Mayor shining

A pearl or diamond-studded necklace will be the city mayor’s new adornment. But, what happens if the next mayor is not a lady? We find out Your drive into a paid parking lot may actually be helping the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh in travelling towards the colonial past where the rulers wore heavy stone-studded ornaments around their necks to distinguish themselves from the multitude.
Any takers for the glittery post? If Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen and Priyanka Chopra made the city girls sashay up the ramps of popularity after they bagged global titles, the necklace is likely to make the femmes run for the mayor’s office, says a municipal councillor. After all, the sparking ornament comes as a bonus along with all the glittery powers a mayor enjoys. What do you say folks?

Coming of Age
They danced, they acted and they collected old newspapers from your homes to sustain their activities. The media loves them for their enterprising nature and we adore them for their never-say-die attitude. Yes, we know them as Zulfiqar’s kids, who work as shoeshine boys in various markets during the daytime and meet at the Government High School-24 in the evenings under Theatre Age for their activities.

Theatre Age goes global. Photo by Pradeep Tewari

Aviators are the latest fashion buzz
Bigger the better
Sunglasses two to three sizes bigger than your eyes can be spotted on anybody’s nose these days — right from our film stars to college-going dudes or chicks. However, it is not only big designer sunglasses, which are in vogue. Your dad’s good ‘ol aviators would do too. If you are still in not sure what we are talking about, then think about Esha Deol in Cash or Tom Cruise in Top Gun or more recently Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr and Mrs Smith.

Against all odds
Life dealt a deadly blow to Manish and Kiran, but these two bravehearts have overcome their shortcomings to prove to the world that if there is a will there are several ways...
Confidence is the first thing what you notice about him the moment you strike a conversation. Meet 20-year-old Manish Kumar, a second year student of electrical and electronic communication at Punjab Engineering College. He is not just another engineer-to-be, but one with the conviction to become a leader.

Youth speak
Spirit of the game
Kudos to the Indian cricket team for winning the Twenty20 World Cup after 24years. What is commendable is the fact that we won it minus the bigwig trio. The celebrations that were organised by the BCCI were just given the way the glory of our country has been redeemed. Only such a convincing hard fought victory could have erased the scars that our pride suffered six months back when we lost in the World Cup.

New releases
A bouquet of fresh talent
Dil Dosti etc
Director: Manish Tiwary
Starring: Shreyas Talpade, Imaad Shah, Nikita Anand, Smriti Mishra, Ishita Sharma
THE flick explores the nature of friendship, male bonding, voyeurism, sexual perversion, love and betrayal. Full with realism and black humour, it shows the coming of age of a young man and explores the ambiguities of an entire generation.

Silver haze
What started off as mere curiosity has become a passion for this jewellery collector
Her story could well qualify for the remake of Ali Baba (of the famous Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves) discovering potfuls of glittering jewels. The setting, though, is a lil’ different-all that glitters here is not gold, but silver. We have the twisting-twirling Himachali gallis instead of Ali Baba’s dark, spooky cave, and yes, our humble, Arabian Ali Baba himself has made way for a more regal, Indian woman.

Mad about mountains
Their canvases are splashed with the majestic glory of Himachal. Meet the artists
Russian artist Nicholas Roerich is just a name for me. I have known him as someone so besotted with the beauty of Himachal that he moved to Naggar way back in 1923 and made this place his home. He continued to capture the moods of the mountains till his last breath.

Little Interview
Dhol rescues Payal
Payal Rohatgi, with her drop-dead looks, has made a mark in the hearts of cine-goers. She was a Femina Miss India Finalist in 2000 and also won the Supermodel Miss Tourism World title.

Part(Y)ing Crowd
Party animals in town seem to have gone into hibernation
Grooving to popular hip-hop and bhangra beats at discotheques is no longer a fad with the youngsters in town. Look around and you’ll find the crowds diminishing in the parties. No wonder, it’s turning into a bad business for the organisers, who are spending big money on the dance parties.

Tribune photo

Vivacious Vocalist
As the enraptured elite audience rose for a standing ovation after her entrancing performance at the Royal Festival Queen Elizabeth Hall during the London concert, vocalist Sunanda Sharma expressed admiration for her guru, the magnificence of Indian classical music and her upbringing in a musical family.

Unmasked!
He does not disguise his emotions, but reveals them through masks. Yes, that’s what Vinay Vadhera is known for — initiating the art of contemporary mask-making, a trait, which he later incorporated into all his paintings. But now, he is taking a detour from his signature style. Vadhera’s latest series is on the dark side of Hardwar, especially on the unmasking of priests.

SIDELANES
Two tricycle friends
Three memorable days at Mussoorie! The trees dripped. Mists swirled and settled around our feet and then rose to cap the hills. Occasionally, the sun did manage a beam hold. I had been invited over by a friend, Dorothy Irene Riddle. She is into R&D in the Service Industries; has created the Riddle Scale on Homophobia and is currently working on Spiritual Evolution Assessments. She has studied and advised on the services sectors of 81 countries and the power point presentation shows her hobnobbing with presidents and prime ministers, who believe in her path-breaking contributions.

Clooney takes bachelor vows