The winner of Star TV show “Voice of India 2007”, singing competition held by India’s Star Plus Channel, Ishmeet Singh died in Maldives on Tuesday evening.

Officials from the Chaaya Dhonveli Beach Resort where he was staying said that Ishmeeth had drowned between 5:15pm and 5:20pm while in the swimming pool of the resort.

“He went into the swimming pool with a couple of his friends this afternoon,” Marlon Robert, the Assistant Manager of the Resort, said. “None of them knew how to swim so he was using the baby (shallow) swimming pool. Since he didn’t know how to swim we had advised him not to use the big pool. Somehow or other he ended up in the big pool. When he couldn’t get out of it his friends apparently went looking for help.”

According to the Maldives Police Service, Ishmeeth’s body had been immediately brought to the ADK Hospital in Male’ after the incident. The doctor who had attended to him said that the cause of death seemed to be by drowning. Police said that their investigations were now proceeding.

Arrangements are underway to transport Ishmeeth’s body back to India, sources say.

The 19-year-old singer had arrived in Maldives Tuesday morning to take part in a show being held in Male’, the capital city, by his contracting music company. The show was planned to be held during this weekend.

Supporters of the singer voted heavily for him from Punjab during the finals of the contest. Even though Harshit led the votes tally in most regions of the country, the final count went in Ishmeet’s favour due to heavy voting from Punjab.

Ishmeet had won the ‘Voice of India’ singing contest held on November 26, 2007, pipping his closest rival Harshit from Uttar Pradesh in a keen contest. He was given the winner’s trophy by melody queen Lata Mangeshkar.

Sun Spa at IruFushi Beach & Spa Resort, due to open in summer 2008, will launch the first Sleep Spa concept in the Maldives. In collaboration with the resort team, the programme, entitled Sweet Dreams, has one main goal – to help adults and children relax and to catch up on that much needed sleep that many of them can only dream of doing whilst on holiday.

A holiday is something to look forward to, however, the stresses of modern day life can often take their toll and the sheer effort of getting away from work, let alone packing a suitcase and coping with any airport dilemmas can often be quite traumatic. So much so, that even whilst away in the most tranquil of surroundings, it can take some the entire holiday to begin to relax and catch up on their sleep.

For Adults, the Sweet Dreams programme includes:
- Special afternoon and evening spa treatments to encourage a siesta or good night’s sleep
- A yoga specialist who will offer private classes teaching special breathing techniques and stretching exercises designed to encourage relaxation
- Special teas designed to aid sleep
- Massages and baths with essential sleep-inducing oils
- A special extended pillow menu including buckwheat pillows, memory foam pillows, sidesleeper pillows, etc…
- A sleep concierge who is on-call so if guests can’t sleep they can ring for encouragement
- CD’s of poetry, music or a talking book which can be delivered to the room so Sweet Dreams guests can listen to their very own bedtime story
- A Sleep-All-Night-Cap, a special cocktail created by the resort-team using ingredients to aid sleep

Parents can rest assured that the younger member’s won’t lose sleep on holiday either as the Sweet Dreams resort plan extends to children, too. It includes:
- A selection of children’s books that can be borrowed from the library for a bedtime story
- Early evening dinner buffet, bedtime story groups and slumber parties, hosted in conjunction with the kid’s club
- Audio-book or music-related CD’s for children to listen to as they fall asleep
- Sleep inducing drinks such as warm milk or hot chocolate

Commenting on the new Sweet Dreams concept, Tina Dotzauer, PR & Marketing Manager for IruFushi’s Sun Spa says, “We have customised some of the Sun Spa pavilions to include low and mood lighting and special relaxing aromatherapy. It’s customary spa practice to leave a guest to relax for a few minutes after a treatment, but so many times we hear how they would prefer just to stay where they are and take a nap after their massages. Guests on the Sweet Dreams programme will be able to do just that, leaving the spa not just thoroughly relaxed but also refreshed and energised after enjoying a wholesome siesta.”

“In addition, the Sun Spa yoga specialist will show guests who book the 1-week “Sweet Dreams” program how to fill in a sleep diary, which will be discussed each day and aims to give a useful insight into each individual’s sleep patterns and will ultimately help with techniques for sleeping more soundly.”

The Sweet Dreams packages can be pre-booked via Sun Spa’s website www.sunsparesorts.com or on arrival at IruFushi Beach & Spa Resort.

Prices start from US$160 per adult.

A RADIO campaign focused on the wedding and honeymoon market encouraging Asian couples to tie the proverbial knot in Australia and spend their honeymoon in Fiji has been launched in China.

China Environment International Travel Service (CEITS) launched a joint Fiji and Australia radio campaign in a follow-up to the press event in Beijing which saw the launch of Fiji’s Chinese website last month.

Fiji Visitors Bureau’s director of marketing Cherrill Watson said there was a growing number of middle class Chinese who are travelling overseas independently.

She said China had become Fiji’s fastest emerging tourism market.

“Disposable incomes in China are increasing in tandem with Chinese awareness of the world,” Ms Watson said.

“Fiji needs to be up there while the market is still in its growth stages to ensure we grab the attention of these kinds of travelers.”

She said a live interview with a couple who recently tied the knot in Fiji was part of the program which received a huge response with more than a thousand mobile text messages within the two-hour program.

CEITS is the largest wholesaler in Australia and New Zealand that promotes China and teamed up with Fiji to promote Fiji as a holiday destination.

Source: Fiji Times