|
|
Soaring spirits
 From wine-tasting
sessions to the production of indigenous labels, the wine culture in
the region is alive and evolving, writes Rajnish
Wattas
English
wine and beer’ is the usual sign in front of liquor stores in
small-town India. What the sign denotes is the availability of hard
liquors like whiskey, gin, rum, vodka and, of course, beer, but
certainly not wine!
This is just a small
indicator of the level of ignorance that exists regarding the fine
beverage called wine. Leaving aside metropolitan towns, the only city
indicating the correct differentiation is perhaps Chandigarh; where
all liquor stores now read, ‘Liquor, Beer and Wine’, and they
actually do stock wine.
Fruity
flavours
The fruit wines of Himachal
are finding more and more takers, writes Pratibha
Chauhan
RATHER
than carrying cheap factory-made Ludhiana Kulu shawls or caps as gifts
for family and friends back home, tourists visiting Himachal Pradesh
are finding the wide variety of fruit wines — ranging from kiwi to
rhododendron to ginger — as a better and more authentic present from
the hill state, which has come to be known as the fruit bowl of the
country.
Bat
sense
Studies have revealed that
bats stay on target despite the clutter due to echoes from their sonar
pulses
Neuroscientists
at Brown University and from the Republic of Georgia have learned how
bats can remain on a target despite obstacles in their midst. The key
lies in bats’ neural response to echoes from their sonar pulses.
Dying
tradition
Jangams are a shrinking tribe
in North India. The younger members of the community are opting for
more lucrative jobs, writes Varinder Singh
THE
distinctly colourful and legendary tribe of Shiv Jangams — wandering
religious mendicants and kul purohits of Lord Shiva — is fast
shrinking. These Shiv bhakts are not only embracing education
but are also exploring new vistas and opting for more lucrative fields
like medicine, law, engineering, real estate, education and even
insurance in a big way.
The call of the green
Pouring rain in Kerala
in mid autumn is quite an unexpected phenomenon. A thick shroud of
rain covered Kochi, and the planned trip to Munnar next morning looked
like a disaster. Munnar in the hills is a three-hour drive from Kochi.
The morning dawned with
a continued downpour. The road was smooth, the hired car was
comfortable and the driver accommodative. But all this was not enough
to lift the spirit.
Chandigarh-born
artist makes it big
With a list of international
clients, Chandigarh-born Gaurav aka Gary Taxali is now looking to
explore India, writes Gurmukh Singh
Indian-origin
Gary (Gaurav) Taxali, who has made a big impact in the art scene in
the US, Canada and Europe, says showcasing his works in India is his
ultimate dream. The impact of
this Chandigarh-born artist can be gauged from the fact that the New
York Times, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Time, Newsweek, Fortune,
Reader’s Digest, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Sony, MTV,
and Coca Cola are among his major clients.
‘I have no issues
with nudity’
Shoma A. Chatterji
chats
up Nandana Sen, whose film Rang Rasiya, directed by Ketan Mehta,
recently won the Audience Award at the London Indian Film Festival
Nandana Sen has reason
to rejoice. Ketan Mehta’s Rang Rasiya recently won the
Audience Award at the London Indian Film Festival. This Harvard
graduate is the younger daughter of Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and
scholar-writer-novelist Nabanita Deb Sen. She takes on films only when
she likes the script. She opens out on significant issues in her life,
which includes her activism with RAHI and Unicef as one deeply
involved with the girl-child.
In
the name of honour
Ajai Sinha’s thriller Khap
deftly handles the controversial issue of love marriages within the
same gotra, writes M. L. Dhawan
Social
struggles and achievements have provided inspiration for many a film.
Social reform movements protesting against the evils of dowry, child
marriage and exploitation of women have found their rationale echoed
and their arguments expounded in many films made during those times.
Benefits
of video games
Video
games tend to be associated with laziness, isolation and pre-teens and
are rarely known to improve lifestyles, communication and mobility for
people over 50. But it turns out this may not be entirely true.
Technology is boon for music: Mahadevan
Singer-composer
Shankar Mahadevan feels that technology is a blessing in disguise for the music industry. He says it has made composing, easier and sophisticated.
“All my music is technologically driven. We use a lot of technical plug-ins. The amount of our use can be known from the fact that we have started an online music academy. It is a boon for our industry,” says
Mahadevan.
FRUIT FACTS
|
