ART & LITERATURE
'ART & SOUL
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Green Sant
Balbir Singh Seechewal is a man with a mission. By spreading the message of conservation and education in the hinterlands of Punjab, this environmentalist has given a new meaning to spirituality, reports Roopinder Singh
IT is the sangat (people) and without them I would not have been able to achieve anything, says Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal. Recently, Time magazine named Sant Seechewal as one of the activist "Heroes of the Environment–2008". 
Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal (second from right) works
LEADING BY EXAMPLE: Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal (second from right) works with volunteers to clean the Kali Bein 

Amazing elevation
Existing concrete buildings are being raised with the help of truck jacks in parts of Punjab. The idea is to prevent rain water from entering houses, reports Sanjeev Singh Bariana from Ludhiana
R
ECENTLY, I saw a unique sight at a house in Kasabad village along the Sutlej in Ludhiana district. A big workforce was engaged in fixing truck jacks under a concrete building. On a closer look, I discovered that the existing building was being lifted off the ground, slightly, and a new layer of bricks was being laid to create a new basement.

More than a beach holiday
The Indonesian island of Bali offers much more than its famous beaches, writes Nivedita Choudhuri
M
ENTION Bali and the immediate images, which conjure up, are of spectacular beaches. But the island has much more to offer than that.

Crossword art in London underground
Venkata Vemuri
G
O back to the early 1940s in London, a city under siege from the German Luftwaffe bombings. People used to spend most of their time in bunkers and the underground tube stations to escape the raids from the skies.

Akram on a different pitch
HE has been in the news of late not for his exploits on the cricket field or the commentary box, but for his role as a judge of a dance show involving some of India’s top cricketers and celebrities from the world of glamour.

I’m not a superstar: Boman Irani
Robin Bansal

IN his first movie Josh, he had a fleeting appearance. Eight years later, Boman Irani is known as a niche actor with the ability to pull audiences.

Comic twist
Alex Dobuzinskis
T
HE life stories of US presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama hit comic book stands recently and the company behind the illustrated bios hopes plenty of adults will buy them.

COLUMNS

NATURECall of the Indian roller
by Lt-Gen Baljit Singh (retd)

TELEVISIONReturn of the youth

HOLLYWOOD HUES: It fails to deceive
by Ervell E. Menezes

FOOD TALKPotato pleasure
by Pushpesh Pant

CONSUMER RIGHTS: Banks liable for rejecting cheques
by Pushpa Girimaji

BRIDGE
by David Bird

ULTA PULTAOver the roof
by Jaspal Bhatti

BOOKS

Unlearnt Chinese lessons
Amar Chandel
Are we Deceiving Ourselves Again?
Lessons the Chinese Taught Pandit Nehru but which we Still Refuse to Learn
by Arun Shourie. 
Rupa & Co. Pages 214. Rs 395.

Books received
PUNJABI

Peace bid gone awry
M.R. Narayan Swamy
My Belly is White
by Austin Fernando. Vijitha Yapa 
Publications, Colombo. 
Pages 927. $20

A bold new voice
Rajdeep Bains
You Are Here
by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan.
Penguin. Pages 255. Rs 199.

A world of fantasy
Aradhika Sharma
The Lost Unicorn 
by Amreeta Sen.
Writer’s Workshop, Calcutta.
Pages 202. Rs 200.

Requiem to a bygone era
Aruti Nayar
Nehru to Iraq
by Shanta Vasisht.
Harman Publishing House. Pages 105. Rs 200.

Personal exchanges from 1857
Cookie Maini
The Warner Letters
The Experiences of two English Brothers During the Indian Rebellion of 1857-1859
by June Bush.
Rupa & Co. Pages 414. Rs 395.

‘There’s nothing great about the American novel’
John Lichfield
THERE is no argument like a literary argument. You can criticise a nation’s politics, or its cuisine, or even its dress-sense, but to describe a nation’s books as ignorant is fighting talk.

Galbraith’s book still essential reading
Stephen Foley
T
HE late John Kenneth Galbraith attributed the longevity of his book The Great Crash 1929 — published in 1955 and never since out of print — to the tendency of history to threaten a repeat.

Back of the book
Zubin Mehta — The Score Of My Life
As told to Renate Grafin Matuschka.
 Roli. Pages 201. Rs 395.

  • Sahibs Who Loved India
    Edited and compiled by Khushwant Singh. Penguin
    Pages 191. Rs 325.





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