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DHARAVI
Largest slum is prized
real estate
Asia’s largest slum
sprawled over an area of 144 hectares and a population of a million is
being redeveloped. Located on prime land with prices of real estate
rivalling New York and Tokyo, from an eyesore the slum is all set to
get a makeover. Shiv Kumar traces
the evolution of Dharavi from a tiny fishing hamlet to a much sought
after city property
LONG
before some politician thought of naming the road after his long dead
ancestor, migrants who made Dharavi their home came up with a
practical moniker for the main street that meandered through Asia’s
largest slum. 60-Foot road they called it, though shopfronts mirroring
the expanding expectations of the residents had greatly reduced its
width by the 1990s.
Kapurthala’s crumbling
heritage
G. S.
Aujla says concerted efforts
are needed to restore the town’s palaces of yore that are in ruins
THE
erstwhile princely state of Kapurthala which at one time could boast
of one of the most beautiful edifices in North India, today has little
to showcase when one visits some of the sites associated with the
royalty. Among the many crumbling structures that speak of a neglected
heritage are Nawab Jassa Singh’s haveli; the Kamra Palace, also
known as Gole Kothi; and Nihal Palace in the heart of the old town of
Kapurthala.
‘PAU has to reorient
its research’
Gurdev
Singh Khush is one of the most decorated agricultural scientists in
the world. The long list of awards and honours received by him
includes the Borloug Award, Japan Prize, World Food Prize, Rank Prize,
Friendship Award of China, World Prize of Israel, Swaminathan Award,
Padma Shri, fellowship of the world’s topmost Science Academies and
honorary Degrees of Doctor of Science by 10 universities of Europe and
Asia.
From write-offs to
right-ons
The next time, when an
actor is down and out, don’t count him out of the game just yet.
Vivek Oberoi and other stars have managed to bring their careers back
from the brink. J Kothari explores
the phenomenon
IN
the early 1970s, it looked as though the sun would never set on Rajesh
Khanna’s superstardom `85 but it did. The almost-total eclipse
happened in the mid-’70s when film after film of his sank deeper
than the Titanic, submerging his career along with it. Rajesh Khanna
is fond of telling the story about how, pushed to his limits, he went
up to the terrace of his bungalow and had an anguished conversation
with God in the pouring rain.
Good special effects
Harry Potter and the
Order of the Phoenix
is strong on special effects but the plot is poor, writes Ervell
E Menezes
SO
the Pottering goes on and on and one seems to have lost count of them
but the latest J.K.Rowling novel-turned-film is Harry Potter and
the Order of the Phoenix. If Werner Herzog tried to humanise
Dracula in Nosferatu, here Rowling makes the witches less
fearsome which is commendable. But at least, an absorbing drama should
have been strung together.
Handsomest
man with false teeth
HE
was one of the sexiest men in showbiz with his dark brooding looks but
Clark Gable was a bit challenged when it came to his teeth. Gable’s
former co-star and love interest Anita Page reveals that the actor had
false teeth and that ‘rotting stubs in his jaw smelt something awful’.
Shakira set for charity
gigs
POP
star Shakira will be doing her bit to help out kids in need by
unveiling a campaign to raise $200 million to combat juvenile
malnutrition and hunger in Latin America. The 30-year-old has
joined hands with ALAS Foundation (Latin America in Solidarity Action)
and revealed her intentions at the organisation’s event at Panama’s
Teatro Nacional earlier this month.
Batting for common man’s
cinema
Feroz
Nadiadwala, producer of such outlandish escapist dramas as Hera
Pheri, Awara Paagal Deewana and Fool ‘N’ Final, is
going in for an image makeover Nadiadwala, who has decided to adopt
avant-garde filmmakers into his production house in a big way, has
signed on a bouquet of auteur filmmakers such as Sai Paranjpye, Kundan
Shah, Aziz Mirza and Prakash Jha to give his company a more ‘festive’
profile.
Radio making waves
S.P.
Sharma on popularity
of FM radio in J&K
Within
a few months of having come to Jammu and Kashmir, the BIG 92.7 FM has
not only revived the radio culture in state but has also created
ripples across the border in various parts of Lahore in Pakistan. The youngsters who till
now did not relish listening to radio can now be seen tuned to the FM.
To bee
or not to bee
A
new study has found that the mystery behind queen honeybees extreme
promiscuity serves the purpose of producing more productive colonies.
Cornell researchers Tom Seeley and Heather Mattila have found that
queen honeybees mate with dozens of males in order to produce
genetically diverse colonies that are far more productive and lasting
than genetically uniform colonies produced by monogamous queens.
SOCIETY
In love
with India
Hundreds of young Englishmen
and women like Pamela Stuart left India in 1947 but could not come
back for various reasons. Did they also suffer the loss of belonging
and identity like us who resettled as a nation was reborn? Seema
Chopra meets the woman who spent the best years of her life in
India
Pamela
(80) is not of Indian origin. Yet India was part of her life as much
as she was a part of India. Pamela Laing (now Stuart) was born,
brought up and married in India. After India’s Independence, she had
to move back to England. Pre-1947 Pamela lived in India like an Indian
and consequently fell in love with her country of birth. Cooking the
perfect Indian curry and speaking just the right Urdu diction reflect
her Indianness.
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