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Iron out those wrinkles Unto this last
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Chhapar fair loses its old-world charm
For
a generation brought up on the rich cultural history of Punjab, Chhapar,
once touted as one of the biggest spectacular extravaganza of its kind
in the region, is a lacklustre event if not a downright disappointing
one. Gone are the days when people actually waited for the event and
would practise new dancing steps and songs to display their prowess in
this field. The present mela is a pale shadow of its glorious past when
it boasted of bringing alive the culture and ethos of Punjab. Crowds
still flock in thousands from all parts of the state and outside to pay
their obeisance at the impressive Gugga Marhi — a shrine dedicated to
Nag Devta — but what you come across today is the cacophony of
hundreds of loudspeakers blaring from early morning to well past
midnight, and shopkeepers selling all kinds of wares and miraculous
cures to rural folk. On the mela day, all roads lead to this
sleepy hamlet as lakhs of villagers from all over the state converge on
the venue of one of the biggest rural festivals of the state. But the
moment you reach the venue, you feel disappointed. The glowing and
descriptive details about the fair — that you read in history books
— are hard to find. Now, you hardly find anybody folk artistes and
singers. Neither are any dances like bhangra or giddha performed nor are
any sports such as kabaddi and tug-of-war held at the fair. You are
pained to see that the melodies played on folk instruments have been
replaced by loud speeches of politicians and shopkeepers advertising
their wares at the top of their voices. Gone are the days when people
came to buy and sell cattle and horses. Today, the purpose is pure and
simple enjoyment, with most of the visitors not even going up to the
temple. Last year, a group of old-timers, apparently put off by the
crass commercialisation of the religious event, said: "Those were
the good old days. There would be dhadhi durbars, where one
learnt and heard about the word of the Gurus and the exploits of the
heroes of the region. People would come from far-off places and would
sometimes stay for many days to soak in the atmosphere. Fortunately for
us, the politicians had not taken over then. Now you just come across
merry-go-rounds, raucous music, food stalls and dust. It is a blessing
that there are no dancing girls this time. But the quacks promising
stuff for eternal youth are carrying on their business
unchecked." Though people come in thousands, the enthusiasm seems
to be lacking. An old man recalled, "With the paddy ripening in the
fields, villagers do not have much work on their hands and seem to have
a good time at the festival. The women are conspicuous by their absence.
The mela is a show of male dominance and if a woman visits the mela, she’s
likely to face indecent remarks from men. Reports of brawls over
eve-teasing incidents are common at the mela. Consequently, most of the
women stay away." The folk artists, who used to make a beeline to
the mela a decade ago, too choose to stay away. Sharif Iddu, a noted
dhadhi singer, said that he had performed at the mela once but had found
no takers for his songs. "If very few people come to the akhara,
the spirit of a singer dies. He cannot perform. While we have
admirers the world over, we have nobody to listen to our music in our
melas." He said if the state wanted to save these fairs, the
North Zone Cultural Centre should be given the responsibility to
organise them. Thanks to the initiative taken by the Ludhiana
administration, the vulgar Zinda dances were banned three years ago. |
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Iron out those wrinkles The environment is your biggest enemy:
Have you noticed the grey haze that drifts around just above your head
as you walk down the streets or are driving next to one of those
smoke-belching tanks. As the day progresses, uncovered skin, like your
face and arms, is coated with a thin film of dirt which clogs the
pores. Since it unlikely that you’re going to dash off for a shower
in the middle of your sales meeting, the film slowly builds up till
you wash it off. Pollutants are, hence, one of the main contributors
to early ageing of skin. Sun exposure is also a critical factor.
Strong sunlight can result in your skin becoming dry and leathery in
appearance. UV rays are harmful to your delicate skin. Even a cloudy
day doesn’t protect your skin from UV rays. Cold weather too can dry
out your skin. And staying indoors with the heating up can dry it
further. Solution: Use wipes of a gentle face spritz to
rejuvenate your skin from time to time throughout the day. If you have
to go out in the sun, use sunblock with SPF 15 or higher religiously.
And moisturise regularly. Smokers and heavy drinkers, beware! Nasty
habits always bite back. Smokers or people who are exposed to smoke
greatly risk the health of their skin. Nicotine and caffeine make the
skin dry and darken it unhealthily. It robs the skin of important
nutrients like Vitamin C, which keeps it fresh. Alcohol seriously
messes with blood circulation. Blood vessels are made to expand and
are damaged in the long term. This causes broken blood vessels to be
seen on the skin’s surface. Solution: Kick the habit. If
not, use intense moisturisers regularly and massage your face lightly
from time to time. Time and gravity wait for none: Let’s
face it. As time goes by, your skin will no longer have the bouncy
tautness of your grandchild’s. Your life would hopefully have been
an enriching roller coaster of emotions where your face had to
stretch, scrunch up and do other acrobatics. This takes a toll on its
elasticity. And gravity will also begin to pull down your skin, making
it sag. Solution: You can either wrinkle gracefully or
attempt to erase them. If doing the former, remember to allow your
skin to look healthy and well hydrated while it wrinkles. Moisturise
every night and use a good and gentle face wash for regular use. Try
not to use harsh products on your skin. If you want to delay the
wrinkles, try some of science’s solutions. A simple Botox injection
between your eyebrows can clean up those frown lines quickly. Too
dry to handle: Does your skin feel itchy and excessively dry? Do
you feel it takes longer than usual to heal minor bruises and cuts?
This may be the first symptoms of illnesses like skin cancer or kidney
disease. Solution: Consult a doctor pronto. Did you know
that the skin is the largest organ in the body? And our skin has a
pretty stressful job. So in order to keep your skin healthy and ready
for battle, remember the basics. Be healthy. Eat your greens and drink
at least eight glasses of water a day. Exercise because even your skin
gets a workout with all that sweating and stretching. And never feel
guilty about sleeping enough.
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Unto this last
Music,
according to Beethoven, is the mediator between the spiritual and
sensual. And when integrated with the force of love, the product could
even be devastating.
Such is the story of Amit Sachdeva, a tabla nawaaz
of Delhi Gharana and a disciple of Padma Shri-recipient Ustaad
Shafaat Ahmed Khan. Amit not only lived for his music and the love for
his guru but resigned his life to them on July 30, 2005, when he
breathed his last at the age of 27. At the age of 10, when other
kids could barely remember their lessons from class, Amit had got a
firm grasp over bongo, drum and finally the tabla. It was tabla that
fascinated him and it wasn’t long before he came into the fold of
renowned tabla maestro Shafaat Ahmed Khan. The devotion to his guru
and tabla became a blinding passion for this budding musician. He
would bunk school but unlike other kids who went bumming around with
friends, he would go home and practise tabla, says Rishi Ranjan, Amit’s
closest friend. As he grew, his love for tabla also grew. Every
Saturday, he would catch a train to Delhi to attend Shafaat’s tabla
class. Soon, Amit started giving his own performances. He performed
solo in the festival, Arpan-2004, organised by renowned Kathak dancer
Shovana Narayan. The performance would get over but Amit’s tabla
wouldn’t stop, says Rishi. He would come back home, light a candle
and keep playing till the candle burnt out. Amit was completely
devoted to his guru, says Rishi. All that mattered to him was what his
guru said, what his guru liked and what his guru wanted. Amit’s
feelings did not go unreciprocated. No matter which part of the world
Shafaat went to perform, while accompanying legends like Pt Shiv Kumar
Sharma, Pt Hari Prasad Churasia, Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan and Pt Bhimsen
Joshi, he would call to ask about his favourite disciple Amit. Amit
had his own band of disciples in Chandigarh. He would never look at
the watch while teaching. He never took any fee from his students.
Says Rishi, "Amit ne table se paisa nahin kamaya, uski pooja
ki hai." "On July 24, 2005, Shafaat Ahmed Khan
succumbed to an illness. His death came as a big blow to my son,"
says Amit’s father Gulshan Sachdeva. He would watch his guru’s CDs
into the night. He was to perform at a function with Ustaad Ashish
Khan, son of Ali Akbar Khan, in memory of his guru. But Amit could
not survive his guru’s loss. A week after Shafaat’s death, he
suffered a fatal heart attack. "Even on the way to the hospital
Amit played tabla with his fingers and his lips moved silently with bol,"
recalls Amit’s mother. On his last day, Amit played for 17 hours.
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Creases,
laugh lines, crow’s feet — call it whatever you want, but wrinkles
are wrinkles are wrinkles. Some regard this natural weathering of the
skin as a sign of experience and wisdom that comes with age. Others
may see this less optimistically — as a sign that they are past
their prime. In this day and age, wrinkles are known to appear
prematurely due to many reasons. Here are some of the causes of early
ageing of the skin.
