| A panaromic raphsody performance – Nari celebrating the Indian women |
The Jodhpur One World Retreat, organised by the Indian Head Injury Foundation and the Showtime Group, was held at Jodhpur in Rajasthan from March 8-10, 2013. The event centred around thoughtful sessions based on the theme—”A Beautiful Mind” and the main objective was to gather support to combat the alarming rise of head injuries in the country.
250 luminaries from across the world, including the Maharaja of Jodhpur, his family and team attended the three-day event. Commenting on the event, the Maharaja of Jodhpur said, “The Jodhpur One World Retreat with its underlying theme of ‘A Beautiful Mind’ was the propitious coming together of several interests of mine. Above all, it aims to give a new critical impetus to the work of the Indian Head Injury Foundation, a mission very close to my heart.”
| Maharaja and Maharani at One World Bazaar | Duke of York Prince Andrew |
The Maharaja set up the Foundation after his son met with a polo accident some years ago and he discovered that there was a lack of facilities in our country for the treatment of brain trauma and that India was actually the head injury capital of the world. He was determined to do something about that and that’s how the Indian Head Injury Foundation was born.
The Jodhpur One World Retreat had renowned speakers from across the world including Dr Raj Narayan from North Shore LIJ, New York who spoke on ‘Improving Outcomes from Head Injury’ and British composer, Nigel Osbourne who held forth on ‘Music and the Healing of the Mind’ pledged their support to further the work of the IHIF in its mission. Nita Ambani and the Reliance Foundation also pledged their support for the cause. Gayle de Peatro who spoke on behalf of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Aga Khan Foundation, automotive giant BMW and celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar and Dia Mirza were also present at the retreat.
| Suhel Seth, Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani, Maharaha Gaj Singh | Dr Naresh Trehan and Maharaja Dr Raj Narayan |
The event was also reportedly graced by many corporate bigwigs like Mukesh and Nita Ambani, Dr Naresh Trehan, Suneeta Reddy, Vikram Mehta, Ajit Gulabchand, Pawan Munjal, Atul Punj, Devaunshi Mehta, Pramit Jhaveri, Sanjay Nayar and Suhel Seth with international expat heads, Rebecca Irvin of Rolex, Raymond Bickson of the Taj and Phillip Von Sahr of BMW etc. Adding a touch of international royalty were Princess Hussah-al-Sabah of Kuwait and the Duke and Duchess of York, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.
| Sting’s rock concert |
Apart from the sessions and seminars several entertaining segments such as ‘Nari – Celebrating the Indian Woman’, a dance performance on the spectacular ramparts of the Mehrangarh Fort, a rock concert by Sting, a thanksgiving lunch hosted by the Maharaja and Maharani etc. were also part of the three-day event.
In the words of Michael Menezes, MD, Showtime said, “Showtime has over the years consistently set the standards for the entertainment and experiential marketing industry. I am delighted that the Jodhpur One World Retreat is yet another example of this. It is a truly a pioneering effort in an extremely critical space – fund-raising and cause-related marketing – and is even more timely and relevant because of the new two per cent CSR rule introduced recently. Corporate India is going to need our professional expertise in helping them make a meaningful contribution to transforming the lives of the underprivileged and deprived. The Jodhpur Retreat is an exciting example of how interactivity, networking and dialogue can integrate with leisure, culture and the arts makes this transformation possible.”