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Quest for the
best
There is no end to a
foodie’s search for the perfect taste. All stops can be pulled out
to fulfil the craving for a dish. Pushpesh Pant sets
out to find the best kebab, daal makhani and biryani and
shares his views with the readers
 Kebab
is the quintessential Indian delicacy — a non-vegetarian
preparation that is both a starter and an accompaniment. It is
celebrated in Urdu poetry and folk idiom. Till recently, it was
believed that the Turko-Afghan had imported the kebab into the
subcontinent. However, some food historians maintain that ancient
Indians had kebab of their own — the bhadritaka and shule.
But what is beyond dispute is that good life is synonymous with kebab,
shabab and sharab (a tasty meaty morsel, wine and
beauty), and an unwelcome intruder making pleasant company of two a
crowd is likened to a bone in a kebab (kebab main haddi).
The Leaning Tower of Pisa has stopped moving for the first time in its 800-year history. According to engineers, who have stabilised the monument after hard work of more than 10 years, it should remain so for the next 300 years. Currently, the 183-foot tower leans 13 feet off
centre, and has been straightened by 14.5 inches since 1999 with the help of a £20 m restoration project. The tower, which has been leaning almost since the building work first began in 1173, was closed to the public in 1990 because of safety fears
— Photo by Reuters |
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Painting
history on canvas
A retrospective of the works
of Elizabeth Brunner, who painted some of the great Indian
visionaries, was recently held at the Hungarian Cultural Centre in
Delhi, reports Mukesh Khosla
Elizabeth
Brunner first saw India in her dreams. She was awakened one
night by a strange illumination. "I was shaken; I still get
gooseflesh when I think of it," she recalled in one of her last
interviews before her death in 2001.
A
drama called Delphi
Sujata
Varadarajan visits the archaeological site of Delphi, which is
a Unesco world heritage site
Delphi,
considered by ancient Greeks to be 'the navel of the earth', is
located dramatically on the edge of Mt Parnassus in the valley of
Phocis in Greece. In Greek
mythology it was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important
oracle in the classical Greek world.
Man
of many roles
Most
of the television stars dream of making it big on the silver
screen. They look at the big screen as a natural progression from the
smaller one. The trend has been growing in the recent past with Prachi
Desai, Pawan Shankar, Arjun Punj and Shama Sikandar to name a few.
INTERVIEW
‘I can
relate to mother roles’
After re-establishing her
footing in Hindi films,
Rati Agnihotri is all set to debut in Bengali cinema.
Shoma A. Chatterji in a tête-à-tête with the
veteran actor
What drove you to Bengali
cinema?
The reason is simple. It is not that I did not want to act in Bengali
films when I was at the peak of my career. No one from Tollygunge ever
approached me for a Bengali film. I would have jumped at the chance,
had it come my way.
Vinod
never got his due
Harjap
Singh Aujla on the music director from Punjab who faded into
oblivion despite giving many hits
One
of the most talented music directors that Punjab has produced
was Vinod. His real name was Eric Roberts but for the film industry he
chose a more familiar name Vinod. According
to Sardul Kwatra, another Lahore-born music director who knew Vinod
since his days in Lahore, as a child Vinod was fascinated by the band
music played during Hindu weddings.
Children
of misfortune
Abung and Nanao's double-storey
house was once a happy home — complete with parents, grandfather and
two sisters. Today the brothers are among scores of orphans of HIV+
parents in Manipur. The total number of people living with the virus
in this state is 27,961, writes Thingnam
Anjulika Samom
Piping
hot meals, a roaring fire in the hearth and family and friends
sitting together, sharing tales of joy and sorrow—the kitchen is
often the most bustling part of a Manipuri house.
United
colours of gold
Pink and green gold jewellery
items are the hot favourites, but grey gold is also popular, says Shivani
Jayaram
If
the 1990s saw the advent of light-weight jewellery for everyday
wear, the present trend is coloured gold ornaments matching with
clothes and probably bag and sandals. Gold
that’s gold in colour is boring. Gold that’s pink, green, red or
grey is happening.
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