing more on the travel industry and meeting demands and expectations, the finance ministry proposed of adding service tax on domestic and international air fares for every class. This leaves us with the conclusion that with the addition of service tax on domestic journeys the cost of air travel will climb up by 10%. 

But while the parliament has been ignoring the tourism industry of the country, the Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism (FAST) has planned a seminar on Destination Management and Sustainable Tourism in Delhi on March 2, 2010. The states of focus on this daylong seminar will be Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim and will be attended by the delegates of the Indian tourism industry.

Time to Cruise Away the Lazy Hours on the Indian Waters

The tourism market in India is gaining a lot of boost with more and more new concepts of tourism getting introduced in the country. With a country like India which is enriched with a good weight of tourist delectations, this was something which we all knew was coming! We know it as ‘cruising’. This newest trend in the cruise industry has found a strong foothold in the Indian tourism market. Cruise tours in India are thus getting quite popular and are luring travelers from far and wide.

The concept is ballooning up in India all the more because of the giant cruise companies that have started to gain grounds here. The last few years have witnessed a strength building up in the cruise tourism division of India as sincere efforts have been undertaken both by the public and the private sectors. Last year, the Evaluserve and the FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) conducted a study and brought out results which predicted that cruise tourism in the country has the potential to shoot up three folds by the current year.  

The ‘Yippie factor’ is that the Indian government has shown much interest in this part and has wasted no time in gleefully announcing a fresh new Cruise Tourism Policy in India to make the future of cruise tourism in the nation bigger and brighter.  The recent launch of Louis Cruises has polished the future prospects even brighter. This is an international cruise company which is the first one of its kind to have called all the global ports to India. So, now our Indian travel industry is much more confident and hopeful about the growth of cruise tourism in the Indian waters, in the coming years.

Kalaripayattu, A Beautiful Blend of Art and Weaponry

Kerala, the God’s paradise of India is the haven of tradition and culture. Kalaripayattu, one of the many art forms of Kerala, is a wonderful fusion of dance and martial art. Although concrete evidence of its date and place of origin is missing, it is believed to have originated in Kerala around 3000 years ago. It is also believed that sage Parsurama, the master of all martial arts crafted it. It is known from the Dhanur texts and Vishnu Puranas which document the history of Kalaripayattu that the Chera and Chola dynasties of the south India pursued this art with religious sincerity to defeat the enemies.


Kalari which means the battleground or place to practice weaponry is an adaptation of the Sanskrit word khaloorika. Kalaripayattu is a set of techniques to fight the opponents and showcase the cultural competence and physical prowess.There are two forms of Kalari, one Vatakkan ‘Northern’ and another one Tekkan ‘Southern’. The Kalaris are also of two types: cherukalari or Kuzhikalari and Ankakalari. Poothara is the sanctum sanctorum of the Kalari. Lotus-bud shaped deity Kalariparadevta is the presiding deity of Kalaripayattu placed on a seven-step high podium. The trainee starts the day’s practice by first exercising which is termed as Mey Payattu. Katcha, a long strip of cloth wrapped around the waist in a particular fashion was the dress code for Kalripayattu which with time has undergone change. Chuvadukal is the basic lesson of Kalaripayattu which is used in all other poses. Vadivukkal are the eight basic positions formatted to attain particular results.

The oil message done by the guru or master acts as lubrication to bring about flexibility and frisk in movement. The guru massages the entire body except the face with his feet. In the lines of Guru Shiksha Parampara that form the pillar of Indian traditional education system, the students obey and respect the guru even outside the Kalari. The guru in turn presents himself as a source of inspiration, embodiment of virtues and expert of the art. It would not be wrong to interpret that Kalaripayattu is also an art to worship the almighty or a path to spiritual solace. The guru always left the Kalari after the students did and the students entered the Kalari only after the guru. The students first place their right foot inside the Kalari, pay homage to the Kalari deities and then smear Kalari oil before they start the practice. 

Kalaripayattu is more than just an art form. It requires the learners to have a thorough knowledge about the human body structure because an injury to any part may lead to lifetime dysfunction. Therefore the Kalaripayattu practitioners are disciplined and devoted in their persuasion of this art. Films and theater have improvised this ancient art form to make it contemporary and use it as an artistic tool to express the protagonist’s emotion. The popularity of the dance form after its revival in the recent past has crossed the cultural boundaries and won the international appreciation.

Holi – The Festival of Colors

Holi is a beautiful festival of India that is celebrated with colors. The colorful festival of Holi in India is observed on Phalgun Purnima of the Hindu calendar which usually falls towards the end of February or the beginning of March. This vibrant festival signifies the triumph of good over evil and this special occasion also bridges all social gaps and makes bonding with friends, families and others, sweeter. People of all ages celebrate Holi in India with great joy and fervor by greeting each other with ‘Happy Holi’ wishes, sweets, gifts and of course by spraying colors on each other or rubbing powder colors or 'gulal' and 'abeer' on each others' faces. The spirit of Holi takes shape right from the previous evening, the Holi eve, when a bonfire is lit up.

‘Holi’ gets its name from ‘Holika’ and there are a number of interesting legendary tales associated with this festival which makes it all the more vivid and exuberant. Holi finds a detailed mention in the religious texts like Jaimini's Purvamimamsa sutra and Kathaka Grhya sutra, Narad Purana and Bhavishya Purana. ‘Holikotsav (Holi festival)’ finds mention in King Harsha’s Ratnavali too. Historians have traced the existence of this popular Indian festival even before the birth of Christ. The festival was also very popular amongst the ancient Aryans, especially in Eastern India. Several historical Muslim writers like Ulbaruni have mentioned that the festival was celebrated as much by the Muslims. Phalguna Purnima marks the last day of a year, after which begins the spring season or the ‘Vasanta Ritu’. Holika is a full moon night which is celebrated to welcome the spring season.

Holi is celebrated in unique ways in different parts of the country. For example, in Bengal and Orissa, the festival also marks the birth of a legendary saint called Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. One of the most popular legends associated with this grand festival is that of Prahlad and Hiranyakshyap. Hiranyakshyap was a powerful devilish king who wanted everyone to worship him. But to his dismay his own son Prahlad grew up to became a true devotee of Lord Vishnu. So to get rid of him, Hiranyakshyap ordered his sister Holika who could remain unscathed in fire, to enter a blazing flame with Prahlad. But as the victory is always by good’s side, holika is burnt alive while Prahlad is saved. One of the other favorite legends associated with Holi is that of Radha Krishna, where the mischievous Krishna used to spray colors on Radha and her friends (gopis). This prank became a festival with time.

Holi also celebrates the death of the evil Ogress Pootana who once tried to kill the infant Lord Krishna by feeding him poisoned milk. In South India, Holi is particularly celebrated remembering the legend of Lord Shiva and Kaamadeva, where the Lord of Passion - Kaamadeva risked his life to save the world by revoking Shiva from his state of meditation. Another popular legend is that of Ogress Dhundhi who was a trouble maker to kids in Raghu’s Kingdom and on this very auspicious occasion was chased away by the prankster children. Holi has a great biological significance too. It has been scientifically proven that when colors of Holi are sprayed on the body they biologically affect the body by entering the skin pores and strengthening the body ions and enhancing one’s beauty. Besides, the tradition of bonfire or Parikrima on the Holi eve kills the bacteria which specially spread during this period of the year.

Holi has a several regional names and though the play of colors is one thing that remains common in this festival everywhere, but the reason and other rituals of this celebration differ from one place to another. Some of the popular regional versions of Holi are Dulandi Holi (Haryana), Rangpanchami (Maharashtra), Basant Utsav or Dol Purnima (West Bengal), Lathmar Holi (Barsana), Hola Mohalla (Punjab), Shimgo (Goa), Kaman Pandigai (Tamil Nadu) and Phagu Purnima (Pune). Holi is a joyous occasion so when you become a part of this wonderful festival you should also make sure you abide by the safety tips too to make it a safe and happy holi. Always play with good quality colors and make sure your skin is covered as much as possible. Cover your hair and use dental caps. When you are traveling in a car, make sure the window is shut completely.