Shakespeare has been proved wrong. Everything depends on a name. Especially a girl’s future!

David Figlio, a professor of economic at the University of Florida, has discovered that the ‘femininity’ of a girl’s name plays a huge role in determining her future. He reached this conclusion — girls named ‘Isabella’ or ‘Anna’ are not likely to study science, because their more feminine first names means that they are not encouraged to do so — after studying the names of 55,000 kids.

But for a community like ours in which unisex names like Amarjeets and Puneets dominate, the findings just confirmed that our parents had been wise in naming their girls. After all, in Figlio’s own words —“People do not tend to take girls with feminine names very seriously and they are often typecast.”

Figlio’s hypothesis is yet to meet the approval or criticism from various scientific quarters (even if it has, we know nothing about it), so we conduct our own research to find out who is right – Shakespeare or Figlio? We randomly single out people with unisex names.

The first girl we come across agrees with Figlio. Amit Raina, a young girl who holds an administrative post at the NIFD, Sector 8, says when people come to meet her for official purposes, they come with apprehension that they are likely to meet a tough professional.

Sportspersons Gagandeep Kaur and Ramanpreet Kaur do not subscribe to Figlio’s theory.

parbina@tribunemail.com

The movie promises to push you out of slumber and make you wake up to the threat of drugs and AIDS. No wonder, the 58-minute flick on the menace of drug abuse and its perils is christened Jagte Raho.

Aimed at creating awareness amidst not just students stepping into youth, but also call girls, drug addicts and drivers, the movie hopes to drive the message home the seriously-lighter way.

Announcing its release at the Chandigarh Press Club Thursday morning, storywriter V.K. Kaushik said awareness and precaution are the only two weapons to fight the syndrome. And through the movie, they were 
trying to tell the audience to stay away from trouble.

If drugs are the first step towards self-destruction, AIDS is the last step. And in between the two steps, there is hell that not only the victim, but also the family, has to travel. Kaushik has penned the dialogues while the movie has been directed by Gurinder Singh.

The city’s star twinkling on the Bollywood horizon — Jaspal Bhatti — conveys a special message to the masses. — S. M.

Some are born collectors, while others just happen to be. Amarjeet Singh Batth belongs to the latter. For him, the hobby of collecting fossils started about ten years back when he served in the Indian Army.

Posted at Leh, Amarjeet saw a foreigner with an assortment of fossils, which he had discovered while trekking in the area. Though, he was fascinated by the collection, nevertheless he was not inspired to look out for ‘old chunks’ (as, he called them then) in the isolated place.

Luckily, his next posting took him to the land of sand dunes, and he decided to utilise the weekends by searching for fossils in that area. The area which was once a sea, turned out to be a bed of buried fossils. “I was posted in Akal, about fifteen kilometres from Jaisalmer,” he says. Today a wood fossils park stands there.

“We were at a place about 30 kilometres from Jaisalmer, when I saw a big portion of an old rock with a tiny hole at the top.” It was only when he picked it up and looked at it carefully that he realised it was a fish fossil. Needless to say, his curiosity to collect more such fossils heightened after this incident. He now picked up books on fossils and started reading up about their process of creation.

His collection of 20 fossils, about 180 million years old include a fish fossil, a date fruit impression, a nail-like part of an animal, broken utensils believed to be of the times of Indus Valley civilisation, a one and a half inch carved bone pendant with a hole in the centre, wooden fossilised pieces, and post-harappan earthen pots

If there is one desire that still burns deep within him, it is to visit Leh-Ladakh. He says, “While, I was there I didn’t have the interest; but now I would love to go back and look for fossils.”

Besides being a traveller, Amarjeet is also an author and an avid photographer. His book Indian Garden Flowers: Home Gardener’s Guide was released this February. Next, in the line is a book on the heritage of Punjab.

smritisharma@tribunemail.com.

A freelance journalist, Ashwini Choudhary began his career from here. He reviewed films and theatre while working with Jansatta, Chandigarh. Ashwini made his debut with a widely acclaimed film Laado; and this director’s debut venture was screened in a number of national and international film festivals. His second movie, Dhoop was the opening film at Kara Film Festival in Karachi in 2004.

Working in audiovisual media for past 15 years, he has produced and directed more than 1000 hours of television software. Ashwini feels his latest venture Good Boy Bad Boy has given him an ample scope to learn and has made him wiser.

What is the film Good Boy Bad Boy about?

It is a fun film set in the campus. Tusshar plays the good boy and Emraan is bad boy. Isha Shravani and Tanushree Dutta play the lead female characters.While, Isha is the good girl, Tanushree plays a modern girl.

What about the music in the film?

Himesh Reshammiya’s music is young and peppy. He has come up with a melodious score, which is well supported by remixes.

How was it working with Subhash Ghai?

He is undoubtedly the best showman in Bollywood. And, it is always a great experience to work with such respected filmmaker.

Tell us about your forthcoming projects?

Sunny Deol starrer Gurudakshina will be an intense film. It is based on a real life story and set in a small town. — D. P.

‘Awesome’, is the word that best describes the performance of the champions. The Aussie victory becomes all the more admirable, in the light of pressure the team was subjected to before the start of World Cup. They deserved the title, and it was their hard work, will power, and teamwork that led them victorious at World Cup 2007. Pointing and his men deserve wholesome praise for their spectacular victory. Australia has played 29 matches without a defeat in World Cup.

The most striking aspect about Australians is that they never rely on individuals to win matches. If not Adam Gilchrist, it would have been someone else. We have seen many belligerent knocks from the willow of Gilchrist in the past, but to do it in a world cup final requires something extraordinary. We also salute Mc Grath, who played his last international match. Every member of the team played a significant part in lifting
the trophy.

Cast: Shilpa Shetty, Shiney Ahuja, Irfan Khan, Kay Kay Menon, Sharman Joshi, Konkana Sen Sharma, Kangna Ranaut

After the success of movies like Murder and Gangster, director Anurag Basu is back with his new venture Life in a ... Metro. Metro as the name suggests revolves around the life of people living in a metropolitan. Basu zooms in on the life of people in the city. It details how in their personal and professional quest they sometimes lose touch with themselves and their near and dear. The tone of this film is personal reflections and realisations. Aptly named as Metro it has already raised curiosity with its promos and publicity. The film releases worldwide on Friday with a three continent premier that includes London, Melbourne, Dubai and Mumbai. It is for the first time for an Indian film is being released on a large scale.

Despite having more than one story the graph of this film is a single one. Anurag Basu and Pritam Chakraborty director-music composer duo is back in Life in a ... Metro. Will Anurag Kashyap be able to produce a hit with Life in a... Metro? We certainly hope so.

Barbara Streisand has left her British fans disappointed after declaring that the tickets for her concert would cost up to a whopping 500 pounds per person. The cheapest seats for Streisand’s gig at the O2 Arena will cost 100 pounds. The tour organisers defended the high prices by claiming that this performance would be a historic event. The fans said seeing Barbra in concert is a momentous occasion that ranks with seeing Sinatra or Elvis. The ‘Way We Were’ singer, who married actor James Brolin in 1998, is returning to the UK shores for the first time in 13 years. — ANI

Be it a birthday party, picnic or annual day; as kids we all craved for a new outfit each time. And, while we would be away to school; our mommy would fetch us a nice pair of jeans or a frock; and we would happily don it the next day. This was the situation till some time back, but not any more. Five-year-olds today are from a different planet altogether; they choose their dresses, they imitate fashion trends of the kids on silver screen, and an outfit for them is incomplete without a funky bag, a shimmer belt and a pair of sunglasses. And, most importantly they like to shop from a store that exclusively caters to their fancies.

Seven-year old Neha shops only from a children store. Her logic is simple, when her mother goes to a boutique where the designer creates stuff only for her, then why not she? Well, but the story doesn’t end there, her wardrobe has to be packed with brand tags. Explains her mother, “Kids have now become more interested in brands, because for them schools are like brand showrooms.” She adds, “It is important for them to live up to a trendy image among friends.”

Well, Punjabis are known to be brand conscious, and they spend large amounts of money on clothes. They wish to see their kids wardrobes packed with designer labels and funky fashion. Says Anil Kashyap, Store Manager, Lilliput, Fun Republic, “ We already have four stores in the city and will be adding one more soon.” The customers here have both taste and money. Their range of clothing for toddlers to 11 year olds is mostly casual wear. The recent entry in the showroom is a range of accessories , including caps, bags and flip-flops.

Says Kamal, Manager at Disney Jeans, Sector 17, “Many children come here and they try only those outfits which they have seenin commercials.” The Disney jeans ads are on air on Disney channel. At this store, 60 per cent of purchasing decisions are madeby children. Their collection caters to the group of 3 to 14 years.

Another store where kids are the decision makers is Gini & Jony. “Kids as customers are smart and opinionated, and they are major influencers in spending by the adults,” feels the store manager. Here, the boys can pick up a pair of comfy cargos or bermuda shorts, and girls can dress up in denims with sequin embellishments or capris in stripes. You can also try on their new range of shades that are completely in tune with current fashion.

Talk of fashion for kids, and the one store visited by all is Kapkids, Sector 17. Opened in 1998, the store stocks brands like Barbie, Little Kangaroos, Ruff kids, Lee youth, Cute Cumber, Tommy Hillfiger, and Benetton. A complete shop for children; it has clothes, books, footwear, fashion accessories, prams and knick-knacks for infants. 

Summer was great fun in our childhood. We spent the hottest months of our vacation with the grandparents at Jalandhar. All the aunts, uncles and cousins homed in, too, and every day was a celebration.

We churned butter with our hands or with a rope-driven mathani. Remnants of cream were used on our skin to keep it blemish free. A teaspoon of starter or jaag set the day’s curd. The butter was always mountainous, fluffy and white; the curd smooth, cuttable and sweet. Both were necessary adjuncts with the daily meal as they helped the digestion. Buttermilk and lassi, left over from the above preparations, was drunk throughout the day. Desi ghee lathered ballooned rotis that were then rolled around half a katori of brown shakkar. When we wandered through the surrounding wheat fields, the farmer would hand us a soft, melting dollop of gur. No sweet tastes as good today. We played hard, slept well and climbed trees or walked to the market for fresh rations. Occasionally, we’d hire a rickshaw into town, if the expected load was too heavy.

Refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines had not spoiled our lives. So, a humungous block of gunny-covered ice was delivered daily, by donkey cart, at my grandfather’s kothi. This was placed in a metal tub and lasted a day. Bits of it, washed with water from our well, were used for nimboo-paani. Mangoes were placed around the sides and eaten throughout the day. Every evening the wooden bucket was brought out and fresh fruit ice-cream was served after dinner. All of us turned the handle in order of seniority. In fact, we often had ice-cream and mango-fool parties. The latter was a concoction of boiled, mashed, raw mangoes with plenty of sugar syrup, whisked in a froth of milk. Crushed ice prevented serious curdling.

Those were the days my friend

We thought they’d never end…

Bobs, fringes and choppy styles… that’s the long and short of summer hair-dos. Can’t decide on how to wear your hair? Listen to international hair-stylist Barney Martin, in town for an upgradation and staff-training workshop at Tress Lounge, Sector 8. Also L’Oreal’s brand ambassador, Martin says short cropped and big fringes are in like never before.

Between the snipping of scissors, Martin says choppy hair are not just chic, they give respite from the scorching summer heat. Soft layers of hair in a natural style are another good option.

Martin recommends hues of red, brown and other warmer shades. “The tones suit the Indian skin” Martin asserts with a smile. He advises the use of semi-permanent colours so that the hair does not turn fizzy and retains the gloss.

Martin knows what he is saying, fellows!  Into the business of hair styling for a good 15 years, London-born Martin runs saloons in Sydney and has been involved in prestigious assignments across the globe.

In fact, the young hair-care artist has lent style to the London and Milan fashion weeks, styling for Giorgio and Roberto Cavalli. He has even pitched in for magazines like Vogue and also hair-styled for Marie Claire and Harpes Bazaar shoots.

Martin has even assisted stars like Kate Moss, John Giliano, Drew Barrymore and Sophie Dahl to shine. After all this, the hair maestro now wishes to snip the crowning glory of Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty. He rather wishes to be a personal hair stylist to her.  

The stage is all set. The walls are decorated with prints and paintings depicting war scenes, the shelf is full of rare books like History of Indian Mutiny by Charles Ball. Reminiscents from battles - soldier’s armour, battle-axes and swords and loads of medals worn by known and unknown sepoys, complete the mood.

And that’s not all. For these two collectors of rare photos and antiques, Delhi-based Rajesh, aka Bobby Kohli, and Mohali-based Navjot P.S. Randhawa do not let you remain a detached onlooker. They serve you water and cold drinks in antique glasses so that while learning the history of the First War of Independence, you actually get transported to that period.

This seven-day-pictorial tribute to the heroes of India’s independence struggle is being organised by Punjab Virasat Chariatable Trust and Noor, a voluntary organisation at Art Folio in Sector 9.

“It is simply for the love of history that led us to collect these photographs and related books and memorabilia. And they are not for sale,” both make their stand clear. “Either I will donate them to some museum or make my own museum some day,” add Rajesh. Looking at their passion and conviction, it is easy to relate them with the objects they collect, because this was the passion and conviction with which our war heroes to fought against the mighty Raj.

The popular couplet from poet Allama Iqbal — Hazaaron saal Nargis apni benoori pe roti hai, badi mushkil se hota hai chaman mein deedawer paida definitely describes Surinder Kaur, the nightingale of Punjab.

When it comes to getting love and affection from music aficionados all over the world , Padmashree Surinder Kaur remains unparallel.

Surinder was barely in her teens, when she first recorded a hit number for Lahore radio besides cutting a disc the same year along with her elder sister Parkash Kaur way back in 1943. The versatile duo had undergone intense training in classical vocal music under the tutelage of Ustad Inayat Hussain Khan and later Pandit Mani Parshad of Delhi.

They brought singing on stage, which was earlier confined to rural households only. Likewise the pristine purity of Punjabi folk music found its true expression in their mellifluous voices.

After her marriage with academician Joginder Singh Sodhi, her mentor and guide she moved to Bollywood and did playback singing for about 25 films, including hits like Nadiya Ke Paar, Pyar Ki Jeet and Dilip Kumar's Shaheed. But her love for pure Punjabi folklore revolted to bid adieu to filmi glamour and she returned to her roots to nurse and rejuvenate the traditional Punjabi folklore besides pioneering the literary singing. She emerged as the first vocalist to immortalise the soulful literary verses of Amrita Pritam, Mohan Singh, Noorpuri and Shiv Batalvi.

Her unique voice possessed the quality that could capture the whole spectrum of human emotions. She was choosy about the lyrics.

While her daughters Nandini and Parmodini are well settled in the USA, Dolly Guleria and granddaughter Sunaina are carrying forward the rich family legacy. The trio representing three generations had been enchanting the music lovers till the demise of Kaur on June 14 last year. — S. D. S

It’s Bengal art once again at Art Folio. It’s no news considering the fact that the gallery has been patronising artists from the cultural hub of the nation, but owner Vandya Bagodia has a point —“The state is full of promising artists; in fact art is there in the air.” And, looking at buyers booking paintings on the very first day of the show, it makes all the more sense. But, then who is complaining, for Bengal art never fails to impress.

This exhibition showcases works of five artists from veteran artists to upcoming ones—Pradeep Kumar Sau, Kinkar Ghosh, Anjan Coomer, Sumita Maity and Arpita Chandra. Most senior among them is Kinkar Ghosh, with an impressive bio-data and even more impressive works—drawings in mixed media. He has used acrylic on paper to execute six paintings in semi-abstract figures, which are powerful enough to regale other’s works in the background. Born in Hooghly and armed with a diploma in fine arts from Rabindra Bharati University, Ghosh has a number of shows to his credit.

Moving away from Ghosh’s drawings, one gets to see a slice of rural Bengal in Pradeep Kumar Sau’s landscape series. Thatched-roofed half-broken huts and abandoned boats dominate the scene, a common sight in any Bengali village. But Sau’s paintings do not spell depression. Rather, its cheery reds and a superb inter-play of light and shade can brighten up one’s mood anytime. Contrasting Sau’s reds, comes Anjan Coomar’s series of figurative works in dark blues and greens. Coomer’s paintings are the chronology of his inner development; he has captured human emotions with a touch of spirituality.

If Commer’s paintings come with a whiff of spiritualism, then it matures in Arpita Chandra’s works. She has devoted her paintings fully to divinity. The fifth artist of the group, Sumita Maity has captured the essence of womanhood in mixed media on canvas.

Though, the paintings come with a steep price tag (starting from Rs 15,000), the exhibition is a must-see; for apart from individualistic work and style, we get a glimpse of the recent trends in Bengal art. — P. R.

Every time theatre lovers complimented Bhavna Atri for the portrayal of ‘Husan Bano’ during the staging of a historical play Singh Soorme in Houston, Texas, New Jersey, Mississippi, Livingston (California) and other venues in America, the upcoming actor found absolute contentment in her chosen profession. This was by no means a small achievement for city-based actor Bhavna, coming from a modest family background but set to conquer to stage.

Addicted to English literature, Bhavna is deeply inspired by Robert Frost's classic quotation ‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled’ and she claims it to be the guiding spirit and success mantra for her.

“My mother, Krishna Atri and maternal grand father are my critics and I had to strive hard to meet the standard set by them,” adds Bhvana. She reiterates that artistes are born and not made, but feels that good education and tutelage of a guru invariably sharpens one's aesthetic skills. After completing her graduation in English literature and post-graduation in Education (B.Ed) she is pursuing her masters in Public Administration. She owes her grooming and acting career to Gursharan Singh, who is an institution unto himself, reveres Bhvana.

Ever since Bhavna, as a student, won laurels for her role in a play Pinjar in 2000, she had never looked back. Credited with over fifty prestigious lead roles under celebrated directors Gursharan Singh, Jaspal Bhatti, Umesh Kant and Sudesh Sharma, she had performed major roles in some tele-films and TV serials like Jija ji, Jaggi 420, Bus Conductor, Do Taapu. She is currently working for Uss Phool Ka Naam and another untitled TV serial is in the offing. Submerged in delicate emotions as her name implies, Bhvana is not complacent but harbours this strong will to move ahead.

(This column appears fortnightly)