News Broadcasting
Discovery to showcase a Cartier masterpiece: The Patiala Necklace
MUMBAI: Discovery has gems in its eyes this month. The infotainment channel will be airing a programme about about Cartier’s exquisite masterpiece, The Patiala Neclace, once the proud possession of Patiala’s royal family
The Patiala Necklace reveals the fascinating story behind one of Cartier’s most impressive creations. The film will premiere on Discovery Channel on Saturday, 21 February 2004 at 9 pm.
Airing as part of the Discover India series, the film showcases the colourful and romantic ambience of the Indian royal families, who led a lifestyle of unparalled luxury and opulence, says a company release.
According to Discovery Communications India, director – marketing Aditya P Tripathi, “The Patiala Necklace is part of our endeavour to provide a fresh perspective and highlight India’s lesser known facets. The film pays a tribute to our rich cultural heritage and traces the extraordinary journey of the necklace, from Patiala’s treasury to London’s showrooms.”
The film captures three generations of the royal family of Patiala, from Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, his son Yadavindra Singh, to Capt Amarinder Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab.
Says Attaché Audio Visual, Embassy of France’s Patrick Madeline,”The Patiala Necklace artistically blends the story of the necklace created by the House of Cartier, with that of the royal family of Patiala. This film shows the interest of French filmmakers in the glorious past of India and programmes such as these will help develop a better understanding between the two countries.”
Created by the House of Cartier for Maharaja Sir Bhupinder Singh of Patiala in 1928, the necklace is one of the most expensive pieces of jewellery ever made. Famous for its unmatched brilliance and extraordinary design, the necklace has five rows of diamond encrusted platinum chains, says the release. When it was created, it had 2,930 diamonds embedded in it, including the world’s seventh largest DeBeers diamond.
It took Cartier almost three years to make the necklace, which looked so exquisite that they sought the Maharaja’s permission to display it before sending it to India. But in April 1948, this $25 million necklace mysteriously disappeared from the treasury of the royal family and was recovered almost half a century later by Eric Nussbaum, a Cartier representative in London. Cartier immediately bought it and set about restoring the Art Deco period piece to its original glory.
According to the release, the Patiala Necklace is a metaphor of the lifestyle that the Maharajas led. The film is created using rare archival footage and through interviews with members of the royal family of Patiala including Capt Amarinder Singh, the film beautifully brings the past and the present together.
The film also shows how the magnificent necklace was restored to its original glory. In 1998 when the necklace was recovered, what was left were just the chains and some original stones; the Burmese rubies and the real De Beers diamond that made the necklace rare and exquisite were all gone. Cartier has tried to recreate the necklace using old techniques and by replacing the original stones, informs the release.
Says producer of The Patiala Necklace Françoise Gazio, “We were fascinated by the magnificence of the necklace and the mystery surrounding its disappearance and sudden recovery in 1998. The fact that it belonged to one of the royal families of India convinced us all the more to make the film.”
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
