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Stylewale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge
This is what we call a unique wedding! The groom and most baraatis were NRIs but instead of Limousines or Mercedes, which one associates with such weddings, the baraat landed up at the venue in decorated rickshaws and the groom, dressed in an off-white sherwani, on a tonga. The bride's family welcomed the baraat by showering rose petals on the bedecked path.
Well, something unique, who was behind the idea? "It's my wife. Settled in London for decades, coming to Punjab means a lot to us. Rather than Limos or Mercs that represent the West, we wanted to do something traditional. Our earlier plan was to arrange balgadis but we couldn't find any. So, we had to make do with a tonga for the groom and rickshaws for the baraatis. It's Indian at least" said Murli Vohra, the father of the groom. The groom's party, dressed in pink turbans and women in elaborate anarkali suits, enjoyed every moment of the rickshaw ride from Hotel Mountview to the gurdwara in Sector 11. "It was a 'family stunt' that we thoroughly enjoyed. I wonder if the girl's party was having second thoughts about the wedding when they saw us landing in rickshaws," chuckled Sunil Mehan, the groom's cousin. The 'rickshaw wedding' proved exciting for others too, especially the rickshawallas. "This is so different, never saw anything like this before. Around 30 of us got a chance to carry the baraatis and got paid well for the job," said Vijay, one of the rickshaw-pullers who is also hoping that the trend catches on. Well, considering the size of the city and the fact that it is an eco-friendly mode of transportation, it certainly deserves a thought. mona@tribunemail.com
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Chain reaction
"Music in all its forms and manifestations has remained a progressive and dynamic art since the inception of our culture. It has, however, been under the sweeping influence of changing socio-cultural orientations from time to time," says classical vocal princess, Ashwini Bhide Deshpande. A leading proponent of the Jaipur-Atruali gharana, Ashwini is an academician, author, composer and singer par excellence.
Holding a master's degree in microbiology and a doctorate in biochemistry from Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, she has maintained the same tradition of excellence in music too. Having learnt the rudiments of Hindustani vocal from Pandit Narayan Rao Datar, she further honed her skills under her mentor and mother-guru Manik Bhide, a disciple of the legendary Kishori Amonkar. In the city for the Chandigarh Sangeet Sammelan, the maestro shares her views on the contemporary music scene. "Innovative experience within permissible limits is no threat to our tradition. I admire Shubha Mudgal for her brilliance and versatility in the popular music genre. I am not averse to singing in films if I get the right offer," she says. She is open to embellishing it with improvisations to make it acceptable to the masses, so that it is not considered to be a genre for the esoteric only. "Earlier, the audience too was willing to learn the fundamentals of music, not to become a 'Tansen' but a 'Kaansen' so as to relish the true rasa. Now, the performing artistes too have become so eccentric that many of them do not appreciate others and even do not bother to attend their concerts," she laments. On reality shows, she says the trend has contradictory attributes. "While it encourages budding singers or performers, at the same time it leaves them in the lurch later on,” she says. A believer of the guru-shishya parampara Ashwini says a teacher does not only tutor a disciple but also empowers him with courage and conviction to make his way for a career and success in life. lifestyle@tribunemail.com |
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No dhan, only mann
While the dhanda is manda this season, it makes us wonder is this what recession does to people; changing them from big-time spenders to small-time savers?
With gold prices almost touching Rs 12,000 its sterling silver that’s catching people’s fancy. “There is a better response for silver this year,” says Savvy, manager, Silver Haze-9. Talking sales and business, he says, “Till last year we had customers walking in to buy silver jewellery for gifting, but this year we have people buying it only for themselves.” Elated with the change, he adds, “For those who want to buy for investment are still buying gold but for those who are buying for the festive season and shagun ka ghena, silver is the in thing.” On the other hand, lamenting that business is not picking up this festive season, Dheeraj Bhola, owner Silver Mart-19 says, “The variation in market is too much and people are not spending unnecessarily. Though they are shopping, it’s not like what it used to be during the festive season. We are hoping that it catches up on the day of Dhanteras.” The glitter of gold is definitely dull this festive season, as put in by Arvinder from Tanshiq, “Business is sluggish this festive season. So, we are offering 10 per cent discount on gold and five per cent on studded-jewellery.” Steel swing Dhanteras is a day when Goddess Lakshmi bestows her blessings. It’s a day for buying steel utensils apart from buying gold and silver. So, how are the business community doing in this front? “You can see for yourself the kind of business we are doing. There is hardly any rush, thanks to the fluctuating economy. However, we are hoping things will look better today,” says Rajender Jain, owner, New Jain Crockery Store-35. Goddess Lakshmi seems to be eluding us this festive season for sure. Gurvir Singh, a salesperson from a crockery house in Sector 22, says, “People usually used to crowd the markets by this time. But this year it’s a sad scene.” Ask him is this because of the recession and he says, “No, I would blame the recent series of bomb blasts for the lull. The recent tragedies have left everyone scared.” jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com
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We can guarantee you had no idea, when is World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. Unless of course you are a student at Alliance Francaise-36. As part of the celebrations to mark the day, the non-government, non-profit organization screened a documentary movie Colours of Europe, with English sub-titles.
The movie, a kind of short history of European construction on television, screened to a select audience of former and present students was followed by debate and discussion. The director of Alliance Francaise, Isabelle Normand, said, “It was an idea to have more people at the event, and then after the movie they speak about it and discuss it.” Alliance Francaise and the movie bordered on the creation of Europe. Isn’t it a little way off? Said Isabelle, “We wanted the students to learn, know more, about the different artists and not just about France but the whole of Europe.” So what will the discussion focus on? Said, Valeri Brochard, professor, “The debate and discussion will emphasize on ‘What is Europe’, ‘The identity of the place’ and ‘Artists from there’.” Quite understandably, because the film took one way back to 1957 with the creation of the common market, the Second World War, the fighting against Germany et al. Don’t get any misconceptions when the word documentary and heritage are used together, for the students thoroughly enjoyed it. Said, Manmohan, an ex-student and a member, “It was refreshing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.” If only they translated all the textbooks to movies. — Manpriya Khurana
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The Gabbi family’s claim to fame is that two members of the family got the opportunity to work in a Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone-starrer movie. While the duo got lucky after they got the opportunity to work with the stars during the shooting of movie in Patiala, Wamiqa Gabbi and her grandmother, Bachno Devi just can’t stop raving about working in the same project. Though they are just blink and miss roles, the duo are enjoying telling everyone about it. Wamiqa earlier did a cameo in Jab We Met where she played the role of Kareena’s cousin but she feels that she enjoyed more during the shooting of the recent film as she had her grandmother by her side. — TNS
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Picks & piques
Debutant director Jugal Hansraj’s idea essentially takes root in a masala land. So, we have a quintessential filmi tale — a hero, his love interest and a baddie. Add to it the song and dance movement, some sidekicks and voila! We nearly have a screen scorcher. The only catch here is that it’s a ‘dog domain’. Romeo (voiced by Saif) turns a roamer after his rollicking life ends, thanks to his heartless owners who dump him to jet off to foreign shores. Finding himself at the crossroads of life (literally), Romeo has to learn to tackle other uncouth stray urchins — Interval, a wacky movie buff (Suresh Menon), Hero (Kiku Sharda) who translates every line in English literally (remember Javed in Salaam Namaste) and Mini, a cute cat (Tanaaz Currim) and a wannabe dog. However, our street-smart pooch not only befriends the four but also teams up with them to start a salon. Enter Laila (Kareena) and apna hero is instantly smitten. The ravishing ‘bitch’ is a club dancer and also a heartthrob of local don Anna Charlie (Javed Jaffery), a morbidly obese pug. Trouble begins when Laila becomes ‘bone of contention’ between Romeo and Anna. The ongoing scuffle takes a dramatic turn when corporation men (read MC) start hounding strays and our good-at-heart hero saves Anna who shows a lion’s heart to unite the two lovers in a DDLJ climax. Apart from superb animation — the characters and surroundings are carefully crafted — wonderful voiceovers give the movie a momentum. Romeo is high on style, Laila is sexy and seductive, while Anna masters the South-Indian dialect. The only low is a thoroughly predictable plot, which fails to hold attention. The narration is flimsy and riddled with clichés. However, dialogues are witty. The music is average. Also, the director appears to be confused regarding the target audience. Some swearing, suggestive songs and a smooch is definitely not a kid film stuff. Overall, the spoofy, goofy affair deserves a one-time see for the swanky animation. mona@tribunemail.com
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Patriot Games
Mona
Heroes is an episodic drama which details the lives of three soldiers, who laid supreme sacrifice for their motherland, and their families who are coping up with the loss. The plots are wired together by two footloose and fancyfree film school graduates Samir aka Saand (Sohail) and Ali aka Nawab Saab (Vatsal Seth) who choose the assignment to home-deliver the letters written by the trio before their death. So, the twosome hop onto their bikes to undertake a soul-searching voyage during which they meet a war widow Kuljeet (Preity Zinta) managing her farms and family, an airman Vikram Shergill (Sunny Deol) who has not only lost his brother Capt Dhananjay Shergill (Bobby Deol) in action but also his legs and a doctor Naqvi (Mithun Chakravarthy) who laments his son’s (Dino Morea) decision to give up the family medicine profession for being an armyman. The encounters leave the duo to introspect that ultimately results in their psychological transformation. Though Karnik has all the right intentions and there are moment where he manages to bring a lump in your throat, it’s his tendency to go overboard and clumsy treatment which lets the plot down. Regarding performances, Zinta is brilliant, while Salman impresses. The Deols’ episode could have been trimmed. Sohail and Vatsal carry the skirt-chasers’ look with comfort but stumble in emotional scenes. Camera work by Gopal Shah and Binod Pradhan is catchy, while music by Monty Sharma and Sajid-Wajid is mediocre.
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Wedded to tradition
The designer did not disappoint the fashion fraternity with his opulent traditional wedding attire. Retaining the basic styling and cut of the dresses, Sabyasachi focussed his energy on the details—rich embroideries on sherwanis, earthy toned shawls and colourful headgears for the men. For the brides, he offered equally intricate dresses —lehangas and cholis and regal shawls and stoles. ‘’Bride is a deep-rooted girl, who may use global brands but is yet bound by the ethos and morals of the Indian culture,’’ Sabyasachi said yesterday about his autumn/winter ‘09 collection. As an extension of his Chandbibi collection, the designer has been asute enough not to play around with the Indian pysche. Justifying his apparent lack of changes in the basic look, Sabyasachi said, “Even though we are expected to show a new design every six months, its not before two-three years that a line penetrates the market. An average woman experiments with a new creation after seeing 10 others wear it first.’’ — IANS
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Different Diwali
Sreedhara Bhasin Diwali is a time for lighting up your life – in many ways. The rush for gift packs and mewa is so overwhelming that we often forget to reflect on what is within – to light our dilka diya. I have some very special and beautiful memories of Diwali in Chandigarh — sharing joy and time with people who light up my life endlessly. Diwali will never be the same for me again. However, this Diwali I am going to think differently. I am going to dust the cobwebbed corners of my mind and reflect on what is precious to me. I am going to take out an old book that my father gave me many years ago, Of Human Bondage, and celebrate the riches of life that are beyond Diwali dhamaka offers.
Happy Diwali to all my readers!
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Launch PAD
The Dockers® timewear is classified into three categories— Khak1s, Mobile & Collection. Some of the interesting features of this Timewear include part numeric dial, an ultra slim case, water resistant quality, stainless steel case, display of date and day, alarm, animation runner for chronograph, back lighting and rotary bezel ring. Women’s line comes in two categories—Essential and Liberty and includes a complete wardrobe of woven and knitted tops, denim and non-denim bottoms. Infused with innovative features the clothes guarantee comfort and durability including the never iron technology and anti-bacterial quality. Apart from apparel the line covers a range of accessories for a ‘head-to-toe look’. —TNS
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Garb your choice
The Collection that's in stores now, is inspired by the deep and darkened side of the tumultuous and creative thoughts of the youth, in and out of dreams. The theme brings forth the surreal and subconscious travels of mind and its creative chaos. The colours for the range are dark and surreal. They have an element of echo and transmutation through time and inner realm of sinister nature and dream.
—TNS |
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TAROT TALK Aries: Five of pentacles says this would be a positive and inspiring week for many of you. The hard work of the past would pay off and you would receive appreciation you deserve. Lucky Colour : Crimson. Astro Tip: Do not swing away from the course you have charted so far. TAURUS: The Ace of Roads sees the long hours, hard work and tough challenges being rewarded. Take care of your emotional and physical health. At home, you would get the love and support. Lucky Colour: Silver grey. Tip: Be diplomatic. GEMINI: The Prince of Wands says at home, be tactful yet straightforward. Spending time with friends and giving some space to partners would help. Lucky Colour : Rainbow pastels. Tip: Do not be disappointed if expectations are not fulfilled. CANCER: The Hierophant reveals your diligence and determination would be in focus.Those in the fields of media, acting, etc. would be appreciated. Romance may have to be put on the backburner; however, travel would yield benefits. Lucky Colour : Saffron. Tip : Be realistic and practical. LEO: The Wheel of Fortune reveals the past would have a strong influence on your present. Events that may have occurred long ago would demand your attention. Lucky Colour : Sea green. Tip : The stress of this week may have an effect on your peace of mind. VIRGO: Nine Golden Cups says money matters and investments would be highlighted in this week. At work and in social circles, you would be sought out for your honest opinion and straightforward attitude. Lucky Colour : Peacock blue. Tip : Meditation and spiritual pursuits are elevating. LIBRA: The Star reveals there may be deadlines that you have to meet at work. At home, certain joint investments may have to be reviewed. Those who are single may meet someone interesting. Lucky colour : Rainbow pastels. Tip: Listen carefully what other peoples are saying. SCORPIO: The Prince of Pentacles says your nurturing instincts would be heightened and you would take great pleasure in bringing happiness to others. You may travel somewhere close by over the weekend. Lucky Colour : Pomegranate red. Tip: Go over accounts carefully. SAGITTARIUS: The Queen of Cups says most of you would be reflecting on the past and planning for the future. At work, there may be plenty of meetings and discussions. Lucky colour : Black. Tip : Use your intuitive powers, and don’t lose hope. CAPRICORN: The Two of Ace would bring growth in profession and business. There may be some hurdles, but you would be able to overcome them easily. Emotions would play a key role in relationships. Lucky Colour : Baby Pink. Tip : Beware of superficial and domineering women in the family. AQUARIUS: The Magus says this would be quite an emotionally charged week. Professionally, you may decide to speak with a senior about your growth and development. Housewives and children would need to work extra hard. Lucky Colour : Peacock blue. Tip : Rest. PISCES: The Princess of Swords says you would be overflowing with enthusiasm and confidence. Travel plans may have to be changed. Start a regular savings plan. Lucky Colour : Red. Tip : Stay cool.
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Traditional indeed, but how did the girl's party like the idea? "It was a complete surprise for us but a happy one," said the elated girl's father, Rohit Gupta, a businessman from Ambala. "We kept asking them if we should arrange vehicles or something, but they said they will manage on their own. But yes, we were not ready for this," he added.
In the litany of unnecessary trivia that crowds Indian minds it’s the rise and fall of rupee, which is topping the slot this festive season. And with Dhanteras here, it’s the word ‘unbelievable’ that comes to our mind when we see near empty jewellery and crockery stores.
Silver sparkle 
Finally, the Indian animation has come out of dark ages. Roadside Romeo, Bollywood flick factory YRF’s slick initiative and Walt Disney’s first desi venture, straightaway makes the earlier efforts in Hindi cinema to produce a 3D drama look so amateurish. RR raises the bar and that too by quite a few notches.
Okay, Heroes is a patriotic film and it takes sentiments to portray desh bhakti. But one doesn’t need to wear patriotism on his sleeve to be called a Hero. Had Sameer Karnik shown restraint while making his Hindustan zindabad heart visible, his colossal effort to pay tributes to the Kargil martyr’s families would have paid off. But he falters, in an otherwise honest try.
Dockers® San Francisco, the international lifestyle brand has launched a new range of timewear, eyewear and fragrance for Men and Fall/ Holiday ‘08 collection.
Spykar's new avtar in its latest winter collection urges the youth to 'Bring it On'. The Fall Winter Collection called the 'Trans Mania' is all about Fantasy, Glitter, and Voodoo! The collection is inspired by youth who are caught between their own dreams and reality. The bright colours and the contorted pop art, beautifully portray the dreams and ambitions of the youth. All in all the collection is about a bold and colorful youth in a rebellious state.