Sunday, March 30, 2003

ART & LITERATURE 'ART AND SOUL BOOKS MUSINGS TIME OFF YOUR OPTION ENTERTAINMENT BOLLYWOOD BHELPURI TELEVISION WIDE ANGLE FITNESS GARDEN LIFE NATURE SUGAR 'N' SPICE CONSUMER ALERT TRAVEL INTERACTIVE FEATURES CAPTION CONTEST FEEDBACK

The cost of conflict Mehru Jaffer

DEFENCE analysts say at least a quarter of the world’s countries are devastated by armed conflict, including sporadic but long-drawn battles against terrorists and guerrillas, posing a great threat to stability everywhere. Sub-Saharan Africa and West Asia remain prone to more wars. The war in Afghanistan has spread to other South Central Asian countries to unsettle an entire region. And Iraq is considered the most dangerous of all sites because of the threat from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

Tough and turbulent times ahead
Sansar Chandra
I FEEL elated to extend my heartiest felicitation and good wishes to the readers while hailing the new Vikrama Year 2060, traditionally known as samvatsara. Although the first lunar day of Chaitra commenced at 00 : 48 a m on the night between April 1 and 2, but according to the norms governing the Vikrama calendar it must coincide with the sun rise to be designated as samvatsara. The point worth noting here is that Vaar-pravritti — the start of the day concludes with — sunrise and not with midnight, as we find in the Christian calendar.

Warli artists turn market savvy
Janaki Bhatt
WHEN Balu Mashya returned home after a three-month trip to Japan, neighbours were shocked to hear him mouth words like "home decor" and "lifestyle products" in the course of normal conversation. They knew he could manage a smattering of English, but applying marketing jargon to art was unheard of.

Lessons from life
The most precious possession in the world
THE story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of golden wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said "This is for you, Daddy." He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty. He yelled at her, "Don’t you know that when you give someone a present, there’s supposed to be something inside it?"