Kolkata Dec 21 PTI This Christmas two luxury hotels in the city will focus on portraying Bengals ethnic art and craft using shola patachitra art and ethnic handloom towels before its guests and visitors ITC Sonar has installed a shola Christmas tree instead of traditional pine or fir is a unique amalgamation of traditional hand-crafted shola in a contemporary design While ITC Royal hotel embraced the Bengal style of patachitra art Christmas tree Hand-painted by local artist Soumyadeep Roy this tree is a visualization of the traditional nativity scene depicting the birth of Jesus an official of the hotel said ITC Royal Bengal ITC Sonar presents the Art of Celebration paying an ode to the cultural heritage of Bengal At ITC Hotels our WelcomArt initiative celebrates indigenous art providing a platform to local artists As per tradition our hand crafted Christmas Trees imbibe modernity while rejoicing in the cultural heritage of the region ITC Hotels Cluster General Manager ITC Royal Bengal ITC Sonar Tejinder Singh said Apart from the shola Christmas tree Snowflake alpona adorns the floor as a golden snowflake forms the star atop the tree Adding to the regional flavour of the region traditionally woven gamchas handloom towels wrap and decorate the festive gift boxes beside the tree The unassuming herbaceous Shola plant grows wild in the marshy water logged areas Beneath its hard outer bark it has an inner core that is soft and milky-white This spongy malleable and lustrous Shola is intricately crafted into delicate figures artefacts and ornaments Traditionally used to adorn and embellish the Shola headgear of a bridal couple is a mandatory element in a Bengali marriage This is in keeping with our ethos of responsible luxury part of our initiative to help sustain the intrinsic flavour of the region Singh said PTI BSM RG RG

New Delhi [India], November 17 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday appointed a three-member committee to examine the country's star paddler Manika Batra's complaint against the national sports body Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).

New Delhi [India], September 9 (ANI): The Table Tennis Federation of India's (TTFI) Secretary-General Arun Banerjee on Thursday said the ongoing feud between paddler Manika Batra and coach Soumyadeep Roy will be taken up on September 11 and further course of action will be decided upon once both parties present their sides of the story.

New Delhi [India], September 3 [ANI]: With differences between India's table tennis ace Manika Batra and national coach Soumyadeep Roy refusing to die down, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) said that it will speak with both parties in its bid to resolve their feud.