MAM
ITC Bingo! onboarded as Fankar-E-Kashmir 2024’s title sponsor
Mumbai: ITC Bingo! has announced its partnership with Fankar-E-Kashmir as the title sponsor, supporting an initiative to preserve and promote Kashmir’s folk and Sufiana music traditions and provide regional youth with opportunities in the music and cultural industries. The event is taking place on 26 October 2024, at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Center (SKICC) in Srinagar.
With deep-rooted influences from Persian, Sufi, and Central Asian cultures, Kashmir’s music faces a risk of fading away. Fankar-E-Kashmir seeks to preserve this heritage by giving young artists a platform to showcase their talent and gain recognition. Bingo!’s involvement reinforces its commitment to supporting local artisans and creating avenues for emerging artists.
The event features a live talent hunt music contest, workshops on intellectual property rights and sound technology, and a grand finale performance by a renowned artist. Winners will receive cash prizes of Rs 25,000 for first place, Rs 15,000 for runner-up, and Rs 2,000 for all participants. Additionally, the winner will have the opportunity to become a ‘Bingo! artist’, with Bingo! producing and promoting their original song for a Bingo! Tedhe Medhe music video.
ITC Foods VP, head of marketing snacks, noodles and pasta, Suresh Chand said, “ITC has a long and rich tradition of supporting our nations’ musical heritage with the ITC Sangeet Research Academy. We are working on developing interesting regional musical content for our brands, such as Bingo! Tedhe Medhe and Bingo! Mad Angles. We are proud to be a part of this exciting event which celebrates the musical tradition of Kashmir and provides a platform for the youth of the region to showcase their talent”
The event is organised in collaboration with ShowCase Events, The Eagle, and The Rabab Academy, organisations dedicated to conserving and promoting India’s rich folk music traditions. With an eminent jury comprising legendary Kashmiri musicians Gulzar Ganaie, Ustad Abdul Rashid Hafiz and Noor Mohammad, the event is set to be a remarkable celebration of culture and talent.
The Eagle founder Angelina Fernandes said, “I have been closely working with multilingual national and international award-winning artists and my curiosity for Kashmiri talent brought me on to be passionately involved with Fankar-E-Kashmir”.
“Folk Music is very close to my heart, and I want to be able to do whatever I can to help keep it alive,” said ShowCase Events (a company that has worked towards promoting artists) chief executive Nanni Singh.
Music Journalist and The Rabab Academy founder Nazir Ganaie said, “Being a Kashmiri myself and a musician, I feel for our dying art and want to help with initiatives such as this to conserve it.”
Workshops will be held from 10:00 am onwards, followed by the live talent hunt contest from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, culminating in the grand finale performance. The event promises to be an unforgettable experience, filled with music, learning, and celebration.
Digital
India leads global adoption of ChatGPT Images 2.0 in first week
From anime avatars to fantasy covers, users turn AI visuals into culture
NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the largest user base for ChatGPT Images 2.0, just a week after its launch by OpenAI, underlining the country’s growing influence on global internet trends.
While the tool was introduced as an advanced image-generation upgrade within ChatGPT, Indian users are quickly reshaping its purpose. Instead of sticking to productivity-led use cases, many are embracing it as a creative playground for self-expression, storytelling and online identity.
From anime-style portraits and cinematic headshots to tarot-inspired visuals and fictional newspaper front pages, the model is being used to create highly stylised, shareable content. Features such as accurate text rendering, multilingual prompts and the ability to generate detailed visuals with minimal input have helped drive rapid adoption.
What sets the latest model apart is its ability to “think” through prompts, generating multiple outputs and adapting to context, including real-time web inputs. But the bigger story lies in how users are engaging with it.
In India, trends are already taking shape. Popular formats include dramatic studio-style lighting edits, LinkedIn-ready headshots, manga-inspired avatars, soft pastel “spring” aesthetics, AI-led fashion moodboards, paparazzi-style visuals and fantasy newspaper covers. Users are also restoring old photographs, creating tarot-style imagery and experimenting with futuristic design concepts.
Local flavour is adding another layer. Prompts such as cinematic portrait collages and Y2K-inspired romantic edits are gaining traction, blending global aesthetics with distinctly Indian internet culture.
The surge reflects a broader shift in how AI tools are being used in the country, moving beyond utility to creativity. As younger users, creators and social media enthusiasts experiment with new visual formats, AI-generated imagery is increasingly becoming part of everyday digital expression.
If early trends hold, ChatGPT Images 2.0 may not just be a tech upgrade but a cultural moment, giving millions a new visual language to play with online.
