Date and a debut
As an artist Paramjit Singh does not believe in making a statement through his work. For him, the act of painting with mind and body is more pleasing than merely transforming a concept on a canvas. Even if that 'pleasure is born out of pain' as he puts it. So, he would rather invent landscapes from nature because it provides all the ingredients - beauty, variety, light, abstraction and most importantly, perfect balance even in asymmetrical forms. And makes a fine blend of them, from what we see from his maiden solo exhibition at Punjab Kala Bhavan -16, courtesy the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi.

Classic connection
On a bad day if you play bad western classical, you still can end up pleasing people, "The notes of this music genre aren't very rigid and people can mistake it for improvisation." Then, on bad day, if you play jarring Indian classical music, "You can't escape criticism as this music form is almost a religion and you can't afford to tamper with the ethics and ethos," asserts Zoltan Lantos, a professional violinist, who knows it all about the sanctity of Indian Classical music and readily confesses, "Hindustani music is difficult to learn than any other form of music." The confession comes after the eight years of learning Hindustani music from Pandit Debu Chaudhary in Delhi.

Nature's own
Paramjit Singh showcases his works for the first time in the city 
We had heard that Paramjit Singh's landscapes come with an air of mystery which haunts and beckons, making the viewer's experience almost spiritual and magical. Whoever said that was absolutely right. The 40 frames comprising some of his recent oil paintings, drawings in charcoal drawings, etchings and pastels take a viewer sometimes through a dense wood, sometime into the depth of water and sometimes through a desert filled with thorny bushes, but the experience is always the same - divine.

Gem packed
Vibhuti's collection (Goddess of Wealth Lakshmi) that deals in production, cutting and polishing of natural yellow and blue sapphires (Neelam and Pukhraj Ceyloni) and also deals in natural rubies from Burma and emeralds from Zimbabwe, is being showcased at Hotel Aroma-22. Exhibiting their collection of studded gems with precious stones, American diamonds, semi precious and imitation stones they have showcased mesmerising art jewellery from India's first heritage Pink City, Jaipur.

Kebabs to crabs
From Afghan delicacies to African delights the two ongoing food fests bring diverse falvours
Come November and the food palate goes piquant and sizzling. And celebrating the warmth of winters, Copper Chimney begins, The Great Indian Kabab Festival. Though the origin of kebab may lie in the short supply of cooking fuel in the East, the phrase Kebab or Kabab is essentially Persian in origin and Arabic tradition has it that the dish was invented by medieval Iranic soldiers who used their swords to grill meat over open-field fires.

African allure
The African Barbeques sizzle live at Barbeque Nation. On offer is an array of sauces from Peri Peri to Harrissa to Zulu coriander to go with Marguez, sosaties and soya sausages. For barbeques that tastes as unique as it sounds, this one is not just about experiencing food but also seen is the passion, which is truly African. Through this festival they bring on table not just authentic Barbeques of Africa, but also an experience, which revolves around the thematic decor, uniform, music and the last but not the least the fire eaters in and around the restaurant.

Tank up on treats
How about refueling an empty stomach along with tanking up your vehicle. Well, after a string of conveniences and eateries (Nirula’s et al) at the city’s fuel joints, here’s another one that aspires to be zara hat ke. Rae’s, the sandwich and salad station as it calls itself, at the HPCL petrol station in Sector 22, opposite Hotel Aroma, is the brainchild of city-born-Delhi-returned Raehat Mundy. A stint at in the Capital’s corporate sector and some grounding at Hotel Crown Plaza’s bakery section later, this 25 year old is back to where her heart is: the city and cooking.

Bon Appetit
Carry on currying
When we cook a rogan josh or a korma or a vindaloo, we don't even begin to refer to any of them as a curry. Curry was a term, which the English used to define all our gravies. The origin of the anglicised word curry itself is the stuff of legends, but we have settled on it being a derivative of the Tamil word, kari, meaning a spiced sauce.