Archive for the ‘Playboy’ Category
Outgoing Indonesian Top Judge Denies Graft
JAKARTA: The outgoing chief of Indonesia’s Supreme Court on Friday denied corruption was rife at the highest level of the country’s judicial system, despite a slew of disputed decisions and graft allegations.
Bagir Manan, 67, retired from the nation’s top judicial post after a seven-year stint amid two ongoing cases into bribes and embezzlement involving court officials.
The powerful Corruption Eradication Commission in June launched an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of court fees. The probe included the examination of a personal bank account belonging to Manan.
Manan has also reportedly been named in a court case as the intended recipient of bribes that were allegedly handed to court staff in 2005 by businessman Probosutedjo, a step-brother of former dictator Suharto.
“Those accusations that I have received bribes don’t make sense at all and no one has ever proven that I’ve taken a bribe,” Manan told foreign journalists at a meeting to mark his retirement.
“In the Supreme Court, up to this day not… a single one of my judges has been put on trial.”
Indonesia’s Supreme Court is widely seen as tangled up in the institutionalised corruption that is rife throughout country’s the court system. It has been criticised for a series of baffling decisions.
In 2007, the court awarded 100 million dollars in libel damages to former dictator Suharto over a Time magazine article alleging massive corruption. That decision is being appealed.
It also cut to 10 years an initial 15-year sentence handed in 2002 to Suharto’s playboy youngest son, Hutomo “Tommy” Mandala Putra, for a range of crimes including the murder of a Supreme Court judge.
However, Manan said the Supreme Court had been leading the charge in reforming Indonesia’s judiciary and was cleaning up the murky practices of the lower courts.
Judges and court staff have been given extra training and increased salaries, while those found to have broken the law have been severely punished, he said.
“It’s hard for me to say it, but there are a lot of corrupt judges, that can be established. But we’re not closed to the possibility that bribery happens at the lower courts, bribery happens in the appeals courts,” Manan said.
Indonesia is ranked as the world’s 126th most corrupt country on Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, on a level pegging with countries including Uganda, Libya and Ethiopia.
The group’s local chapter ranks the judiciary as one of the most corrupt institutions in the country.
- AFP/so
Channel News Asia
Property Abroad Up For Grabs
Property abroad up for grabs
By Asha Sachdeva
Whileῠ financial institutions world over are grappling, asphyxiated, with the Big Bear Hug, forecasts still predict that by 2017, 1.9 million Indian households will exceed the US$ 500,000 personal wealth tidemark.
Just a month ago, property consultants from The Berkeley Group, leading developers in London discreetly landed in New Delhi with two offers of upscale residential projects in the UK.
Negotiations are still hush-hush with the usual zipped-lip stance taken by both interested buyers and developers in high profile international deals like these. Simultaneously, a quiet cheer goes round the ‘people in the know’; this visit marks the important development of the Indian market from an investors’ into a buyers’ hub. The base of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI), still small, is rapidly growing with a speculative projection of 583 HNWIs by 2025 - all with the potential to invest in property abroad.
According to a 2008 UK-India Cross-border Residential Investment report prepared by Jones Lang LaSalle, Indian investment in the UK alone is set to exceed 10-15 billion pounds over the next 10 years.
And as usual, Bollywood marks the trend. India’s most famous DINK couple (Double Income No Kids) recently bought their way into the halcyon-Hollywood-hideaway club, Shaikh Holdings’ Sanctuary Falls, Dubai where they will now be neighbours to the likes of David and Victoria Beckham and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
The five and six bedroom villas, spread over sprawling 5,600 to 10,600 sq ft plots reportedly carry a price tag of US$ 4 to US$ 10 million. Set amidst lush golf vistas and azure lakes, the hot property is set in a resort-style villa community (altogether 96 units) in Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Likewise, there are unconfirmed reports that liquor baron Vijay Mallaya has also bought two private islands, one of which is located somewhere in the south of France.
Not to be outdone, Gulu Lalvani, the 58-year old chief executive of Worldwide Telecoms manufacturer Binatone reportedly sank $150m (ΰ110m) into Royal Phuket Marina to turn Phuket’s east coast into Asia’s St Tropez, two years ago. The project features a 350-berth man-made marina, 82 condominiums and eight luxury villas, besides designer shops, bars, cafes, restaurants, a spa and a fitness centre.
Most international real estate brokerage firms have now set up an India office where the key liaison officer discreetly does the deal. And the pendulum swings inward, with Toronto based brokerage firm Private Islands Inc., recently putting up a four acre private island (Palm Lagoon) for sale on their website (http://www.privateislandsinc.com/about-private-islands.html). The island was bought for a mere Rs 3 crores by an Indian buyer.
In Mauritius
The lure of owning a piece of the tropical paradise, Mauritius, was what the Mauritius government chose to encash with the Integrated Resorts Scheme (IRS), launched two years ago. It was a resounding success with almost 90 percent NRIs turning out to be of Indian origin. The fact that Mauritius has long been a tax-haven for Indian investors (capital gains tax is 0 percent in Mauritius) is just a big fat cherry on a sumptuous gateau. Encouraged by the overwhelming response, the Mauritian Board of Investment (BoI) has now cleared a Real Estate Scheme (RES) targeted at smaller investors who wish to develop a minimum of 1 Arpent of land (not exceeding 10 hectares), along the coastline.
The BoI approved the development of 3727 sea-facing villas to be developed over the next 5 years under IRS.
So, whether you have a little stash of cash you don’t want taxed, or the smoky mountains, green cane fields, silky beaches and sapphire seas beckon, get on the phone to BoI now.
Luxury villas under the IRS are priced at USD 500,000 and upwards, with the scheme granting full ‘resident status’ to the buyer (except for voting rights). “Upmarket, luxurious”, “family-friendly” and “safe,” are some of the epithets used in positioning the scheme with the Indian high spenders. Irresistibly good business sense is probably in the fine print.
In the UK
Uber HNWI’s in the UK, headed by the likes of steel baron Lakshmi Mittal have been on a buying spree for the past couple of years (see box). What is interesting however is that in tandem with the super-rich investor, a growing number of lower-profile purchases have been made by Indian nationals. The bulk of those sales have been in, unsurprisingly, London, in the price band of 0.6 to 1.2 million.
“We expect this range to broaden over the next few years, both up and down,” a spokesperson of Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj-India, said.
What is fuelling this market is the fact that the UK does not impose any restrictions on overseas investment. However, even though post 2004, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restrictions on capital outflows went from a maximum of US$ 25,000 to a maximum of US$ 200,000, the amount is well below the average house price in the UK (around ΰ175,000). It is also significantly lower than London’s average house price per financial year.
Since even the revised RBI limit of US$ 200,000 is grossly insufficient to buy anything of value in the UK, Mauritius or Thailand, consultants have devised ingenious ways and means of circumventing these norms, some of which are outlined below:
*ῠJoin forces with other family members, colleagues or business partners. If five individuals clubbed together the potential spend can be US $ 1m.
* Part-finance the property purchase via a mortgage. This can be done as an individual or as a group, if the property is held in joint names. Finance must be obtained in the UK or via an offshore mortgage lender.
* Borrowing can be based on purchase but can also be taken out based on rental guarantees if the property is intended to be let to tenants.
Advantage for Indian investors
US property prices have continued to plunge with the Wall Street meltdown. This is the time for those with a holding capacity of two-three years to acquire a second home in the US. “Property is available in the US for a song now. this might turn out to be a good investment in the medium to long run,” says an expert with property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle.
The RBI has meanwhile relaxed norms on overseas investments under the new remittance scheme. The scheme provides for investments abroad in capital assets, such as stocks and real estate, up to $200,000 per annum. Further, India has a double taxation avoidance agreement with the US and any taxes paid on foreign property can be claimed as deduction. This is ideally a solution for those planning to emigrate there or those who already have children working or studying in the US.
According to one report, in places such as Detroit, Michigan, Jackson, Mississippi, Ohio, etc, one bedroom apartments are now available for as low as $1,500-3,000 (approximately Rs 69,000-1,38,000). This makes it ideal for IT professionals on short-term deputation, who can invest their house allowances into these homes and avoid paying high rentals.
Indian Billionaires
*ῠLakshmi Mittal, a resident of the UK is presently ranked as the most wealthy Indian in the 2008 Forbes List. With assets of around US$ 45 billion, he is among the top 10 richest persons in the world.
* Indians account for 4 of the 10 ‘wealthiest’ individuals.
* There are now 53 Indian US$ billionaires with a combined wealth of US$ 341 billion.
* Also in the top 10 are brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani, both worth around US$ 43 billion.
Growing and how
*ῠIndia currently has approximately 123,000 HNWIs (High Net Worth Individual, person with financial assets over US$ 1 million excluding their primary residence)
* The number of Indian HNWIs increased by 23 per cent during 2007, the highest rate of any country
* By 2017 there are expected to be over 400,000 HNWIs in India.
* The total wealth of Indian HNWIs is predicted to rise to $ 1.7 trillion by 2017.
*ῠ Global wealth of all HNWIs is expected to grow by 7.7 per cent pa to US$ 59 trillion over the next five years
*ῠ In the Asia-Pacific region growth is forecast to be slightly higher at 7.9 per cent pa, with India likely to be higher still.
(Sources: Barclays Wealth Insights, Volume 5 Evolving Fortunes 2008, Capgemini / Merrill Lynch, World Wealth Report 2008; McKinsey Global Institute, The Rise of India’s Consumer Market 2007 and Forbes, The World’s Billionaires 2008)
‘God saved me from a huge disaster’
Close encounter : Rituparna Sengupta
My belief in the divine is very strong. I can feel the presence of a power in my life that directs my mind to work. There have been small incidents that made me realise the presence of God. These small things that are not taken seriously at times and are ignored as mere childhood incidents gave me insight.
There is a time when every student fears an annual exam. When I was in class 7, I was terribly ill and was not prepared for my Mathematics exam. The worst happened when I left the paper incomplete. The entire incident made me feel helpless. To add to my fear was my father’s absence. I’m very close to my father and needed to tell him what happened, but he was on tour.
The only thing I could do at that time was pray. I prayed continuously to bring my father back as soon as possible. I needed my father to help me come out of the situation.
It may sound unbelievable but it is true, my father came back in the evening. This made my belief in God stronger. It had a great impact on my innocent mind.
It made me a firm believer of God, but a recent incident brought me closer to Him. During the shooting of a Bengali film, I had to drive a car. But I don’t know driving too well. I started the shoot by remembering Him, but I pressed the accelerator at the wrong time. And the entire camera crew was standing in front of the car. They would have got hit, if a superpower would not have stopped the vehicle.
The entire thing happened within minutes. I didn’t have time to think about anything, but I prayed. The consequences could have been disastrous. But my belief in God got stronger.
There was a supernatural force that stopped the car without hurting anybody. I’m grateful to God as it’s because of His blessings, I and the other were saved. It would have been a huge disaster. His presence helped me sail through.
I grew up believing in the Almighty. He has helped me move forward with every step of my life. I’m not superstitious, but I have immense faith in Him.
I follow Him and His advice as well. I think that in some way or the other He advises me in my work. It’s not only a supernatural power that I believe in, but I have felt the presence of God around me in many other forms.
One of my teachers and my grandmother were people whom I felt had something divine in them. They had an insight and aura around them that I have never seen in any other person.
ῠ
Misery arises out of unconsciousness
What are you really doing when you say sorry? Your sleep is broken, you were walking in a dream, you must have been dreaming, imagining, something was on your mind and then you stepped on someone. Not that the place was crowded, you would have stumbled even if no one had been there, even then you would have stepped on someone.
It is your unconsciousness
Misery is rooted in our robot-like behaviour; it arises out of our unconsciousness. You become angry because you are unconscious; if you are conscious, to be angry is so stupid, it is impossible to get into it. One can get into it only unconsciously; hence even unconscious people later on repent. When they start getting a little bit alert to what they have done, how they have behaved, how ugly it was, then they start saying, “I am sorry, I did it in spite of myself.” But how can you do it in spite of yourself? Then who does it?
When you are unconscious you are not yourself
But there is a certain significance in that expression; it shows that when you are unconscious you are not yourself. Then you are at the mercy of anything that is happening outside, it can drive you into any direction. The moment you are conscious, only then you are; and then you cannot be angry, cannot be jealous, cannot be dominating, cannot be egoistic.
One should keep oneself alert, so much so that one day your life becomes just a blissfulness. And it is possible, it is our potential, it is our birthright. And it is a challenge to get what is our birthright.
Explanations look logical but they are false
Explanations are always deceptive. They look logical, but they are false. You give explanations only when you have to hide something. You can watch and observe this in your own life. This is not a theory, this is a simple fact of everybody’s experience, you give explanations only when you want to hide something.
Truth needs no explanation
The more you lie, the more explanations are needed. There are so many scriptures because man has lied so much, then explanations are needed to hide the lie. You have to give an explanation, then this explanation will need further explanation, and it goes on and on. It is an infinite regression. And even with the last explanation nothing is explained, the basic lie remains a lie, you cannot convert a lie into a truth just by explaining it. Nothing is explained by explanations. You may think so, but it is not the case.
Courtesy Osho International Foundation/www.osho.com
Connect mind with body to be happy
By Shruti Badyal
Happiness is here and now, I have dropped my worries, nowhere to go and nothing to do, I don’t need to hurry. Happiness is here and now, I have dropped my worries, somewhere to go and something to do, but I don’t need to hurry,” hymns Thigh Nhat Hanh. He adds, “This is a practice song which enables us to live like free individuals and helps in embodying peace within.” Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen master, who is in India for a short visit, talks about some achievable ways to deal with loneliness in everyday life. He explains why despite materialistic acquisitions, many of us are lonely, waiting for someone or something beyond our inner-self to bring us happiness. “The question here concerns the spirit and the materialistic,” smiles Thigh Nhat Hanh.
“Sometimes we have all the comforts, but our spirit is empty and we feel incomplete. At the same time there are others who have limited comforts yet they seem to be content with life. We might think wearing designer clothes, buying latest gadgets, fancy cars and entertaining ourselves every weekend with music and movies can cure loneliness, but seldom do we realise that they are just another way of covering up the emptiness within us,” opines Thich Nhat Hanh, who is a rare combination of a mystic, scholar, and peace activist.
So, how can a person fill this emptiness within? “Just hold this feeling of isolation tenderly, without judgement or shame and practice ‘mindfulness’,” answers 82-year-old Buddhist monk whose “mindfulness meditative techniques” in daily life have benefited practitioners around the world. He adds, “Mindfulness is a way to return to yourself and recognise solitude. It’s a way to come back to your breathing and become aware of the wonderful elements within and around you. Mindfulness teaches you to be aware that your loved ones are still with you and it makes you sensitive towards the wonders of nature surrounding you. And with acceptance, this loneliness becomes your friend. Rather than running away from loneliness, we must begin to make peace and reconciliation within ourselves, which can help us connect with others in a healthy way.”
According to Thich Nhat Hanh, if we live deeply in the present moment, “feeling of being alone will no longer haunt us, make us feel empty or make life seem like an abyss”. He shares that “mindful breathing” can bring us closer to our inner self. He adds, “We feel lonely because we are not aware of our ‘inter being’. We don’t know how to be with ourselves and dwell happily in the present moment. ‘Inter being’ means to be able to see that we are a part of nature and people around us, and they are a part of us. Mindful breathing is a tool to gain insight into our inter-being with people and the environment. It allows us to connect our body with the mind.”
For someone who joined a Zen monastery at the age of 16, studied Buddhism as a novice, and was fully ordained as a monk in 1949, “Nirvana” is another name for God. He says that God is the “ground of your being”. “Sometimes instead of looking for an external God, we must reflect on the qualities of God. These qualities could be love, generosity, peace, compassion, care and fearlessness, which are present in each of us. Mindfulness and awareness open the door to access these inner jewels,” concludes Thich Nhat Hanh.
Following are some meditation techniques by Thich Nhat Hanh, which can help you reduce loneliness in everyday life and bring you closer to your inner self and God.
Practice “stopping”
When you stop, first physically and then through mindfulness of breathing, mentally you give yourself the possibility to catch up with yourself. In our hectic lifestyles at times, we can totally ignore how our body feels, how our mind and emotions are doing and be unaware of accumulated anxiety and stress. So, by stopping, you can begin to restore the important communication with your own self.
For example, when the phone rings, we let it ring three times and while it does so we consciously stop all other activity and come back to our physical body by breathing in and out. This way we use the telephone as a means to cultivate peace, calmness and awareness. Similarly, using the computer at home or at work, we must take a short break every 45 minutes. Take a short break for five minutes and move away from the computer or just relax on your chair.
Take a couple of deep breaths in, relax and feel happy. Doing this will help you have more energy. This also gives your brain a break and gives you a better sense of how to continue your work.
In the monastery we have a computer programme that rings a bell every 15 minutes. When we hear this bell, we stop all activity and take gentle breaths in and out and relax.
Walking meditation
This can be simple meditation. We walk very often, so we can easily use this as meditation. We need to slow down 50- 75 per cent and take gentle steps on the earth. We must allow our attention to go to the soles of our feet, allowing our energy to come down from our heads to our belly and our feet. We may realise that while we are walking slowly, we are at the same time breathing in and out, and we may use this awareness to allow our minds to focus on this activity of walking slowly and being aware of our breathing.
Deep relaxation
Lie down for 20 minutes. Take a break; sometimes the activities of the day deplete our energy. Take these 20 minutes for your own self to come back to your body, feeling any area where they may be tension, allowing your breathing in to expand your abdominal area and letting go with breathing.
Enjoy some moments of silence, inner and outer. Slowly your body and then your mind will respond to this technique.
110, NOT OUT
By Vidyashree Dharmaraj
The 110-year-old Ayyammal has an unusual formula for her longevity and you are mistaken if you think it is a nutrition-packed diet. “Honesty, my ungrudging attitude and my cheerful nature keeps me alive and kicking,” she says greeting us with a buoyant smile.
Welcoming with folded arms, the frail looking but lively woman bowled us over when she walked all by herself and with her nimble fingers adjusted the chairs so that we could seat ourselves comfortably on the narrow patio of her daughter’s house at Kalayanur village, 20 kms from Coimbatore.
“Nalla irukeengala” (Are you fine?), she enquired with a beaming smile in Tamil, seemingly influenced by a heavy Kannada accent. She warned us of her mild deafness before she proudly averred that she is 110 years and would live longer. Though her memories about her date of birth were fuzzy, she says that she was born in a small hamlet called Uliyampalayam, about 30 kms from the heart of the city.
“We weren’t sure of mom’s age. Though we knew for sure she has crossed 100 years, we could ascertain her exact age from the details in the will after our father’s demise. Born in 1898, she married at the age of 18 and from then life wasn’t as smooth sailing as she had expected. The first blow came when her husband lost his job soon after they tied the wedlock, and the second when she had four miscarriages one after another,” her 85-year-old daughter Kannammal says.
It did not stop with that. of the eight children that she delivered later, only four survived and the other four died when they were less than six months old. “My mother stood firm and tided over the strong currents to see the day when her only son was born, that which she reminisces as the most cherishable moment of her life, even today,” she adds.
Thaya (as she is fondly called), says Kannamal, preferred to stay with her son and did so till he breathed his last. In all her 110 years, she perhaps has just one ‘enemy’ - her daughter-in-law Rukmani. She threw her out saying she would not take the burden of taking care of the one who might well, “go on living for ever”. Though uttered in a bitter manner, those words proved prophetic as my mother is 110 and is still going strong, almost matching baby Akshada of the fifth generation, in zest and energy.
Ask Ayyammal about her life prior to her stay with her daughter and she says, “My daughter-in-law drove me out of the house after my son Ponnusami expired. I was considered a burden and was refused food. I was on my own, never troubled her for my daily chores, but still, I was driven away,” she says with a shade of frown in her face and a slight tremble in her voice.
In unison with the grand old lady, her 65-year-old granddaughter, Subbul-akshmi, vouches that her grandmother takes care of herself and even washes her own clothes before she has her daily bath. “When her daughter-in-law refused to feed her, she used to even cook sometimes. Her diet is nothing elaborate - a dal rasam and one poriyal (vegetable dry dish) is all that she needs. She often takes the assistance of the children to cut vegetables, especially onions.”
Her life is a simple one indeed. “Even though she goes to bed by 10.30 pm or 11 p.m., and occasionally complains of disturbed sleep, she is an early bird. Her day begins at 6 am and she has her morning cuppa only after offering prayers to the sun god for a good 15 minutes,” adds the granddaughter.
In the best of health even at this age, Thaya likes to indulge in her favourite chicken curry. “there are no restrictions on her diet because there is no fear of BP, sugar or cholesterol. She has never been hospitalised. popping a pill has done good for her occasional headaches. Most of her teeth are intact and she nibbles on her favourite puliyankottai (tamarind seed) most of the time. She can also crack betel nuts with those fresh teeth that grew after she turned 90, two decades back,” said 32-year-old Sumathi, the fourth in the generation.
Thaya chooses to spend her time talking to her kith and kin and sometimes watches serials on television. A peaceful life ahead is what she wants, and having mastered the art of taking life in her stride, no matter what the turbulence, she is determined to win the race. “Life has to go on and one cannot be deterred by disappointments. I believe in honesty and like to live the rest of my life cheerfully. My smile enriches me,” she says, her eyes light up.
How to make a man happy
Single life: Samantha Brett
It’s long been believed that when it comes to happiness, men only need two things to keep them smiling: sex and food. Yep, apparently women can forget about needing to have a whopping GSOH (great sense of humour), an abundance of cleavage or a booty like Kim Kardashian because as long as blokes are getting some horizontal hanky panky (or thinking about it, or reading about it, or daydreaming about having it) and are getting adequately fed (and not necessarily by his partner), then everything will be hunky dory in his world.
And when it comes to the happiness of women? Well, according to feminist author Fay Weldon’s What Makes Women Happy, if we truly want to be smiling then all women need to do is to fake it in the bedroom, serve her man champagne after you’ve done the dirty (to boost his ego so that he performs better next time) and ditch their careers for fear that working too hard will leave you ending up single and alone.
Yet, she just might be wrong about this one. Because according to a hot new survey that recently landed on my desk, the things that make men and women truly happy is a little different to what you once might have thought.
According to the 2008 Happiness Index researched by Australia’s foremost insights consultancy The Leading Edge, while men are indeed happiest when they’re having sex, there’s another time when they’re equally as content: while surfing the internet.
That’s right - according to the survey that polled 8,500 Australians - 52 per cent of men are happiest when they are Facebooking, playing online games or doing “other things” online.
Women, on the other hand, are happiest when her entire family is sitting down to a meal, or she’s playing with her pet. There’s nothing about “faking it”, sorry Fay.
The good news is that contrary to popular belief, women aren’t actually happiest when shopping for shoes or trying on new frocks. Instead, for women, it’s more about rest and relaxation, reading a good book, eating comfort food, buying gifts and helping a friend. But no fret just yet gents: sex did come in at ninth place on the list.
Men were also found to be happy while doing exercise, drinking or watching competitive sport.
While the survey seems quite reputable, and interesting to boot, nowhere does it explain the nagging question that I have at the back of my mind thanks to a recent discussion over cocktails with a girlfriend: How can a woman make a man happy? What do we need to do in order to keep a man satisfied and make him want to stay with us for the long haul?
My girlfriend reckons she has it all worked out. “Be a goddess in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom,” she proclaimed. “That’s what all men want!”
Perhaps she was on to something. Yet while doing a little bit of online research on the subject, I discovered a hilarious little joke. In order to make a woman happy, a man only needs to be “a friend, companion, lover, master, chef, electrician, plumber, stylist, sexologist, psychiatrist, good listener. The list goes on. Whereas in order to make a man happy, a woman simply has to do one thing: leave him alone!
The writer is an author, columnist & dating expert (You can mail your responses to asksambrett gmail.com)
‘It’s time to move on already’
Teen talk: Keerthana Srinivasan
The big Brazilian adventure
In a month from now, it will be time for me to shift - to a new home and with a new family. As the rules of the exchange programme state, every exchange student must switch families every three to four months, to allow us to experience different types of homes, families and lifestyles. And I don’t know if I am very excited about the idea.
Before I came here, to Brazil, I never thought that I would be able to accept or be accepted into the family of a complete stranger, and that I would be able to call any other woman my mother. But my current family has been amazing, in every way. Be it my parents or my siblings, the love that they have given me, and how they have helped me adjust into their culture - it has been phenomenal, I could not have asked for anything more.
I think that I have begun to consider them as real family now. And so, the idea of not living with them for much longer makes me pretty insecure. I have grown so used to this family and home, that the idea of having a new home and a new family, and having to adjust to them all over again makes me a little edgy. I don’t know how I will get along with them, what new problems I will face and whether I will ever grow to be as close to them as I am to my current family.
Given a choice, I would like to continue to stay here for the rest of my year in Brazil, and never have to shift, but that’s all for wishful thinking.
My second family seems nice though. I had the chance to spend a day with them, but honestly I am pretty scared about moving into their home, because their rural lifestyle is in stark contrast to my urban one.
For starters, they have more animals than humans in their house, and the fact that I don’t like animals really doesn’t help, because they have two dogs, two cats and a chicken! And they believe in drinking un-pasteurised milk - fresh from the cows, the idea of which really completely freaks me out. But I am trying to be positive, and look at the bright side of things, like the fact that they have a swimming pool and that my new host mother speaks English.
So all in all, my new family will be very different from my current one or my real one back in India, and I know that my stay with them is going to be a new and a very different experience for me. But I guess everything works out for the best, so even though I am pretty nervous about what is to come, I want to stay as excited as possible, to learn as much as I can, and make the most of it - because I know that I will not get a chance like this ever again.
Dark and gothic
Designer’s studio: By Siddartha Tytler
The shoot setting focuses on a “Goth” inspired fashion conscious city girl, in a fast changing world - an inspiration stemming from street life in New York city, back to my college years spent at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
From the concrete blocks to the dramatic over-sized chandelier and a white and black baroque backdrop; all were positioned within the shot to enhance a mood apt for the dramatic ensemble that comprises a structured suede jacket with faux fur collars and an A-line cotton-tissue skirt adorned with 3,000 hand embroidered rosettes in tissue.
Model Neha Kapur managed to deliver a perfect shot effortlessly, successfully managing to capture the intended sadness and beauty we were trying to portray. The dark composition, a blend of whites, greys and blacks was further accentuated by a chandelier and a contemporary interpretation of a dark grey crescent moon by Studio Klove.
Anushka Menon, the photographer, the production and styling team worked for several weeks to help me bring this vision to life, successfully managing to highlight the visual impact of my garment within this heavy mood setting.
Do it yourself
Unplugged: By Naresh Sadhwani & Deepak Jhangiani
A guide to what’s new in the audio, video world
Though in India we still enjoy the luxury of technicians coming home to install the TV, but it becomes an expensive proposition when it comes to get a 33 or a 42 incher FP TV mounted on the wall. Shares may have lost their importance but here we share some important know how tips with our readers.
Step 1. Tools
You need a working drill machine, a scale or balance to mark the level, a pencil and not to forget, a FP TV and wall mounting brackets. Before actually drilling any hole first physically hold aloft a picture frame and get someone from your family to confirm that the position is dead centre, that the height is as per eye level and that there is no direct light (sunlight or electric light that hits directly on the screen). The important thing is to remain patient, and plan out the process before drilling any holes.ῠ
Step 2. Height of Mountingῠ
The wall you select to hang the TV should be at least twice the width of the TV screen so that there is enough space on either side to hang the speakers too, if so desired. Make sure the wall is solid and not a cement sheet panelled wall.
The centre of the TV screen should be mounted at your eye level when sitting in front. Normal TV watching is done while sitting hence it is advisable to decide the height from the chair/sofa level and not from your standing height.ῠ
Step 3. Running Cablesῠ
With today’s exotic interiors concealed cables running through the walls or floor is most preferred. However, if for whatever reason/s this is not an option then one should be prepared to live with the eyesore of a bunch of wires running up the wall. There are many innovative ways in which one can try to hide these running cables one of which is to cover it up with a dangling wall hanging which runs the length of the cables or to disguise the cables by creating a moulding on top which matches the colour and contour of the walls so that it looks a very deliberate part of the d
cor.ῠ
Step 4. Mounting Bracketsῠ
Flexible brackets are recommended so that they can be turned/lowered or raised to change the vertical viewing angle of the television to match the eye level of the viewer. A swivelling bracket allows the user to change the horizontal viewing angle of the television. Flexible brackets will allow for vertical and/or horizontal movement.
Readers are invited to email their queries/suggestions/comments to sadhwanis@vsnl.com
Cellphone addiction
By Saumya Bhatia
Cellphone is the best thing that has happened to mankind. But it has also psyched us completely. It has become a necessity more than a luxury today. Life seems more organised and in control when it is in our hands, but the same life becomes tough when it conks off, or gets stolen. When all the contacts stored in the phone go for a toss, so do we.
Are we a slave of technology? Has it become the other way around? Not long ago, we got the first handset, when calls were expensive and SMS was not a very “happening” thing. It was sheer luxury to be seen with a cellphone. Slowly, our lives started changing. We switched loyalties from landline to cellphones and our lives took a 360 degree turn.
The cellphone has become an indispensable part of our life, so much so that if we lose it or the contacts get erased or deleted, our life comes to a standstill. Technology has made us edgy, social scientist Dr Beena Thomas says, “We have become tech-savvy but have lost the personal touch. We are social beings, but now there is no more eye contact while talking, people are too busy SMSing on their phones. Communication skills has come down drastically.”
Dr Thomas adds, “The younger generation has the ‘wannabe’ culture. If you don’t have a cellphone, you are looked down upon. I wish the government and policy makers disallow use of cellphones in offices, schools and colleges. If there is an emergency, a landline is always there. We lived our life without it, what is the big deal about it?”
So we may have cutdown on manners, but our work is not affected. Agrees anchor Pooja Bedi, “Today the pace of life has become very hectic. A cellphone is the ultimate multi-tasking equipment in our hands. Take SMS for example, it cuts unnecessary frills of conversation and comes directly to the point. Cellphone is a boon for professionals. You can fix appointments, inform your boss if you are stuck in a jam via an SMS. Moms can stop feeling guilty and can be in touch with their children constantly throughout the day.”
For someone who may have based his/her life around a cellphone, how can he look beyond it?
A blogger Jon Schwochert wrote, “I agree it is very easy to become dependent on technology like cellphones or the Internet. I used to make fun of people who needed to have their cellphones with them at all times, or have to constantly text people. Now that I have a cellphone, I am starting to understand that dependency. I feel uneasy if I don’t have my phone with me, even though I know that I don’t need it. Cellphones are just a convenience that we do not have to own.” But the ultimate choice rests with us, believes fashion designer Ritu Beri. She said, “I am the happiest when I take a flight and my phone is switched off. I am not entirely dependent on it, when I am busy I switch it off. It may be a nuisance at times, but it is also most convenient when you want to get through to somebody.”
When it comes to back-up of data, Pooja said, “I have a back-up of contacts on my computer and hard drive. I update it every three to four months.” Ritu adds, “I do have a back-up of contacts.”
Grooming expert Mehyar Bhasin who lost her phone last year, said, “I lost all the numbers and addresses. I didn’t have a back-up at that time. But now, I am playing safe and have kept a back-up on my laptop. It is very important to have a cellphone, not just to connect, but it also helps you grab projects. Technology has made our life simpler. Today, right from a local grocery shop, to actors and models all have access to phones, because everyone wants others to know that they are accessible and within reach.”
Wowed the audience
Born of Art: Raghava KK and Netra Srikanth
Raghava had been slaving over the works for months, head buried in his paintings, barely managing to surface even for meals. We were both apprehensive about the show to come in Mumbai, especially considering the reactions we’d received from former supporters and well-wishers, including shock, disgust, horror, and sheer non-comprehension. A friend even said he was depressed to learn that the enthusiastic Raghava could admit to the existence of a darker side of life. For these paintings were totally new, an area which we’d never explored: an expression of serious issues both in society and in our personal life.
We’d been hiding the works since last November, not allowing anyone a sneak peak until just before the exhibition. The gallery had planned to open the show in a public venue where the masses of Mumbai could mingle with the artsy crowd and high society to see the works. But believe it or not, the city’s right-wing activists threatened to rip the paintings down unless ‘the artist’s mother agreed to stand outside and receive guests in the nude!’ So there went the public opening down the drain. And all because of a little nudity, which the conservative organisations chose to class with a bad porn film, although it was anything but…
People were scaring us with stories of threats and imprisonment for artists who didn’t conform to the acceptable visual imagery. So it was with chattering nerves that Raghava headed to Mumbai, ready to face whatever hit him. Much to my dismay, I couldn’t go along with him, thanks to my pregnancy. I would have to sit gnawing on my nails the entire night until he called with the (hopefully) good news. Funnily enough, fate played into my hands and sent me into early labour, so I didn’t have to sit idle and worry about the show. There were other things to be done.
Luckily, the show turned out to be an exhilarating experience. From Jogen Choudhary to gallerists from Milan to supermodel Madhu Sapre (whom our clueless Raghava had never heard of), people from all backgrounds made their appearance at the gallery. The most exciting piece of news was that some of Mumbai’s most successful artists loved the show and that Paresh Maity and his wife Jaishree Burman even bought one of the paintings. And here we are, used to the Bangalore scene, where some senior artists do their best to make young artists feel bad. The only thing missing from our last Mumbai experience were the ladies with lap-dogs and the gay lovers dressed identically from top to toe.
And if the drama of the show wasn’t enough, after a full evening and after-party, Raghava jumped onto the plane in the middle of the night and came straight to the hospital, ready for the delivery of our baby. It was an amazing two days.
‘Relationships on sets don’t last’
Vidya Balan might be one of the most talented entrant in Bollywood in the recent years, and her BO successes and the critical acclaim she has got for her acting speaks for itself. Yet, it has not stopped her detractors from doling out flak on her dressing sense, her weight issues and more.
If we go by what Liz Taylor once said, “I didn’t feel like a star till people started trashing me,” Vidya must be feeling like a superstar now. “You know I am an eternal optimist, but this is giving a whole new twist to it,” she quips.
“I am not really frazzled by negative reactions. It did affect me at one point, but now I have grown immune to it. I guess, somewhere I have begun to believe that I matter in the larger scheme of things to people, which is why they are giving me this flak. Fair enough. But what is interesting is that not one person has said a negative word about my real job - that’s acting. I am beginning to wonder if we as people need to find faults with others at one level or the other,” she exclaims.
Vidya might be able to deal with it, but what about her family, who don’t belong to the industry? “Yes, it is hard for them to see their daughter being torn to pieces by the media, for no fault of hers,” she says.
“But they also have dealt with rumours about my relationships and all that, so they are getting used to it now,” she adds.
The criticism doesn’t seem to have affected her Box Office status given the status of her last hit Kismat Konnection’. Was it her chemistry with Shaahid Kapoor that worked for the film? “That, amongst many other reasons, worked in the film’s favour,” she says evasively.
Vidya had put all her hopes on that film she reveals. “Besides the fact that all of us had put in such a big effort into it, I needed it to work for myself. I needed to know I was doing something right, and I guess I was,” she says.
She admits that it was all the criticism that got her doubting herself. “When everyone around you is saying something, you begin to question your own decisions and get a bit unsure about yourself. But now I know I am on the right path,” she says.
What about rumours of her dating Shahid and then being left heartbroken after he left her for Sania Mirza? “What do I say to that since people have already given their verdict?” she says.
So should we assume that she is just good friends with Shahid? “Well, I am. But it’s not like we talk every day like we did when we were on the sets,” she says.
“I don’t believe relationships on the film sets can last, because after a few days you are working on a new film - a new set with new people. It would be very lucky to have relationships in this industry that last for a long time, but I don’t believe they do,” she says.
Vidya says that she finds solace, from all the negative criticism and baseless rumours, in her work. She has quite a few films in her kitty, be it Bhansali’s next, or Vishal Bharadwaj’s next, or Pa with Bachchan Sr & Jr.
“That’s some good work, right?” she asks.
“I don’t think it matters to makers what people are talking about me. I think I have earned a certain respect in this industry and that is all I need to work on. Everything else will fall into place, and what doesn’t fall into place, wont matter anyway,” Vidya says.
Less talent, more entertainment
By Suparna Sharma
It’s a fool-proof concept for a dance show, this Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena on Colors - cute cricketers, sweet starlets and lots of Bollywood-style latka-jhatkas. What more does a dance show need? Quality dancing?
Forget that. Instead, they’ve got a babe and a hunk - Sushmita Sen and Wasim Akram - as judges. Ok, so these two are a little low on credentials to judge a dance a competition. But what the heck, everybody look so happy, dancing and flirting with each other. All except the anchor, Sandhya Mridul. She, of course, thinks she’s in Norway, at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony, holding the envelop which contains the name of the first-ever Nobel Prize Winner for ‘Outstanding Contribution in the field of Vigorous Gyration and Booty-Shakes.’ Someone should tell her to wash off the shimmer, sack her dress designer and pop a chill pill.
Talking of dresses, Sushmita was wearing this Grecian gown, off one shoulder. Looking awesome…and ample. As they say in Delhi, she’s really put on, yaar. Next to her sat Wasim bhai, in full coat-pant, looking mighty thrilled and a little lost…Ok, so the show is low on talent, but it’s high on entertainment.
Forget the chemistry between the khiladis and the haseenas. Just glue your eyeballs to Bhajji and Sreesanth. Ooof, their chemistry is combustible.
Sreesanth’s a great break-dancer. Some of his moves are almost Hrithik-esqe. And puttar Bhajji is, well, balle-balle. Dinesh Karthik is the sweet underdog and Vinod Kambli is desperate to win. In this tiny-weeny puddle of talent, I think Sreesanth deserves to win. At least, Pappu can dance saala…
Caught another dance show, Saas Vs Bahu (Sahara One). Here, TV bahus compete with their bitchy saasu-mas, and the amazing Aruna Irani, with one Longinus Fernandez, sits in judgment.
From what I saw, it looked like the mother-in-laws were kicking some serious booty. With lots of hostile snarling between the saas’ and bahus, all in tacky dresses and horrendous make-up, the programme is fun.
All this talk of shaking and I just can’t seem to shake off the image of Rahul Mahajan’s constantly quaking leg on Bigg Boss (Colors). As the final day draws close, his leg’s per minute vibration seems to be rising in direct proportion to the mounting tension - who will go, who will win, who will nominate who, etc etc.Trembling legs notwithstanding, all bets seem to be on Rahul. This, despite conclusive proof that he has a spine of jelly. The minute Payal Rohatgi left, he instantly fell out of love with her and plunged deep into the pools of passion for Monica Bedi. He follows her around like that Hutch puppy, tail curled up, face all pouty. Ugh.
I guess, Rahul and Monica have lots in common. They can spend hours cosying up and discussing various sections of the Indian Penal Code. And no academic discussion this. All first-hand experience. Now that will be a show to watch. Anyone listening?
Bebo fights to keep Deepika in her place
Deepika Padukone is fast becoming a big threat to Kareena Kapoor’s No.1 crown and the Kapoor girl is doing everything she can to put Deeps in her place. Deepika may have won the first round by grabbing Saif’s home production with Imtiaz Ali but Bebo has got back on even terms rather quick. It was Deepika who was initially slated to do the only item number in SRK produced Billoo Barber and Deepika even gave four days of her busy schedule for the shooting of the song, which was canned under SRK’s supervision by director Priyadarshan.
But it happened to be that the end result wasn’t as good as expected and only shot material worth half the song was on the final edit. So the producer and his director decided to shoot the rest of the song with another actress and put the two items together.
Since the item number is the only glamour element in the otherwise serious film, the makers wanted to have everything to be perfect. So Kareena Kapoor was roped in to do just that. She was flown down from Bangkok for a day and the necessary portions with her was shot in 24 hours after which she was flown back to Bangkok to finish her impending shoot. Priyan was completely floored by Bebo who gave it her all for the shoot and walked away triumphant.
Films suffer due to hostile critics
By Vikram Bhatt
The talented filmmaker offers an exclusive ringside view of the Bollywood industryῠ through his column.
I am in Los Angeles as I write this piece and the film Hello has just released. I don’t know what the response to the film has been and as I read on some sites on the net I find the film has had a decent opening. And then I read some reviews… reviews already?
It is only Thursday night here, so Friday morning in India and reviews already? Atul Agnihotri and I have been childhood friends too, so I am really hoping that this film does well for him. But the point is…reviews already?
This is a debate that I think needs to be had, but firstly this debate needs to be understood for what it is worth. I am not against the freedom of speech, I am all for creative criticism and I am also for the critics and their right to say as they feel. This is simply about the timing of the whole tirade against a movie.
Movies are not just an art form today and the government also recognises it as an industry. Movies are about big money and millions ride on them every month. Just the Drona and Kidnap week had about a hundred crores riding on them and in this kind of high stakes climate, is it right for the reviews to hit the stands even before the film has?
There was a time I remember when movies were reviewed every Sunday morning and by then there had been already two days when the people had seen the film and either liked it or hated it. So the review was a critical appraisal of the film but now it has become a case of go for it or just stay away from it. There are press shows for a few films a day before the release and some movie portals on the Internet give the reviews the night before the film has even released. Is this right?
The point I am trying to make is that while the freedom of the press is a good thing, is it right to bash a product even before it hits the market?
So the points to consider, if all movies are products, should they be given at least a two day chance before they are mangled beyond recognition?
I have been around long enough to know that here like everywhere else power corrupts and so does the power of the media. I know for sure that all the people who review films are not fair. Some don’t know enough about cinema and some have grudges to bear. I was told by a well informed source that a recent Akshay Kumar film was given a three star rating by a critic because the critic was offered to write a script for the producer of that film. Do people know that? A young girl who works as an assistant in my company was a journalist with a film magazine before she started working with us. She told me that a film analyst had once given a movie one star and later called up the magazine and asked for the rating to be changed to three stars. You can imagine what changed, the movie certainly didn’t.
Reviewers start to lambast a film from every available platform. On the Net, on the radio, television and in print. Films have no chance agains this onslaught. I am not concerned about the honest critic but here I am concerned about the critic with an agenda. I am talking about the critic who has turned hostile and has a score to settle.
Ironically there are a lot of critics who are artists themselves and whose intelligence I have respect for. It is to these people that I implore that they must help filmmakers in stopping that rogue critic element from pulling down films even before they are on screen.
A governess’ grace
BOMBAY ANNA: The Real Story and Remarkable Adventures of the “King and I” Governess
By Susan Morgan,
University of California Press,
$24.95, pp 274
The title of Susan Morgan’s biography may ring no bells, but chances are you’ve heard of its heroine - whose life formed the basis for Margaret Landon’s 1944 book Anna and the King of Siam, itself adapted in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1951 musical. Unlikely as the plot of The King and I is, Anna Leonowens’s real life was even stranger. A mixed-race Anglo-Indian army brat, she managed to pass as a Victorian lady long enough to be hired as a governess at the court of Siam. Her experience in the royal harem was later parlayed into literary fame and a trans-Atlantic career of teaching, writing and lecturing.
On disembarking in Singapore as a young widow in 1859, this gifted con woman subtracted three years from her age, relocated her birthplace from Bombay to Wales, forgot her mother’s Indian parentage, promoted her father from private to major and changed her husband from a clerk to an army officer. “The most important thing in life,” she declared, “is to choose your parents.” Leonowens’s racial passing depended on her eye for detail: a letter from her waxes sentimental over the “golden locks” of two of her children, although both happened to be brunettes. Equally crucial to these reinventions was her ear for language: not simply her knowledge of Hindi, Marathi, Persian and Sanskrit but the ability to mimic a genteel English accent.
In 1861, Mongkut, the king of Siam, asked his agent in Singapore to find his children a governess. A former Buddhist monk and an accomplished scholar who had earlier allowed American missionaries access to the harem, Mongkut was seeking a woman who would teach English without trying to proselytise. With few unmarried British ladies on the spot, Anna Leonowens - apparently ladylike and genuinely widowed - was chosen. From this point on, Morgan’s heroine will remind readers of Becky Sharp, the governess who schemes her way through Regency society in Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. Unlike Becky, however, Leonowens turned out to be a good teacher.
At the time of her arrival, she estimated that Mongkut’s harem housed a population of 9,000: his sisters, aunts and children of both sexes, as well as consorts, concubines and slaves, and other women who had been offered to the king in order to pay debts or cement political alliances. Although she later described this city within a city as a hotbed of “Slavery, Polygamy, Flagellation of women & children, Immolation of slaves, secret poisoning and assassination,” Leonowens thrived there. She taught Mongkut’s children, then numbering about 60, including the crown prince. (Historians continue to debate her influence on the political reforms he carried out after his father’s death.) She also gave English lessons to adults and served as an unofficial secretary to the king. (Historians differ on her relations with him: did she shape his policies and draft his English-language documents or simply copy out some letters?)
After five years, Anna Leonowens left, travelling to England and Ireland before settling in the United States, where she once again supported herself by teaching. The friends she found in the American publishing world helped her bring out two memoirs, The English Governess at the Siamese Court and The Romance of the Harem, which were sufficiently popular to open up a new career for her as a lecturer on topics from “Siam: Its Court and Customs” to “Brahmanism, Ancient and Modern” and “Christian Missions to Pagan Lands.” Leonowens sent dispatches from Russia to an American magazine; she moved to Nova Scotia to live with her daughter, and then to Germany to accompany her grandchildren to school; she wrote a memoir of India that mixed vivid reportage with autobiographical fibs; she lectured on women’s suffrage. She died in 1915.
Anna Leonowens’s story has been told twice before: in her own memoirs and by Landon, a Midwestern matron who stumbled across them while serving as a missionary in Siam. Landon (whose husband later became one of the architects of United States-Thai relations during the cold war) credited Leonowens with bringing Christian values to Siam. Writing from the rather different perspective of a professor of English at Miami University of Ohio, Morgan instead reconstructs a cosmopolitan figure who praises Buddhism and attacks American missionaries. At times, Morgan projects her own values onto another time and place. “To be young and belong in the Bombay presidency in the boom times of the 1830s,” she rhapsodises, “to be mixed race in a place where (except among the foreign elite, and sometimes even there) it was socially accepted, to be part of the company but not part of the constrained upper classes of its officers and civil servants, was very heaven.” Asides like these turn a social hierarchy into a politically correct idyll. But Morgan’s multiculturalist pieties and ponderous philosophising don’t make the story she tells any less absorbing.
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Ghost stories & second-hands
Book Worm: By Sunil K. Poolani
Fame comes in multifarious ways: business, showbiz, philanthropy, politics, activism, crime, notoriety you name it. With most ways, money eventually follows and you buy space to remain in the limelight. But is that enough? Not so, if some current trends are anything to go by. An interesting and rewarding avenue has now been thrown open to failed authors and hacks in the till-now serpentine and serendipitous corridors of chaos and confusion - over how to make big bucks speedily. Many nouveau riche heroes of recent success stories want to immortalise their lives, good or bad, in book format. But there is a snag. How do you do it if you can’t write a line in English to save your life? Get a ghost writer.
There have been ghost writers in the last decades (mainly assigned by corporate houses; sorry, no names), but it was only in the last five to ten years that the aspirant ‘writers’ wanted to pen ‘their’ works using outside help. There are three types of ‘writers’ here, though.
One, biographies, written by somebody who possesses some kind of knowledge about the subject’s life and the work s/he is related to. Two, as told to pieces, where the real writer only has to have a perfunctory understanding of what s/he is writing about (so the credit goes something like this: ‘George W. Bush with Jack the Ripper’). And three, where the writer is the ghost writer of the purest form (no one would ever come to know that who really wrote the book as there is an agreement signed between the subject and the real author).
Last heard in Mumbai: a failed actor and a realty tycoon have planned to write “their own” autobiographies. And, voila, a bahu of a big business empire, too, is writing a novel, and has paid a ghost writer a great deal of money to do the honours.
So, cheer up. The grass is greener here, you failed writers.
Second Best
They may be second-hand, but definitely not second-best. We’re talking books here. Mumbai’s obsession with old and rare books is now at its peak. I have come across the most amazing collection of books on Mumbai’s pavements, and the prices are unbelievably reasonable. For instance, I’ve managed to lay my hands on the first prints of H.G. Wells’ works, which I don’t think I could find anywhere else in the world. Here I found not only reprints, but also first editions, for just Rs 125 each. It’s amazing.
The demand for second-hand and rare books went up by around 50 per cent in the last one decade. Sample some of the gems that have changed hands, courtesy the intelligent raddiwalas: 1) Complete bound issues of National Geographic and Playboy magazines from the date of their inception - Rs 50 for a 12-volume set; 2) the first prints of James Joyce’s unabridged and uncensored Ulysses - Rs 50 each; 3) an early 19th century biography of Chhatrapati Shivaji by an unknown Marathi author - Rs 200; 4) an original copy of Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch - a mere Rs 5.
Incredibly cheap, one would say, but these books find their way into the international markets, including major auction houses in London, the city of book-lovers, where sometimes a single title could fetch the occasional buyer-seller a fortune. And the books that find their way outside are not just rare books published in India (in languages as varied as Pali, Sanskrit, Mythili and Chentamil), but books published from practically every nook and cranny of the world.
The roads in and around Flora Fountain are the biggest delight of second-hand book buffs - though the sellers were banned from hawking a couple of years ago, they have just come back, mercy. In a stretch of about two kilometres - on which educated, Shakespeare-quoting street vendors have hawked books for the past 20-30 years - around 200,000 books are up for grabs. Everyday. About 80 per cent of them are used books. All types are available here: fiction, non-fiction, technical, non-technical, you name it, you grab it.
Now, it is not just individual collectors who are throwing their hat into the ring. Big corporate houses and hotels are also stacking up old and rare books - of course, in good condition, and preferably gold-rimmed - in their showcases. The money at stake here is definitely higher.
Predictably, several of these collectors’ items are found in bad condition - due, in the main, to poor handling (even in bookstores) and weather conditions - so, they require professional retouching, which itself is a business on the rise, but that is another story, and will save for another day.
The writer is the publisher and managing editor, Frog Books, an imprint of Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd, Mumbai. Write to him at poolani@gmail.com
Reading gives me food for thought’ : Shiv Khera
Reading and writing are my favourite pastimes. Reading provides me with my daily “food for thought”. Whether 40 or four pages, I make it a point to read daily. I just can’t do without it.
The books I read are generally non-fiction. Psychology, attitude and life are my favourite subjects. I stick to these only.
The Power Of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale is my favourite book and he also happens to be my favourite author. Though his writing doesn’t involve any scholarly subject matter, it possesses immense depth.
The best thing about the book is that everyone who reads it, can relate to it because it is so simply written. It is all about the day to day events that happen in our lives, narrated with clarity. It is such an easy read that I suggest it to everyone.
The books I read generally give me a different perspective to topics of our daily life. What I read tends to reinforce my own beliefs and I think books are best understood when we read them with an open mind. Books, according to me, should be seen as the writer’s perception of life and things.
Mysterious catacombs of Paris
By Christine Pemberton
Twenty metres below the streets of Paris lies a parallel network of underground galleries filled with millions and millions of skeletons. Macabre, but true. If you want to visit one of Paris’ lesser-known, off-beat sites, then head for the Catacombs.
The catacombs date back to the Gallo-Roman period, when the original hills on which Paris is founded, were extensively quarried for building stone. Over the centuries, the catacombs were gradually abandoned as quarrying stopped, but they not entirely forgotten.
In the late 18th century, Paris ran literally out of space in its cemeteries. One of the city’s oldest burial places, la Cimitiere des Innocents which had existed for over 10 centuries, contained so many corpses that its level had actually risen to over 8 feet above the surrounding streets. Local residents complained to the police about the threat to public health from the cemetery, claiming that the air emanating from it was so foul that it curdled milk and turned wine sour. After five years of deliberation, the city of Paris finally decided that the thousands of remains in this controversial, unhealthy cemetery would have to be relocated. And the catacombs seemed the ideal place, with their miles of underground tunnels.
On 7 April 1786, the catacombs were consecrated by Roman Catholic priests, and the first remains were transferred, a task that would take nearly two years.
Victims of the French Revolution would later be buried here. Over the years, remains from other cemeteries that had closed down were also moved to the catacombs.
It is thought that between six and seven million people are buried in his underground passages.
Now I have to confess that I have a special fondness, believe it or not, for the Paris catacombs (read on, for the reason why).
To get there, take the metro to Denfert-Rochereau station, and then follow the signs to the catacombs, where you can wander underground through miles and miles of skulls and bones. The skeletons are literally backed up on either side of the passageway, in some places to a depth of 30 metres. They are designed rather bizarrely into patterns. It is all curiously un-morbid, despite the dramatic sign over the ossuary which reads, “Stop! Here is the Empire of Death.”
And now for the reason why I have a penchant for this virtually unknown Paris sight: one sunny September afternoon, nearly twenty years ago, when I was living in Paris, I suddenly decided to visit the Catacombs, for the very simple reason that I’d never been there. I was eight months pregnant, and thought that I might as well visit as much of Paris as possible, before the baby came.
So, fat of tummy and very short of breath, I climbed slowly and ponderously down the steep, spiral steps leading to the Catacombs, visited them, and took three times as long to climb back up the steps and yes, you’ve guessed, a few hours later, two weeks early, out popped the baby. I’ll never know whether the steps had anything to do with it, but the catacombs will always have a special place in my tourist itinerary.
I took Hari back there years later, and told him the story of the day before he was born. With the look that only a child can give his mother, he said, “Mum, you really are quite weird, you know.”
Getting there
By Air: The main international airport, Roissy - Charles de Gaulle is your port of entry if you fly into France from outside Europe. CDG is the home of Air France (AF), the national company, for most intercontinental flights. Some low-cost airlines, including Ryanair and Volare, fly to Beauvais airport situated about 80 km northwest of Paris.
By Road: There is no single national bus service. Furthermore, buses are limited to local mass transit or departmental/regional service.
By Train: The French rail company, SNCF, provides direct service from most European countries using regular trains. French train tickets can be purchased directly from RailEurope, a subsidiary of the SNCF. The Eurostar service uses high-speed to connect Lille and Paris with London, the later via the Calais-Dover channel tunnel.
Tourist information: Maison de la France/The French Government Tourist Office
825 Third Avenue, 29th floor (entrance on 50th street)
New York, NY 10022
Accommodation:
Hotels come in 4 categories from one to four stars. This is the official rating given by the Ministry of Tourism, and it is posted at the entrance on a blue shield. Rates vary according to accommodation, location and sometimes high or low season or special events.
‘Chicago is an architectural delight’
Celeb Travel: Sanjay Dutt
I have so many memories attached to the States, and so many friends that it is my favourite holiday destination. And since Trishala lives there I like travelling to the US whenever I can, whether I am working or not. Chicago is one of my favourite cities in the world. It’s really huge but not as intimidating as some of the big cities like London and New York can be. It has its own pace and charm, which grows on you as you start soaking in the city. I was there only recently, and not much has changed in the last few years, the friendly faces, the beautiful skyline, the sports fans, and the spirit, which makes this city unique.
Since I am a huge sports fan myself, it’s one of the major attraction for me in Chicago. To watch the Chicago Bulls, which once had names like Magic Johnson in its team, on their home ground is one of a kind experience. And then there are the local baseball, and American football teams, and if they are playing in town, the city has a carnival-like feel to it. I am actually tempted to stay for the complete basketball season in Chicago and watch all their home matches, travel with the team wherever they go maybe. But then work comes in the way. You can visit the sports museums attached to these sports grounds, which hold some of the finest sports memorabilia in the world.
The city is divided into several big districts, which the local call sides; South side, North side, and each of these districts have their specific cultural significance and a different feel to them. Most of the tourist destinations are in the centre of the city, but you have to experience the local life by moving around the suburbs, which might be quite a distance, but then the immensely efficient public transport system makes up for it. The way the city is built, Chicago is known as an architectural delight, the towering buildings standing tall with grace. There are several museums that mark the history of the rebuilding of Chicago somewhere in the 19th century and is a case study for architecture students. Chicago is also officially ranked at the top of the list, as the city for art lovers.
Although I am not much of an art person, I understand modern art. And that is where Chicago scores because it has possibly world’s best art collections.
The local tourism department organises special day trips for the art lovers through the cities various museums, and if you are into it, you should make use of the facility. Good thing about the States is that the information is so easily available. There are always people there to guide you, you will end up in the right place.
All the different districts have their different pockets of ethnic neighbourhoods, like the China Town or the Mexican corner. All these different cultures integrated together, make it a good tasting palette. I just freak out on the food when I go to Chicago with the diverse cuisine, and then have to run an hour longer in the parks to burn all those calories. After Hollywood and New York, Chicago has the third largest movie industry in the States. A lot of independent films are likely to be in progress when you are walking through the streets, and always nice to catch a glimpse of your favourite Hollywood icons.
I have done a tour of the studios in Chicago and find their work ethic, method, preparation very inspirational. You can also go to the theatres, or opera houses, which are in abundance in the city.
It’s the place of the famous musical Chicago after all. The tickets to the theatre can be expensive, even more than Broadway sometimes, because the people here are so proud of their art. But then there are several street festivals, theatre festivals all through the year, which are just as good.
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Exploring the land of clouds
News to use
Explore New Zealand, the land of the long white clouds. Spend five days and four nights in this small, sparsely populated country consisting of two major islands, North and South Island. Spend two nights in Auckland and Rotorua respectively. You will also get a chance to visit the Puia Thermal Reserve to see boiling mudpools and roaring geysers in Rotorua. The trip also takes you for a visit to Paradise Valley Springs to see New Zealand’s trout, birds and wildlife in Rotorua.
Price: Rs 29,665 per person on twin sharing basis.
www.travelmartindia.com
Fundamentals
By Senjam Raj Sekhar
For those of you who are in Chennai, the city plays host to two quizzes today. Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Truchirapalli is organising a business quiz for corporate participants as part of its festival Crescita 2008. Venue: Accord Metropolitan in Chennai; Time: 2.15 pm; Two member team. Total prize money of Rs 50,000.
The finals of the business quiz of Radio Mirchi clash of corporates will be held today from (10 am to 12 noon). Venue: Kalaivanar Arangam (opp. Triplicane police station) Wallajah Road, Chennai.
This week we take you on a tour of sports trophies - the interesting sometimes quirky stories behind some of best known sports prizes.
Write with your suggestions, questions (with answers) to D4/11 (GF), Exclusive Floors, DLF Phase-V, Gurgaon 122 002 or email senjam@gmail.com
Cup brimmeth over
1. Which sporting trophy has the face of every winner sculpted onto the trophy since its inception in 1911?
2. The winner of which championship is awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy?
3. Which is the only trophy in professional sports that has the name of the winning players, coaches, management, and club staff engraved on it?
4. The original one is a terracotta version that has never left the museum. The winners of this championship have been given a Waterford Crystal representation of the original, since 1998-99. What are we talking about?
5. Which trophy has a figure of a naked man on its top waving a chequered flag?
6. The original one made in pewter lies in Louvre in Paris. This trophy made of sterling silver, has the image of goddess Minerva around the rim and also the symbols for the liberal arts: arithmetic, astrology, geometry, grammar, music and speech. Which one?
7. Which trophy has fine engravings of three king cobras forming the handles and the domed lid is surmounted by an elephant with a howdah?
8. Which cup affectionately called the “Auld Mug” is designed in the shape of a bottomless pitcher?
9. Which famous trophy now no longer in existence, was primarily a statute of Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory?
10. Two nations, both giants in this sport, have been fighting out for the the Bledisloe Cup, since 1934. Which sport?
Anything Goes
1. Name the first Indian Prime Minister to be sworn in at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan. (Parvinder Bhatia, Jamshedpur)
2. Three personalities were awarded the first ever Bharat Ratna in 1954. Two of them were politicians C. Rajagopalachari and S. Radhakrishnan. Who was the non-politician? (N.V. Suguna, Chennai)
3. Connect Michael Jackson and Peter Pan. (U. Narasimha Murthy, Secunderabad)
4. At which tournament was Monica Seles playing when she was stabbed by Gunther Parche. (Dr Ravi Bhatia, Udaipur)
5. Which US President was known to be ambidextrous? He could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other. (Sushil Kumar Poddar, Kolkata)
6. The 2007 Korean movie The Happy Life and the Tom Hanks directed That Thing You Do is supposed to have inspired which recent Bollywood hit? (Partha Gupta, Kolkata)
Funda of the week
Which is the only sport where women can compete in the Olympics but men do not? (Ravikumar C., Jolarpet) Softball
Answers
Cup brimmeth over
1. The Borg-Warner Trophy given to the winner of the Indy 500
2. The Superbowl
3. Stanley Cup awarded to the winner of the National Hockey League (NHL), the ice hockey club championship in the US
4. Ashes. The original Ashes urn is in Marylebone Cricket Club Museum at Lord’s
5. The Borg-Warner Trophy given to the winner of the Indy 500
6. Venus Rosewater Dish, given to the Wimbledon Ladies Champion. The Pewter Original on which the trophy is based is in Louvre
7. Calcutta Cup, given to winner of the annual rugby union Championship match between England and Scotland
8. America’s Cup
9. Jules Rimet Trophy
10. Rugby. The Bledisloe Cup was donated in 1931 by the Governor-General of New Zealand, Lord Bledisloe. Australia and New Zealand compete for this Cup that was first won by Australia in 1934
Anything Goes
1. Chandra Shekhar
2. C.V. Raman
3. Michael Jackson named his ranch as Never Land after the fictional island in the story Peter Pan
4. Hamburg open
5. James Garfield
6. Rock On!
Features of the Week
Deccan Chronicle
OPENS TODAY: This Bunny’s Funny!
Although the Playboy Bunny in the House Bunny is lovable and hilariously silly, the movie falls short in terms of a good story and a strong ending.
THE HOUSE BUNNY
Directed by Fred Wolf
Starring Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Katharine McPhee, Rumer Willis, Kiely Williams
THIS film has a Playboy Bunny getting tossed out from Hugh Hefner’s mansion to end up running a sorority house full of socially clueless girls. It’s like Legally Blonde minus the legal jargon.
Quite an interesting storyline, I must say, but the way it is played out leaves much to be desired.
While Anna Faris’ portrayal of Playboy Bunny Shelley is excellent, the sorority girls act too unbelievably stupid to be magically transformed into the coolest girls in school by the end of the movie.
I never thought that I would say this about Faris, but the actress from the Scary Movie franchise clearly shines in her role as the pea-brained bimbo with a lot of heart.
Faris oozes blonde bombshell silliness with every squeal and word, as well as in her body language. She nails the character completely, playing Shelley as if she and the character are one and the same.
The rest of the cast, however, do not match Faris’ fine performance.
Oliver (Colin Hanks, son of Tom Hanks) is just palatable as the good-natured student who volunteers at an old folks’ home.
Rumer Willis (daughter of actress Demi Moore and actor Bruce Willis), who plays Joanne in the sorority, does not impress either - perhaps “acting genes” don’t pass down automatically.
The plot is quite jarring and unrealistic. The producers seem more intent on showing skin than tying up loose ends.
For example, when Shelley enrols in school or the character development of the sorority sisters.
Then there’s a girl who always hides in the closet and no clue is given as to why she does that.
You know the film is bad when the best moments are catchy tunes sung by someone other than the original artiste (in this case Avril Lavigne’s Girlfriend and Rihanna’s Take a Bow).
The movie attempts to examine peer pressure and the endless rivalry between the cool girls and the nerdy ones.
The message is to be true to yourself and to have a good heart but director Fred Wolf doesn’t bring it across with a good story and a strong ending.
Instead, the movie just plods along with a bad script and scenes that are more irritating than funny, even if there is occasional hilarity.
But, thanks to Faris, the story is watchable.
New Straits Times