Childhood, reloaded
Manpriya Khurana

Child, ex-child, still-at-heart child or once-upon-a-time child. Whoever you are, we bet you fit in at least one of the above categories. On Children’s Day, we recall how ‘serious’ the business of childhood is. And exactly how important it is. No wonder, even the teacher’s that have always appeared so intimidating, right from that brisk nerve-racking walk into the class to the threatening way of asking questions, have once been the ruckus-makers of the first order. We play these guys confidants, get things out (after much prodding!) and break our vows while sharing these anecdotes with you.

Punishment or pleasure?

One person who was too naughty to get caught! Courtesy the innocent teeny-weeny school-girl-looks. That’s Dr Archana R. Singh, lecturer, Department of Mass Communication, Panjab University, for you.

Recalling one such incident while at St. Cecily’s Girls High School, Karnataka, she says, “It was when I was in Class 10, we hadn’t done our maths homework and our gang got thrown out of the class. The principal walked by and instead sent us to the library. Roaming around in the school corridors, we had such a good time. It was nothing like punishment.” We bet all ‘maths-haters’ will love it.

We won’t give up!

The trophy goes to him! An alumnus of Lawrence School, Sanawar and undoubtedly the ‘King of Mischief’. We are talking about Harish Dhillon, principal, YPS, Mohali. Among the string of incidents narrated, we present one to you. He laughs, “The food at our school was quite austere, in keeping with the strict army regimentation and among the many ways we devised to fix this problem, one was stealing juicy, ripe naashpatis. Once, the owner of the tree came along with the dog, stick and all, we managed to escape and the boy on the tree got caught.” He adds, “The deputy head was about to give the poor boy three people’s punishment when we came forward and owned. We got a caning.” And yes, you guessed it. They still, did not stop stealing naashpatis after that!

Tit-for tat brigade

These principals, teachers and chairpersons were not made in a day. They literally were ‘all-rounders’. Here’s another one. Puneet Bedi, principal, MCM college, Sector-36, recalls a Class-6 incident while at St. Xavier’s school, Jaipur, “We had this really strict English teacher and even a slight stammering during oral spell ing tests would attract big ruler that she always held in her hand.” These guys found a novel way out. She adds, “She was allergic to chalk and we got finely grounded chalk and somehow placed it on the fan before she was to enter our class to take the test. It was really hot, she switched on the fan and there she went, with all the powder on her.” The matter reached principal and a compromise was reached. She says, “She became mild and we became good kids.” And of course, they were asked to clean all the chalk mess afterwards.

Huh! And we thought they never knew the meaning of pranks, or heard the word ‘disobedient’ or knew how to spell ‘careless.’ While, explaining the importance of such little harmless fun, child counsellor, Carmel Convent, Punita Singh, says, “Actually it’s these kind of people who go on to become children’s best guides, teachers and friends, because they’ve been through it themselves, they are more understanding.” Yes, she too has a story to narrate. She says, “Once, while in hotel management, tired of all the high-expectations, we mass-bunked and went to the hills, hitch-hiking, that too without informing anybody.”

They did face drastic consequences, but who cares?

It’s good once in a while. No?

manpriya@tribunemail.com

It’s your day

Hey, it’s Children’s Day and for all you parents who are wondering how to make the day special for your little ones, we give you some fantastic ideas how to celebrate the day at home.

Toddlers’ day in

It’s not easy to tie down the little ones, but for a wholesome fun try this:

• Charity begins at home: Ask your child to choose some of his clothes and toys to give for charity. Take him/her along and let them give away their goods so that they can feel the joy of giving. w Crowning glory: Ask your child to create something. Draw pictures, paint or even create stories. At the end of creation, crown him/her as a Prince or Princess.
• Plan a fun day: You can have a blast by making potato prints. Cut out a variety of shapes from a potato and dip it into paints and see what you have created. Other than this, pick a Children’s Day colour and colour your entire day with it! Children’s Day colours are green, deep purple, orange and yellow. You can have fun by wearing them, eating food of that colour and pointing out the same colours in house.

Young guns

For young and not-so-young kids try this:

• Family No 1: Have a family get-together. Ask your kids to be the host. Have a family concert, where each member can sing, dance or perform a skit.
• Plant a memory: How about planting a sapling or flower? A happy memory you could see it grow with every Children Day.
• Home in: Allow your kid his breakfast in bed. Then for some camping fun you could pitch a tent in the backyard and have a fun-filled day with ghost stories and a picnic basket.

Big boss

Ready to join the teen gang? For youngsters in the age-group of 10 and above, try this:

• Street together: Organise a Childrens Day event in your vicinity, it can be a play, games, or a skit.
• Riding high: Get on your bikes and ride to your favourite place.
• Pick up a pen: Give your kids some old photographs of friends and family and ask them to make a story out of it. — TNS

Singer to composer

The music of Dasvidaniya, which means 'goodbye' in Russian, will be remembered for a long time thanks to musical wonder Kailash Kher who debuts as a composer with the movie.

Along with Paresh and Naresh, Kher has created three songs, including a remix and an instrumental piece. He sings, writes and composes for the film without messing up the album. Alvida, the prime track of the album and the best, is a must hear. It's quite close to impossible that one doesn't end up being a fan of this piece. The number, as a package, is remarkable. Kher renders the song with such ease and passion that one marvels at his talent.

In addition, he also impresses listeners with his lyrics that are not only poetic but very novel and apt. The composition is a fine mixture of soft and hard rock with the guitar playing a fabulous role.

Mumma, which follows, is quite different. With a slight humorous bent, the song has been composed keeping mothers in mind. Kher has penned lyrics and rendered it as well.

Next is Muskura and is sung by Sonu Nigam, who is hardly heard these days.

It is a lovely piece and will be remembered for a long time. Rarely are songs of such calibre and style heard these days. It is fresh and immensely endearing.

Three cheers for Kailash and his team of musicians for giving listeners a simple, no-nonsense and classy album.

Koffee Break
Johny Johny, yes AB

A well-toned body, chiseled looks and hairstyle to die for: John Abraham's new look for the movie Dostana is already creating ripples in the industry. Created by Manish Malhotra and Aki Narula this film would see him in trendy tees and shorts. Shot entirely in Miami, John in this movie shares screen space with junior B and Priyanka Chopra. All keyed up for his latest release, we talk to the muscle man about Dostana and his role.

I play a photographer in the movie. My character is named Kunal and he is an illegal immigrant. Rest people have to watch the movie to know about my character.

Dostana is a comedy where two best friends Kunal (John Abraham) and Sameer (Abhishek Bachchan) pretend to be gay to get an apartment in Miami. It is a different film on friendship with a trendy look.

With Tarun, it was like being on a
roller-coaster ride. He shoots each scene beautifully and is a genius in his work.

One of the reasons I agreed to do Dostana was because of Abhishek. He is a wonderful person and this movie would see us in a new avatar.

Aashayein is a kind of film that one gets to do in a lifetime. I had to loose weight for the film and I have high hopes from this movie.

I always select my roles with my gut instinct and script. All my new projects have an awesome script.

My future projects are with Dharama Productions, Yash Raj and UTV. Besides this I am working with Deepa Mehta in Exclusion, Luna and Kabir Khan's New York. Some more projects are also in pipeline. — Dharam Pal

Advantage, style

Soulful medley

Both Asha Bhosle and Ghulam Ali have ruled the music world like titans for as long as one remembers. Now that they sing less often, their new offerings are awaited even more strongly. This sense of anticipation is magnified even further when the septuagenarian legends come together after nearly 25 years, their first album being Miraj-e-ghazal. But the magic that one has come to associate with their singing just does not manifest itself fully. Perhaps it is the vagaries of age, which have mixed a bit of jute in the silk.

But despite this, they are still miles above the rest of the field. Ghazals like Shaam se mann udhas, in which they share the mike are a treat. What makes the album all the more nostalgia-filled is that it has been composed by Aamir Ali, son of Ghulam Ali, who has also sung some of the
ghazals. Hence the name Generations. Lyrics are by Ahmad Anees. He had been
working on the album in Pakistan for nearly five years.

As they say, songs sung blue are always the best. Here the honour goes to Ghulam Ali's solos Dil se and Ek lamhe and Asha's Dil bichadne se. Shaam se as well as Socho Mei Gum Kyoon Hoon (sung by Asha Bhosle and Aamir Ghulam Ali) make masterly use of the sarod and the flute. However, the arrangement in general is pretty westernised to appeal to the young generation. Dheere dheere tere pyar mein (again by Asha Bhosle and Aamir Ghulam Ali) sounds almost like a film song. This and Naina re naina have also been made into videos.

Among the 12 tracks, three are as many as three remixes and Asha has an interesting take on that: "Mujhe nahi pasand koi aur mere geeton ka tod phod kare, usse achcha hai main hi tod dun".

Sound of music

The music of Fashion has novelty value, in the sense that not even one of its songs has been picturised on any actor. All of them play in the background. After all, the story is based on the lives of models, not actors. Composing such music can be easy and difficult at the same time. We do not know how composer duo Salim-Sulaiman found it but they have done fairly good job overall on the lyrics of Irfan Siddiqui and Sandeep Nath. Basically, there are only four songs, plus the theme of Fashion. All these five then figure in remixes.

The album opens with Fashion ka Jalwa crooned in high spirits by Sukhwinder Singh, Satya Hinduja and Robert "Bob" Omulo. Mar jawaan (Shruti Pathak, Salim Merchant) is a lounge number with an Arabian tilt to it.

Kuchh khaas (Mohit Chauhan, Neha Bhasin) is surprisingly lyrical while Aashiyana, the only solo in the album by Salim Merchant, is a soft rock track. The Fashion Theme begins with the santoor, goes on to the violin and is interspersed with a club sound. The remix is even better. — ASC

Away from the brick lane

Actress Tannishtha Chatterjee, who won rave reviews for her performance as the repressed Bangladeshi housewife in Brick Lane, worked with Naseeruddin Shah in forthcoming film Barah Anna and says she learnt a lot from the "inspiring" actor. "Naseerudin Shah has been my teacher. His passion and dedication for his work is so inspiring," Tannishtha said.

Tannishtha and Naseer play the main leads in Raja Menon's controversial film Barah Anna that takes a brutal look at how the poor in Mumbai, a teeming metropolis of extremes, cope with their everyday problems. Said to be inspired by Booker Prize Winner Aravind Adiga's novel White Tiger, Tannishtha said: "The film is not an adaptation of Aravind Adiga's novel. However, I won't deny its uncanny resemblance to the book." The film is slated to hit the screens later this year.

Apart from Brick Lane, Tannishtha proved her acting prowess in several critically acclaimed international and Indian films like German movie Shadows of Time and Indo-French film Let the Wind Blow. She also played powerful roles in Strings, Kasturi and Bibar.

So far Tannishtha has been associated only with parallel cinema but says it wasn't a conscious decision to do only arthouse films. "I can say that I was lucky to get such strong parts. So I didn't want to give up such meaty roles," she said. "Usually people start with mainstream commercial films and then move on to more serious cinema but in my case it has been the opposite," she added.

Tannishtha is excited about her role in Sudhir Mishra's Sunrise and says she would love to do a comedy with Priyadarshan. — ANI, IANS

Side Lanes
A little hope
Joyshri Lobo

Kid is king
Neha Walia

Burgers, to health

Nirula’s, a quick service restaurant chain, launched its new range of healthy burgers- Nutribyte. Launched by popular model, Ramneek Pantal, the Nutribyte burgers offers a low calorie option to the customers, adding to the extensive menu of Nirula’s, which has something for everyone.

Made with whole-wheat flour, lean meat, extra vegetables and greens, Nutribyte range consists of three varieties—Paneer Tikka, Chicken Tikka and the iconic Big Boy burger. All the three burgers start from Rs 39.

Speaking on the launch, Mr. Samir Kuckreja, CEO and managing director, Nirula’s Group said, “Nirula’s has always been a pioneer and innovator in the industry. Our new range of Nutribyte burger is another unique initiative. Burgers have become a staple diet for youth and therefore we decided to come up with a healthier option, which is not only nutritious but also scrumptious. The Nutribyte Burgers offer high fiber and low calorie option to our consumers without compromising on the taste. Also while creating this new burger range we have endeavored to provide choice of 3 different burgers to our consumers, along with health and taste.” — TNS

Jewels on your mind

Launch PAD
On your feet

10 KA DUM

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