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Saal(am)
Namaste Destination
2006 Moviemad
2005 Bookworms
2005 Stars head
for sunny shores Do it right
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Saal(am) Namaste If ‘Bunty aur Babli’ scorched the big screen and ‘oye bubbly’ was hot on the small screen, there was fizz and froth in the city’s air too. There was bounty unlimited as wine festivals got flowing at various hotels and the Chandigarh Wine Club get-together got uncorked at Chimney Heights, on the city’s outskirts. The spirits of the hip crowd also bubbled with excitement as the lounge bar Athena opened at Fun Republic. This gave them another place to take a swig, swing and sing, ‘Bar, bar dekho.’ While Athena raised the Bar on enjoyment, the new Café-17 in a leading hotel had a lot brewing too. The situation was so fluid that a Chai Bar could be the next big thing. Yo! entry There was plenty cooking on the food front. It was ‘Enter the dragon’, with a slice of the Big Apple, as Yo! China brought a cuisine that was Chinese, but style that was American. Its USP—-(oriental) flavour at the speed of fast food—-made it a case of chopsticks chasing the clock. Adding to the Oriental fare was the Taj’s Chinese restaurant Black Lotus, giving the moneyed class more Manchurian to munch. If momos were biting into the burger’s market slice, a new specialty restaurant made pasta give pizza a run for its money. Pomodoro, the Italian restaurant at The Piccadilly, dished out not only flavour but also fragrance with its in-house herb garden. From Swagath to Al Kareem and Mongolian menus to live cooking, there was fresh fare on the gourmet’s platter. Yet there was a hunger for more specialty cuisines. Say, Lip-smacking Lebanese. Or Just Japanese. Ummm, some food for thought. The Rising The tricity showed promise of Rising on the fashion map of the country with the inauguration of the mega $ 1.2 million fashion technology park (FTP) and a Business School of Fashion (BSF). After the UBS (University Business School), the BSF became the second B-school in the city. It has been designed for another kind of rising. The rising hemlines of Indian fashion. Set to add fashionocrats to this city of bureaucrats and technocrats, the new school got hope rising among those in need of suit-able talent. And the FTP meant a new (ad)dress not only for fashion gurus like J.J. Vallaya or Rana Gill, but for all those who can cut a long story too short or spin a new yarn. Dharam masala The never-ending star trek from Bollywood and Tollywood spelt good news for the Indian Idle too. For, many a city youth bunked classes to ‘Just Chill’ watching Katrina Kaif. Or got ready, not for college, but for a glimpse of Mahima Choudhry or Sameera Reddy. With the Great Tinsel Town Tour wrapping up with Garam Dharam & Co, City Beautiful’s shooting
ranges got more taste of movie masala. The cityscape’s reel potential turned into real opportunity as land for a Film City was earmarked and CITCO set up a Bollywood facilitation cell. And with a conclave in Mumbai discussing cinematic tourism in Chandigarh, the script for its new role as a shoot-at-site destination was almost written. Shaadi No 1 Theatre buffs got plenty of comic relief. Even as the curtain went up on plays good and bad, comedy was the flavour of the season. The stage was set for the Great City Laughter Challenge. And the Theme No 1 was the ‘Comedy of Errors’ called shaadi. For, if Poonam Dhillon came looking for ‘My Perfect Husband’, Rati Agnihotri pleaded, ‘Please Divorce me Darling’. And Mandira Bedi and Samir Soni felt marriage was about “Anything but Love”. Anant Mahadevan, Ayesha Jhulka and Divya Dutta (e)spoused the theme ‘Mujhe Rang De’, while Jitendra Mittal’s ‘Salim Sherwani ki Shaadi’ wowed with its tale of wedding vows. As English and vernacular theatre both were winners in this laughathon, it showed that a laugh riot can be sparked by any language. Salwar mein twist The czars and czarinas of couture not only gave the city’s fashionistas a peek into stylized salwars and seem-less saris, they even floored them with carpet-inspired prêt lines. If the creation by Rocky S rocked the ramp, Suneet Varma not only brought new designs but also memories of the famous ‘Babli lift’. Tarun Tahilani’s collection inspired from West Asian Killim carpets made the rug-ged look arrive on the catwalk. From the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour to the Fashion Knowledge Forum, though the robes showcased couldn’t have made it to the commoners’ wardrobes, all’s well that ends (with) Wendell. Even as the style gurus left their stamp and went, some signature stores like Satya Paul came to stay. Aashiq Banaya Aapne This year, the craze for Harry Potter peaked as his sixth book was launched at the peak of summer. But this was a literary romance that was powered a lot by purchasing power and prestige value. As children and adults went berserk procuring ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ for a princely sum, it was clearly an instance of ‘Harry met Salary’. Proclaiming ownership of the latest Potter title became a fashion statement at kitty parties. Being first with the latest Potter facts enabled many among reading-challenged glitterati to pose as the literati. As for the city’s real book lovers, barring the stray book exhibition, book launch or visits by authors like Nigel Collett, Shiv Khera or John Keay, there wasn’t really anything new in English writing to write home about. |
Not just the city residents, tycoons from all over the region are raring to lose their blues in discothèques, nightclubs and hotels across the city on the New Year Eve, says Saurabh Malik For so many tycoons living life in the boom towns of the region, free-flowing golden elixir in dance `n’ dine parties with blazing infernos warming up their spirits is just not enough to hold them back on the New Year Eve. Raring to cut footloose on the thumping beats of reverberating music in discotheques and hotels with dance floors illuminated by cheerful laser lights, they are driving all the way to Chandigarh “from all over” in perfectly polished semi-limousines on December 31. Having doubts? Well, listen to what Nagina Singh of Taj has to say. In hospitably business for quite some time, she asserts, “Celebrating crowd from all over the region, including Himachal Pradesh, is zipping down the fast track of merriment all the way to Chandigarh for celebrating the big evening”. Gee! Sounds interesting. Smiling, Nagina adds: “In fact, the partying pack has already made reservations for rejoicing the rise of a New Year from the ashes of old…. The best part of the crowd is from the region’s industrial hub — Ludhiana. No doubt about it.” Explaining the trend, Nagina says, “The revelers in this part of the region always had the potential to spend on quality entertainment. But there were hardly any options available to them until a few years ago. No wonder, they had to drive down all the way to Delhi for the occasion, in style”. Quite true, if you have pockets with oozing out money. In any case, the effect of the partying clique’s enthusiasm is there for all to see. Some of the perpetually vacant rooms in city hotels and lodges have already been booked. “They will soon be littered with luggage as captains of industries check in a few hours before the programmes commence,” says Dinesh Goyal of lodge in Sector 22. Passing on the reservation register, he whispers, “You may find it hard to believe, but barons not just from Ludhiana, but also from Bathinda, Patiala and Abohar are arriving in the city along with their families cars and tourist buses”. Some guys have all the time and money in the world. Interrupting the free flow of your thoughts, Goyal asserts, “For them, out of the ordinary arrangements have been made at special rates. In fact, the rooms have been spruced up especially for the occasion”. All the best and happy partying for the eve that comes after 365 days. |
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Moviemad 2005 As the New Year crawls in, triggering off an explosion of feverish festivity, the memories of 2005 are fading into insignificance. But then, there are some memories that never die. They remain forever, safely tucked away in some crook or corner of our reminiscence. And so, as the year comes to a close, we get some movie buffs to open the closets of their cherished film memories. Watching the trade figures of flicks that hit the theatres in 2005 very very closely, one feels that the year didn’t churn out anything classic. Though Bollywood pretty much produced the same number of films in 2005, the loss has been of 400 crores against last year’s 300 crores. Many movies proved to be nothing but duds. This hasn’t, however, dampened our movie buffs a wee bit. Lets delve deep in their hearts to dig out their fave flicks.
Heroes ka jaadu chal gaya
Uum yes…the moment of reckoning has come. And as peep into more and more hearts, we find people saying goodbye to the ravishing Tinsel town damsels. No more swooning over lovely ladies. For, the metro-sexual man has arrived. Salman Khan, the naughty boy of Bollywood, in spite all controversies, remains the heartthrob of females. Then, there was Imran Hashmi who sizzled on screen. Harbhajan Mann can’t help that winsome smile as he talks about Sallu Bhai, “Salman looked great in ‘No Entry’ and ‘Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya’ and I loved the movies.” What most people gobbled this year was the huge doses of comedy. ‘No Entry’ and ‘Maine Pyar Kyon Kiya’ made the box office go ka-ching. But, the most successful film of the year was the Yash Chopra production ‘Bunty aur Babli’, followed closely by comic caper ‘No Entry’. Bunty and Bubly did better overseas. Laughs movie-lover Indu Bala, an English professor at GCG, Sector 11, “So many people have identified with ‘Banti aur Babli’ and I loved it for the preppy song Kajrare. No wonder the colour of the movie was splashed on the country streets as ‘Banti aur Babli’ bags, necklaces and kurtis.” The 63-year-old mega star is going great guns. The year 2005 saw him striking Gold at the box-office. His name featured in the credits of 10 films, out of which ‘Bunti aur Babli’, ‘Sarkaar’ and ‘Black’ were super hits.“ Amit ji was amazing in Black.” Adds Prof. Indu, “I’m a Bhansali fan and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The presentation of reality in it literally made me shudder.” And when father was rocking, could son Abhishek be far behind? He made the yuppie crowd swoon to the beats of ‘Kajrare kajrare’ (though pa Bachchan was leagues ahead here too). Plus, he’s scored brownie points by appearing in Bluff master at the year’s fag end. Arty delights
Sleeper hits, off beat things sizzled too. The best liked flicks were ‘Iqbal’, ‘Black’ and Madhur bhandarkar’s ‘Page 3’ which completed a Silver Jubilee but also won national awards. Says artist Diwan Manna, “Parineeta was an unbeatable period movie. A complete film without any formula.” Adds Gursewak Mann, “Though the theme of Black moved me, I also enjoyed Parineeta that showed the Calcutta’s culture so well.” “Raincoat was amazing for it’s simplicity,” adds Kamal Tiwari. So folks, what’s your fave? Go down the memory lane and find out! |
Bookworms 2005
Here is a tribe who still believes in the wisdom of words. It’s hard to believe that this lot would rather spend their spare time with a plain old book rather than taking the easy way out, which we normally do, grab hold of the remote and let ourselves drift along the glittering world of TV. It’s also difficult to generalise the reason for their obsession. But listen to this book lover. For an introvert like him, books provided an escape route for him during his childhood. It became companionship during his adulthood and before he realised it books became his need. A need that is not just intellectual but also emotional and spiritual. So they devour books. Anything, which hits the bookstores, finds a place in their bookshelves too, if not their hearts. Tribune Lifestyle takes a look around to find out which were the books that found favour with our own book devotees. Prof Rana Nayar, who teaches English literature at Panjab University, by his own admission, writes more than he reads. But ask him which was the most memorable book he read this year, the list is more than you can handle. “The best book I read this year was ‘Being Indian’ by Pavan K. Verma. Then there was this book by Nandita Roy called ‘The Waste Land: Making of Grassroots Leaders’, which I found fascinating though it was not literary,” he tells us. There are others. One was Mirza Abu Taleb’s Travels, a travelogue, which was translated by Charles Stewart in 1812 but recently edited by Mushirul Hassan and also ‘Prophets Facing backward: Post Modernism, Science & Hindu Nationalism’ by Meera Nanda. As we move on we meet Prof Shelly Walia, known for his voracious reading habits. “The book I liked this year was ‘Multitude’ by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, a confrontational and though- provoking book against unilaterlism,” says Prof Walia. This is one book he has been waiting for after he read ‘Empire’ by the same authors a couple of years back. ‘Multitude’ is the sequel to ‘Empire’. “The first book was powerful that there was a few writers came out with another book called ‘Debating Empire’, we were informed. Next we meet Neel Kamal Puri, whose debut book ‘ The Patiala Quartet’ is about to be released. “I read Tarun Tejpal’s ‘Alchemy of Desire’, Amratya Sen’s ‘Argumentative Indian’ and Rupa Bajwa’s ‘Saree shop’, says this writer who teaches Functional English at GCG-11. She liked ‘Saree Shop’ the best for the flow of her writing and also the style of narration. ‘Alchemy of Desire’ was a complete no-no for her. Meet Joanna, who is working as the co-ordinator at an art gallery. “Reading is as important as eating and sleeping to me,” says this bookworm, who reads right from Mills and Boons to Patricia Cornwell to Robin Cook and Stephen King. “My most favourite books which I read this year were ‘State of Fear’ by Michael Critcheon and ‘Hour Glass’ by David Baldacci. So before you push this article to the back of your mind and pick up the remote once again, here is a list of few must read books: Non-fiction
Fiction
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A slew of Bollywood actors, filmmakers and musicians are heading for Goa to ring in the New Year. But there are exceptions like Rahul Bose who prefers to spend his time in tsunami-affected areas. Here’s what they say about their New Year celebration plans. Rahul Bose: “It’s been a year since the tsunami. I’m in Andaman Nicobar for Christmas and the New Year to relive the trauma, to understand that such situations aren’t a one-off thing. They can happen any time again. We need to be more prepared. “I want to see how much progress has been made with the relief operations. For me, that’s the most comforting way of celebrating the year-end. I don’t know why everyone heads for Goa on New Year eve. It just gets so crowded. I’m not a crowd person. I’m not even a party person. I like solitude even on new year eve.” Deepti Naval: “I’ll be in Madh Island...Bringing in the new year in my new home, spending time with my mom who’s coming from New York. Friends are welcome to drop in. We’ll hang out on Ketan and Deepa Mehta’s terrace in the same building till we ring in the New Year.” Karan Johar: “Goa, of course! Where else? It’s almost tradition. Isn’t that where everyone heads? I’m tempted to say I’m going elsewhere this New Year. But that would be just fooling myself. No matter how hard I try to change my plans, it’s always Goa for me. I badly need a break after the long and gruelling spell of ‘Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna’. This is my chance.” Ekta Kapoor: “I’ll be in Goa with friends, but only for two days. I don’t have time for a longer break. If I did I might’ve thought of some other place.” Mahesh Bhatt: “I won’t be going anywhere. I’ll be in Mumbai working. For me Jan 1, 2006, will just be another day.” Vipul Shah: “My wife and I will be in Mumbai only. We’ll be partying only till about 1 pm on New Year’s Eve. We want to welcome 2006 in our home. I’ll get up early, do a small puja, work till late afternoon. Then in the evening we’ll host a party at home for family and friends.” Sammir Dattani: “Usually I spend the new year with my family and friends. But this time I’m shooting for Mani Shankar’s film in Hyderabad. And I’m not complaining! To be finally so busy that I don’t even get a holiday at year-end is a blessing. I’ll probably celebrate with Mani and my co-stars Om Puri and Sushant Singh.” Sameera Reddy: “I’m flying off to Greece for two days. I’m spending New Year with my sister Meghana who lives there. It’s hectic. But I had promised her that I’d be there. And I like to keep my promises.” Priyanka Chopra: “I’ll be out of the country with some close friends. I’ve been working hard, and I need a break.” Smriti Irani: “I’ll be at home with my family.
That’s where I always am on New Year’s Eve.” Victor Bannerjee: “I’m basically a man of nature. I’ll be in Kasauli worshipping the Himalayas. Isn’t that where we are all ultimately bound?” Urmila Matondkar: “Goa...where else? Isn’t that where all of us are supposed to head? I’ve had a pretty hectic schedule lately, and I really need this break. I’m really looking forward to my year-end holiday.” Shabana Azmi: “Happily, in my own saga home. I’ve been shooting for J.P. Dutta’s ‘Umrao Jaan’ in Jaipur...Have been away from Mumbai for too long...I’ll be happy to get back home to spend New Year’s Eve.” Jadu (husband Javed Akhtar) isn’t a party animal either. But my brother Baba Azmi and bhabhi Tanvi will be going to attend Aamir Khan’s wedding. I don’t know Farhan and Zoya Akhtar’s plans. So I suppose it’ll be just my mother, Jadu and me at home. And yes, close friends will surely drop in.” Subhash Ghai: “I go to visit Sai Baba in Shirdi every year on Dec 31, and that shall remain unchanged. I want to offer prayers so I can be a better human being and a better filmmaker. I also pray for my well-wishers.” Adnan Sami: “I’ll be in Bangkok for the New Year celebrating with family and friends. And yes, my lady love will also accompany me.” Anupam Kher: “My new year will be quiet as always. For me the New Year is as special as any other day. I never take the time given to me by God for granted. By saying this I’m not trying to be different. But that’s how I feel.” Vidya Balan: “I’m a complete home bird. Will be at home with my parents for the New Year. That according to me is the best way to celebrate.” Madhur Bhandarkar: “Me and my wife will be visiting Tirupati-Balaji for the new year. I haven’t found the time to visit one of my favourite holy spots for five years. It’s been a satisfying year for me and I want to thank god for it. So I’m taking a few days off from my shooting of ‘Corporate’ to do so.” K.K. Menon: “My wife and I like to take an impromptu decision on what to do for the new year. We’ll probably be celebrating in Mumbai only. But that’s something we’ll decide only when the time comes.” Konkona Sen: “I’ll be at Naseeruddin Shah’s farmhouse. The film in which he directs me is complete. And we’ll have a wrap-up party. Really looking forward to it.” Sohail Khan: “Goa...like every year. My bachcha and me love the sun and surfing. Basically he’s gone on his father. We’re both beach bums.” — IANS |
Cool music and belly dancers are not enough to hold you back at one place. Blazing inferno swaying in all directions as if dancing to the thumping beats of music flowing along with rich drinks is not enough to hold you back at one place. For, you simply love to hop on and off your car rushing towards 2006. Well, folks, here is a complete party hoppers guide compiled just for you to enjoy one bash after another without sticking to one place. First of all, remember to carry the invites, lest you are not allowed to enter the world of excitement on the New Year’s Eve. If you plan to include nightclubs and discotheques in your list of places-to-be-at on December 31, seek the company of girls. For, most parties are strictly for couples.
In case you have the invites, you will find a lot many maidens looking for entry without passes. Just stand in front of the venue for about 10 minutes. The girls will approach you, without fail. Take them along. Friendship of convenience, you can call it. You see New Year Eve parties normally pick momentum after 9 pm. As such, you cannot proceed in one direction, go to another, twirl around the dance floor, and come back in less than three hours. So use your vote. Keep in mind the venue you wish to boogie before the New Year arrives and plan accordingly. Start from one direction and reach the party you wish to enjoy at least an hour before the big moment. You should stick to one drink. Don’t have scotch at one party and rum at another. Blending drinks will only give you headache, if nothing more. Beer is safer. Better still, save drinks for the final bash. Till then, act teetotaler. It’s not a bad idea. In the end, stay at a party as long as you like. You are not obliged to be there forever as it is your day and so have your
way. — SM |
TAROT TALK
— 2006
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