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Party to
terror
Unbridled violence in
Nandigram, where the West Bengal government had forcibly tried to
acquire
land for industrialisation, bared the coercive power of
the state at its worst. Subhrangshu
Gupta on the simmering cauldron that Nandigram has become
THEY
say when Nandigram flares, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee attends film
festivals at Nandan, just as Nero had fiddled while Rome burned. In the
1970s during fervent Naxalite activity in Bengal, when the cadres and
their Red Masters were forced to leave their houses, they faced the
ordeal of a life riddled with fear and hunger while they were
underground.
Savour
the Arab flavour
A holiday in the Gulf? Why
not, try the unspoilt silver-sand beaches and striking desertscapes
of Oman. And, the icing on the cake is the capital Muscat, which is a
shopper's delight,
says Gyan Marwah
Oman
is called the Hermit of the Gulf. Friendly smiles greet visitors
everywhere in this country that must be one of the most attractive
travel destinations in West Asia. It offers visitors rugged mountains,
silver-sand beaches and striking desertscapes. The topography is
varied and breathtaking.
The
benign aura of Mount Abu
A scenic getaway for
vacationers, Mount Abu is also a much-visited pilgrim centre and a
hotspot with trekkers and adventure sports lovers, says Kiran
Soni Gupta
AN
everlasting source of unbounded beauty and serenity lies in the Abode
of Gods — Mount Abu. Part of Sirohi district, it is 29 km away from
Abu Road Railway Station and 220 km from Jodhpur. Ascending the
mountains covered with gigantic rocks and towering trees, the most
scenic landscape awaits you.
Indian
art at Christie’s
Uma Nair
Christie’s
forthcoming Asian contemporary art sale, which is to take place in
Hong Kong on November 25 will offer 327 highly-coveted works by some
of the most celebrated artists of the region, including notable Indian
artists. The sale showcases the great variety and diversity of Asian
contemporary art, ranging from paintings and mixed media to sculptures
and photography created in different forms, media and styles.
Romancing
the train
Whether it’s love stories,
action thrillers or murder mysteries, the railway continues to be the
right way for many a filmmaker, writes Vikramdeep
Johal
A
chance meeting between two strangers. It’s hate at first sight which
gradually turns into friendship and eventually love. Jab We Met revolves
around the lead pair of Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor, but no less
important is the "character" which brings them together —
the train. No wonder director Imtiaz Ali has called his film an
advertisement for the "Great Indian Railways".
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Stage
set for Shekhar’s queen
Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth
— the Golden Age brings out the human element of the
controversial Virgin Queen without unnecessary flourishes,
writes Ervell E. Menezes |
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director’s
sPECIAL
Internationally
acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur could well be a great stage
actor because he is able to feel the pulse of the audience. In
Mumbai for the release of Elizabeth — the Golden Age,
he was over an hour late for his appointment (jet lag and the
Mumbai traffic were cited as reasons) but when he received a
feeble applause he at once knew the reason why.
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first
impression
Five
years after the success of Elizabeth, they’ve decided to make
another film on the middle years of the Virgin Queen and they are quite
likely to end up with a trilogy. It is all about marketing and hence
this spate of sequels in the last three decades but then in doing so the
subject is likely to lose its freshness. Elizabeth launched both
filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and Cate Blanchett to international fame.
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SOCIETY
The glorious crusader
Rehana Sultana has been
advocating the protection of the educational, legal and social rights
of Muslim women and against the practice of talaq (divorce) and
contract marriages. She is the founder of Glorious Deccan School,
which today has 400 students, writes Neeta
Lal
Located
in the labyrinthine lanes of Dabeerpura in Hyderabad's old city,
Glorious Deccan School (GDS) seems like yet another non-descript
teaching establishment. But step inside and its uniqueness is
unmistakable. For not only is it a co-educational school — the first
to be established in this communally tense Muslim-dominated part of
the town — it also has a near-zero dropout rate.
Spas
that promise peace and health
Want a complete body-mind
experience? Then visit a spa. There is nothing quite
as invigorating as spending a few hours getting yourself pampered in
these luxurious fitness centres, says S. S.
Chandran
NEED
a break but have no time to go vacationing? The answer is new age spas
that have sprung up in major cities that promise to take the load off
one’s mind and body. They guarantee you an experience of
rediscovering the old-fashioned health benefits of sun, sand and water
packaged with a lot of gloss.
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