Maple meets makki
Cultural assimilation on the menu. That’s what the Canadian John Higgins ended up dishing out on a visit to the tricity
Thus far the only Higgins that we were acquainted with was a certain professor who had more to do with syntax than sauce, and more to do with fiction than fact: that conceited and contemptuous charmer of My Fair Lady, Henry Higgins. And here on Tuesday, we were faced not with a professor of phonetics, but a tutor of taste buds, John Higgins, who with his characteristic Canadian camaraderie looked as far removed from that bombastic Brit of fiction as the English pie is from the Toronto tart.

Class apart
Communication expert Clare Arthurs knows how to bring out the best in people 
Couldn’t get more interactive than this — a couple of kids are hovering around the teacher, few are scribbling on the blackboard, while some plain moving about. Earlier, during the mini-photo session, there are advices, ‘When you put the microphone to somebody, the distance should be about…’Like we said, couldn’t get more interactive.

Paa with love
Amitabh Bachchan’s movie Paa unveiled 
The fist-look of movie Paa was released in Mumbai on Wenseday. The movie proved the role reversal of Bollywood’s most renowned father-son, Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan in the reel life.
Bollywood actors Abhishek Bachchan (L) and Vidya Balan smile during a promotional event for their forthcoming movie Paa at a multiplex in Mumbai on Wednesday. Reuters photo: Manav Manglani 

Ajay ala re!
Khans do not rule Bollywood: Ajay Devgn 
Actor-producer Ajay Devgn, who is riding high on the success of his latest flick All The Best, does not believe that Khans (Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir) rule the Bollywood. “It is totally wrong to say or assume that the Khans dominate the Bollywood film industry. I try to do the best I can,” Devgn, who was recently seen in Vipul Shah’s London Dreams along with Salman, said.

Water blues
Tum Mile turns Soha into a hydrophobic 
Soha Ali Khan will think twice before doing a disaster film again after Tum Mile, which has July 2005 Mumbai deluge as its backdrop, as the actress feels the film has turned her into a hydrophobic. The actress calls the whole shooting experience a “nightmare” and is happy that the film is finally over. “Shooting for the film was pretty much a nightmare. I don’t think I will able to do this kind of film again. I am glad that it is over. It was physically very demanding, very tiring hard work and I have become quite phobic to water since the film,” she said.

It’s special 
Saawariya still holds a special place in my heart: Ranbir Mumbai 
His debut Saawariya failed to create a magic at the box-office but Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor, who will next be seen in romantic-comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, says the film still holds a special place in his heart. “The film failed at the box office but it did not prevent me from doing new things. I felt like an underdog but the movie still holds a special place in my heart, it was a special film for me as it was my first film as an actor,” Ranbir said.

Object D’ART
Good, bad and the ugly
How do you exorcise the demon that exists in your mind? If you happen to be an artist, then you paint it over and over again till that creature becomes your friend. That’s exactly what Subhash Shorey is doing — painting a complete series on demons.
Michael Alexandrovich Vrubel’s famous painting The Seated Demon. Unlike most pieces of art, the demon here looks almost human. 

Relatively speaking
Welcome committee
If media reports are to be believed, things at last have started moving to end M. F. Husain’s self-imposed exile. So, how does our artist community feel about it?

A visual treat
Guess what is in store for art lovers? An exhibition of Paramjit Singh’s original drawings, etchings and etchings! And, if the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi, which is organising the show is to be believed, this would be a first time ever in this region. The exhibition is opening on November 6 at the Gallery of Punjab Arts Council –16

Portrait of an artist 
Stephen Wiltshire was diagnosed as autistic at aged three, did not speak until five but as an adult sells his art for thousands of British pounds. Wiltshire was recently in New York for the last of nine massive panoramic drawings of major cities around the world. He has drawn each from his unique memory that stores the complete view of a city after taking a helicopter ride that lasts minutes.

Great expectation
If there is distress in the art market, it was not on view at Sotheby’s on Wednesday as the auction house sold more than $180 million worth of Impressionist and modern art at a sale exceeding even the most optimistic expectations.

Side Lanes
Cracks, quacks and thieves 
Nand Lal was a tiny man, reed thin with a perpetually runny nose and wrinkled brow. His face had a constant quizzical look, possibly at the idiosyncrasies of the Homosapiens around him. The expression was exaggerated by a pair of black rimmed, Gandhian glasses through which he could hardly see, as they were cleaned only by rubbing between thumb and forefinger, never with soap and water. Imported from Nepal as a cook in Indian homes, he had to support a large family. NL was given a room, old trousers, shirts and as much food as he could possibly eat. His sons came visiting once or twice a year and suddenly, NL would be in torn, white khadi kurta-pyjamas and a Gandhi cap, reminiscent of a loyal Congress worker. It took us a long time to comprehend that the trousers and shirts that made him look like a venerable but bird like teacher; were usurped by his progeny on their homeward journey. The next few years saw NL wearing white pyjamas, eight inches short off the bottom, as then they could fit no one else. We had found the ultimate ploy in keeping NL well clothed, even though he looked like a mundu and not the burra sahib’s mug cook.

Cultural extravaganza
The folk musical culture of is true, pristine and natural reflection of any region community or nation, which always gives a profound aesthetic satisfaction and pleasure which both the performer and the listener draw with equal passion” says Ajeet Cour the founder-visionary, author, social activist and cultural impresario. Addressing media persons at Chandigarh Press Club accompanied by chief coordinator Manmohan Singh Mitwa and acclaimed folk maestro Dolly Guleria she delved on the role of the Foundation of the SAARC writers and literature and the subsequent mega endeavour of the SAARC Folklore Festival opening on Friday, in the city.

Gem of an idea
Opening a new era of purity, the Vishhwas range of branded gemstones was launched by Sethi Sons Jewellers. The new range was launched by Anita, the first customer of Sethi Sons Jewellers, when the jewellery store first opened in 2003 at NAC, Manimajra.

Gazab ki jodi ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ Ranbir Kapoor (R) and Katrina Kaif during a promotional event for their film Ajab Prem ki Gazab kahani in Mumbai. PTI photo