One warm hearty winter evening, 8-10 friends, tinkling wine glasses, when you say nothing at all crooning from the drawing room, few pretty women plunked on a swing, and a small, spacious spruced up terrace and an open sparkling sky…

Far away from the shaking booties at the discotheques, loud bombarding hollow countdowns and sozzled bodies, this open space at your home can make for an ideal venue for a terrace party. And well, this time of the season, terrace parties are indeed a rage amongst those who like to enjoy in the informality of the surroundings and don’t like to get caught in a 2 km traffic jam.

“This is the catch,” says Harpreet Singh, city- based businessman who owns a house in Mohali, with whom terrace parties is the most looked forward to event for the winters. “Three years back when my wife and I moved to Mohali we didn’t know many people, neither are we those discotheque types. Also, we were in the process of doing up the house. So, we invited some known people over and my wife arranged for a small gathering at our terrace. And the rest, as they says is history,” laughs Harpreet. His wife takes over. “It was fun. I was skeptical while doing the arrangement, but everything went off well. Infact, everybody liked it so much. It has helped me develop a bonhomie amongst the neighbours as well,” she gushes.

Winters and the chill in the wind sure call’s for a barbeque, light music and a karokey session, and making it worthwhile is an open verandah. For those who are regular with it, well they can’t help raving about the informality of such parties.

Navneet Saxena, city-based industrialist and photographer says, “Diwali to Holi is the best time to organise terrace parties.” Navneet who likes the casualness of terrace parties opines, “I normally invite7-8 couples over for a get together at my house. I think interaction at such parties, overlooking the garden below is lot of fun.”

Did we just hear someone say space and that too in a city like Chandigarh, where every inch in the house is utilised for display— stuffed with exotic plants, figurines or converted into a virtual storeroom. Terrace parties in this scenario are obviously a privilege, which only few can enjoy. “Not really,” says Navneet, who saw a couple partying in a 3x3 feet balcony abroad. “Everyone cannot afford a big house so, whatever space you have on the terrace can be utilised for the party. Even an extended balcony can be used for the same. As opposed to a drawing room party where everyone is lazing around on a sofa or a couch, terrace party keeps people moving and you can also make friends easily. Everyone breaks into a Mohammad Rafi number and also lends a flippant attitude to ambience, which is the bottomline of such parties, ” he adds.

Now, that we know the benefits of terrace party, we let Anandita Suri, private party planner whip up some prerequisites of a terrace party. “First and the foremost, terrace parties are cheaper than those organised at hotels or pubs. Secondly, at terrace parties unlike other formal parties you don’t have to worry about the dress code and third it helps you bond with the small group of invitees.”

Next on line, is the seating arrangement: Comfortable chairs, mudaas, bean bags or even side tables could pass of as great seats. And if there is a swing, that’s even better. Now for snacks, cocktails, drinks and dinner, as per Anandita, “You can arrange for the dinner in your drawing room or even pull the dining table outside as per space. Arrange for a music system that can be placed in the corner of the terrace. And the bottom line is, everything that you do should have a touch of airiness and yet be well-organised.”

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On stage tiny tots of St Soldier’s-Mohali were busy presenting the all-time favourite The Pied Piper, a musical extravaganza, at Tagore Theatre. But there was a difference, some children who were part of the team couldn’t hear the applause. For, they were from the Vatika High School for Deaf and Dumb-19.

Behind the curtain, members of the Punjab IAS Officers’ Wives Association, which was collaborating the event, was consistently pepping them up. The association has been making efforts to make these children self-sufficient by providing them vocational training in computers, tailoring, cane-making, candle-making, etc. However, according to president Sabina Singh, the candles made by these children during the festival season did fetch some funds but they’re just too nominal.

This play too is part of the endeavour to raise aid for the school. Last year, they’d organised a fete. “Sometimes people don’t go and contribute for a charitable cause. So, a cause has to presented to them,” quips Sabina.

Does the tickets for a play generate enough funds in a city where people are used to getting free passes? “Well, sadly, that’s true, People go and donate money in temples and other religious places, but not everybody walks up to a charitable organisation to do that,” laments Sabina.

“With the per capita income in Punjab being so high, even if each of us contributes Rs 5 every month, we would be able to collect nearly Rs 1 crore for the school,” she says.

So, as the little ones taking part in this play combine a mission and a message — raising funds and raising awareness about the environment through the theme ‘rats and pollution’— they are calling out to our conscience too.—TNS

Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman is set to essay the role of famous magician and escapologist Harry Houdini in a Broadway musical, according to reports. The Uncle Jonny actor is already said to have been practicing magic tricks in a bid to land up the role of the legendary illusionist, according to Fox news.

Acclaimed composer Danny Elfman will be writing the music for the big budget Broadway musical, reports the Daily Express.

Designer David Rockwell is set to create the sets and co-produce the show, alongside Scott Sanders, who brought The Color Purple to the New York stage, say sources.

Jackman is also expected to confirm his involvement in the production of the musical; the musical based on Houdini is due to debut on Broadway in 2010. 

American-born Aussie actor Mel Gibson has been sued by a screenwriter, who claims he was underpaid for his work on the 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ. According to a US judge, Gibson, 52, now has to answer questions about the planning and filming of his controversial movie in accordance to the lawsuit that has been brought on him.

Screenwriter Benedict Fitzgerald claims that he was underpaid, and that he seeks at least 15 million dollars from Gibson, Icon Productions, Marquis Films and others.

Fitzgerald's lawyers say that Gibson had spent tens of thousands of dollars on his children's education while filming in Italy, and paid a chiropractor 120,000 dollar.

As per the lawyers, those expenses caused Fitzgerald's payment to be slashed.

Added to the lawsuit was Fitzgerald's claim that Gibson had told him that he did not want to make any money off the film because he considered it "a personal gift to his faith".

The screenwriter's suit seeks portions of the proceeds from home video, cable, and other distribution outlets. —ANI

After watching Taare Zameen Par last year, we too wished we had an arts teacher like Ram Shankar Nikumb. Unlike his lucky students, many of us never had a choice to draw, as we perceived the world around. "Look at the blackboard and follow my instructions", used to come from the teacher every ten minutes. Though our time is over, we have some good news for the students who love to play with colours. In an outreach programme of the Government Museum and Art Gallery-10, ten to 15 students of six city schools will get the opportunity to attend workshops at the extension of art gallery in leisure valley.

Established artists will further polish the talent of these students. "It's an effort to acknowledge students flair for art and lending them a platform to hone their skills", says P.C. Sharma, in charge of the Outreach Activity center. And it was fourteen students of Shishu Niketan Model Senior Secondary School-22 who got the chance on Friday to exhibit their talent. "Initially, we will give students a free hand to draw and paint anything followed by themes. Our panel of judges will then review the artworks and will accordingly announce the award of the Best child artist." The jury will comprise of renowned artists from the city, Ravinder Sharma, Is Oddaru and Mohan Dhiman.

N.P.S Randhawa, director cum chairman, Government Museum and Art Gallery says, "Through the programme, we have tried to reach out to the people of the city and imbibe art in them. It is a step to encourage students to take up art seriously." Worthy work of these students will go to the child art gallery. Kiran Saini, a non-medical student shares her experience of participating in the workshop, "It is a novel experience for us as we are given the freedom to put our thought on the canvas."

Other schools to participate in the workshop are Vivek High School, Shivalik Public School, Govt. Model Senior Secondary School-16, Kendriya Vidyalaya and St.John's School.

This programme also aims to involve students of college at a later stage. "We want to catch the artists young and train them so that they can take it up as a profession," says Randhawa.

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