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Lend me your ear...
So often we have heard, unless we don’t raise questions, we won’t get any answers. And here, we are exactly going to do that. What are the parameters that substantiate Punjabi music industry is doing well? A hit Punjabi track in almost every second Bollyood flick, ever-growing popularity of Punjabi music overseas or a turnover in tens of crores of rupees enough to prove the industry’s worth? How many Punjabi singers actually represent the Punjabi music industry?
The next most obvious thing for us to do was ask people from the industry and what we got was unfortunately not the answer but yet another question, which was probably the important of all—“Is Punjabi music industry really doing well?” A little more digging and the truth begins to unfold. Ravinder Ranguwal, president of the Punjab Cultural Society, spells it better, “How do you expect the quality of music and songs to be good when there are approximately 22,000 aspiring singers across Punjab, all raring to bring out their music albums? Whereas the number of genuine singers in the industry does not go beyond 50.Youngsters perceive singing to be a shortcut to success, fame and money.” Video director of albums of famous singers of Punjab, like Hans Raj Hans, Sardool Sikander, Babbu Mann, he regrets the trend, “The quantity of music produced has increased by over 10 times in the past couple of years but quality has deteriorated considerably. So, many singers with an album to their name don’t even know the basics of singing.” Figures have created a stir in the music industry. Rahul Gupta, owner of Gupta Music café, a Ludhiana-based distributor of Punjabi albums, talks about it, “On an average four Punjabi music albums get released everyday, which means around 120 albums and nearly 600 songs in a month. It is a rat race these singers have got themselves into.” Even if the actual picture is bad, it is benefiting Punjabi music channels and production companies, which are minting money. “Swarm of new singers pay to the channels for advertisements of their albums and production companies to produce their work. The only sufferer in this case is the Punjabi culture that has had great singers,” he adds. What earlier required years of riyaaz has now become the easiest profession to get into. Singer and actor Babbu Mann too rues the fact, “It is sad that these days one doesn’t need talent to become a singer, but only money. Aspiring singers in villages sell their land and then pay the amount to production companies, which then produce their albums.” Hans Raj Hans shows us the even bleaker picture, “This generation is fame crazy. They vouch for success without putting in hard work and yet all they wish to do is sing, which is another tentative reason of increasing unemployment.” Even if the production companies, on the ethical ground, refuse to launch a non-talented singer that doesn’t stop him from producing it. Munish Dhanija, director general manager, T-Series, says, “Everything is pretty easy for such wannabe singers from well- to-do families. In case they are refused a launch by a production company, they open their own and take out their albums.” Count of production companies across Punjab proves the rest. He suggests, “Like they have it in foreign countries, an autonomous body should be set up here, making it is mandatory for any production company to get itself registered and proper specification.”
The question still remains without an answer, “Is Punjabi music industry really doing
well?”
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In her den
She senses our discomfort at the idea of sitting on the floor instantly and hurriedly moves out on the chairs to give an interview. When one’s been a writer for 25 years, observation comes naturally. Doesn’t it? What about humility? Now, that’s not natural. Only in this case, it was. So much so, that lack of ‘homework’ elicits a smile and keen interest. Meet the author, Noor Zaheer, in the city on Sunday and hear her talk about writings — hers, others’ and everybody’s’.
Surely it’s all in her genes? Our obvious allusion to her writer-father Sajjad Zaheer. She says, “His writings have influenced me a lot.” And adds, “I grew up in an atmosphere of debate. Even when the Hindu Marriage Act was incorporated, we discussed it. We discussed the good things about it, the bad things about it and how it could have been better.” Talking of which, her growing up experiences, the debates, issues at her place and the like have been catalogued in Mere Hisse Ki Roshani. It would be blasphemous to spell Mills and Boon or Carolyn Keene! But we were itching, so a faint murmur on what she read as a child evokes, “The atmosphere at my house was very open, discussion friendly, nothing was a taboo. I read D.H.Lawrence and Lady Chatterley’s Lover.” Here’s continuing with the misfit kinds of questions, because her opinion matters. So, what does she have to say about today’s chic-lit brigade? Where a hardly out of school or young techie executive writes about crushes, heartbreaks, love affairs and it vanishes off the shelves? “It’s better than the era, like in the seventies or eighties, when people were not reading. Ultimately, hope that the sense prevails and they are able to shaff out the literature that will stay with them from the one that won’t.” Do we expect the genre bordering on women’s issues and Muslim laws to continue? She says, “Currently I’m working on two novels. One is based on the life in Kinnaur in Himachal. The other talks about children of mixed marriages, like Hindu-Muslim marriage.” One of which should be out this October. manpriya@tribunemail.com
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Model conduct
Oops back to the institute…so it has a mother campus in Singapore (now Panchkula as well) offering a diploma and a degree in hospitality. “We deal in hard-core hospitality,” Sundeep Madhok, general manager, helps with our beginner’s queries. ‘Hard-core’ hospitality? He adds, “In the sense that we will be teaching only hospitality and nothing else.” The three to four year old institute boasts of the best and the latest in training and teaching including a 44 seater fine dining training restaurant, OPERA software training for front office operations, specially chosen cutlery, to list a few. Add to it, comprehensive slide presentation on cosmopolitan standards, international training, global environment…Hey what about India? Wouldn’t they be telling at all about Indian hospitality, its uniqueness et al? Nisha Luthra, principal, India campus, answers, “Well, we would be teaching Indian hospitality as well, but with a global perspective and standards.” India ok, but why Panchkula only within India? Says Hew Tze Yee, CEO, “The city is really vibrant and back in Singapore we had many students from this part of the region.” Meanwhile, managing director, Deepak Luthra, apprises of the future plans. “May be on hill top, like Shimla.” Hey, we are yet to digest the ongoing launch. People all around winding, shutting closing, they seem to be singing a different tune? He smiles, “We are very optimistic isn’t it?” and adds, “Recession has to go. When I’m in business I have to travel, have to check into hotels, moreover two years from now when recession will be history we hope to place our students with the best in the industry.” In the logistics din, guess we forgot to mention the uniform part? Elegant and well turned out, with hue of grey for blazer as well as pants. Too soon to comment on anything, but their uniform rocked. manpriya@tribunemail.com
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Heavenly offer
The average cinegoer may identify her with ‘’smart urban woman of substance’’ kind of roles that she essayed in films like Kya Kehna, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Jaaneman, Kal Ho Naa Ho and Koi Mil Gaya but perky and vivacious actor Preity Zinta says she yearns to do more roles that are earthy and have a ‘’slice of life’’ in them.
Says Preity, who has, in the last year and a half, done roles having a slice of life in them, in Heroes, the The Last Lear and, now, Heaven on Earth as an actor, “I have always wanted to challenge myself and do films that are different. However, at one stage of my career, I found myself completely laden with ‘’NRI roles’’ roles that were of strong and confident women who always knew where they were going. I never got to do roles that were earthy and had a slice of real life in them.’’ Addressing a press meet in the Capital this weekend in connection with the promotion of Deepa Mehta’s Heaven On Earth, which releases in India on March 27 after opening to an excellent box office response and rave reviews abroad by critics for Preity’s performance in the film, the actress said, ‘’At one point, I decided that I really wanted to make a conscious effort to do earthy roles of women from the soil, one cannot make an effort until a director comes to you with a script that enables you to take that leap of faith. So, when Deepa Mehta came to me with the script of Heaven on Earth, it was truly a dream come true for me as it was something that I felt would challenge me as an actor. I really thought it would be a step in another direction.” —
UNI |
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Coat settlement
Lindsay Lohan has settled her legal dispute with the woman who accused the actress for stealing her mink coat. The Mean Girls star was slapped with a lawsuit by Masha Markova for allegedly taking her 8,010 pounds coat during a night out at celebrity hotspot 1OAK in January last year. Markova believed that she had lost the expensive mink — until she saw photographs of Lohan leaving the club wearing the fur.
According to sources, club owners have returned the coat back to Markova - although details about how the mink was recovered or any financial settlement Lohan had to pay have not been disclosed. — ANI |
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A Fair deal
Keira Knightley desperately wants to land the lead role in the remake of My Fair Lady because she’s been preparing for the part for two years. Apparently, the stunner has been begging studio bosses to finally cast her as the leading lady.
Earlier, rumors were abuzz that Knightley had secured the role made famous by Audrey Hepburn in the 1964 musical, based on George Bernard Shaw’s comedy of manners, Pygmalion. However, the actor insists casting directors have not made a final decision. “I auditioned for it about two years ago, and I think it’s been a matter of trying to assemble the correct team to do it that is going to make as interesting a movie and as good a movie as possible,” she said. “There are good whispers going around, you know, and hopefully they’ll come to fruition,” she added.
—ANI |
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Bollywood beckons
Kylie Minogue is just the latest in a growing number of Western stars to have been lured to Bollywood by the promise of a healthy pay cheque, exposure to a large and enthusiastic new audience and a dash of excitement from the world’s largest movie industry
“I think the experience has been intense,” she said at a recent press conference in Mumbai, where she had spent eight days filming two song scenes. “Many things I have done before, particularly making music videos, but in Bollywood, with that many people in a studio and the pace at which they work ... it was a totally new experience. The fact that I have been invited to come and take part in a Bollywood movie surely must be saying something about the feeling in the industry.” The Australian singer’s stint with Indian star Akshay Kumar is just one example of the increasing cross-fertilisation between the East and West. Sylvester Stallone, the gnarled, mumbling legend of Rocky and Rambo, and Brandon Routh, the sleek star of Superman Returns, have recently filmed parts in another forthcoming Bollywood flick, Kambakht Ishq, in which one-time Bond girl Denise Richards also features. Meanwhile, Barbara Mori, the fast-rising Uruguayan-Mexican actress is to feature in another forthcoming Bollywood film Kites. |
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According to Jessica Simpson, women who’re in abusive relationships should “run so far away.” While at a concert in Phoenix, the 28-year-old singer, who has admitted she was in an abusive relationship, doled out the advice before belting out the ballad, Remember That, which features the lyrics: “It doesn’t matter how he hurts you/With his hands or with his words/You don’t deserve it.” “In love, we all go through a lot of things, and a lot of things unfortunately make us stay there (in the relationship),” Us magazine quoted her, as telling the crowd at the Cricket Wireless Pavilion. “No matter what you go through in life, no matter what abuse you go through, take your heart and run so far away,” she added. Simpson spoke more on relationship issues before singing Still Don’t Stop Me, which she said she wrote about “a guy that I couldn’t get over.” “After I wrote that song, I was mad at myself for being so weak, and I got over that guy!” added the singer, who was wed to Nick Lachey and went on to date John Mayer. —ANI
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Hollywood actor Tom Hanks was so desperate to team up with his son Colin on the big screen that he actually forced his way into his son’s new movie. The Oscar winner actor revealed that he was so impressed with the script for The Great Buck Howard that he decided he wanted to play his son’s dad whether he liked it or not. “I selfishly attached myself as the dad. I didn’t even ask Colin, I just said, ‘Hey listen, I’d like to play the dad.’ He kind of rolled his eyes and said, ‘Well yeah, I can see why.’ And that was that,” said Hanks. The plot of the film, which also stars Emily Blunt, revolves around a young man who accepts a job as the assistant to a jaded illusionist, played by John Malkovich. It was premiered in New York this week. — ANI
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Royal faux pas
Prince Harry, the third in line to the British crown, committed a rare style faux pas when he stepped out in public wearing bright pink nail paint.
The young royal turned up at a posh nightclub in London with the nails of his left hand painted a bright pink.
While this is not the first time that a male celebrity has been caught wearing pink nail paint, with other culprits being Academy winning actor Al Pacino and football star David Beckham, guests at the club told the newspaper that Harry’s painted nails were the source of much gossip. “No one knows why he’d painted his nails and the fact that he’d painted only one hand was even stranger. It looked most bizarre and Harry seemed a bit embarrassed by it. He kept slipping his hand in his jeans pocket.” Although he was trying to keep a low profile, the 24-year -old Prince’s unusual fashion statement caused him to stand out. He arrived at the nightclub alone escorted by a Royal protection officer just after midnight and left at about 3.30 in the morning. — PTI |
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S(e)ize the moment
We aren't claiming this one to be the most fitting example of women liberation or gender equality. But it is definitely a trend that we saw emerging in the last couple of years. An indication of improving health scenario and better awareness, women now hit the gym barely a month and a half after delivering a baby. Here, we talk to some women from the city, who defied the centuries-old norms of restricting themselves to child care and household chores only. Besides the health of the child, a priority for them was their own fitness too.
Nikita Mittal proudly admits that it was her decision to hit the gym after two months of her delivery. A bank employee by profession, she wanted to get back to her job after four months of maternity leave without the bulge, "I joined the gym as soon as my gynacologist gave me the permission for it. Any delay in doing it would have made fat accumulate and difficult for me to get rid of extra pounds." And her diet took care of the rest. "I never did dieting post-pregnancy as it wasn't healthy for my child. Instead, I only ate healthy home cooked food, lots of salads and fruits." A former Mrs India second runner-up, a successful model and a mother of two sons, Frainy Ahuja has wonderfully struck a balance between her personal and professional life. She always knew that becoming a mother would not mean the end of her modeling career. "Just after 45 days of giving birth to my first son, I got myself enrolled in the gym. I had to put in more hard work than other ladies as for me besides losing flab, important was to have the vital stats and model curves." She then lost 22 kgs after three months of strenuous gymming and began modeling. Anjali Sharma, however, preferred to be patient and took a year's time to lose weight. "As I had a caesarean delivery, my gym trainer advised me to go slow about it." She began with half-an-hour walk on the treadmill and gradually took on to heavy exercises. "It is important to seek constant guidance from your gynecologist and gym trainer to keep fit and lose weight." Motivation offers solution to Jasbir Kaur, owner and gym trainer of Oceanic Gym-38, when it comes to convincing women to lose weight post-delivery. "It is good to see women hitting the gym just a few months after giving birth. But in such cases we have to be very careful while assigning them exercises." She advises that women should not join a gym before 40 days after delivery. "Only light exercises are recommended which don't require one to run or jump. Also, we mainly give them abominable exercises as that one gains maximum weight around the waist." |
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Beerable fact
While alcohol consumption has always been attributed to devastating effects on health, a new study has revealed that moderate consumption might make bones stronger in older adults. An international team of experts headed by Katherine Tucker studied a cohort of older adults in the Framingham Offspring Study to determine an association between alcohol consumption and bone mineral density.
"Moderate alcohol consumption was shown to contribute to stronger bones (measured as hip and spine bone mineral density)," said ASN Spokesperson Stephanie Atkinson, PhD. The study showed that 1-3 glasses of beer in men and more than 2 glasses of wine or liquor (but not beer) for women is likely to have a positive effect on bone. The positive effect might be attributed to bone preserving ingredients like silicon in beer and resveratrol in wine in addition to the alcohol. "Such positive effects on bone must be balanced against the risk of falls and bone fractures caused by consuming excessive alcohol," Atkinson added. The study is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. —
ANI |
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C for comfort
Men with a higher intake of vitamin C from food or supplements have a lower risk of developing gout, a form of arthritis from uric acid build-up that causes inflamed joints, said researchers. "Vitamin C intake may provide a useful option in the prevention of gout," Dr Hyon Choi and colleagues at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver said in a paper published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Gout victims are typically men age 40 and older, although the malady can also strike women. Vitamin C appears to lower the levels of uric acid in the blood, the research team said. Gout can lead to permanent joint damage and is linked to alcohol abuse, obesity, high blood pressure and a diet heavy in meat and cheese. It is increasingly common and afflicts 3 million people in the United States. A look at nearly 47,000 U.S. men studied from 1986 to 2006 for a variety of health issues found that every 500 milligram increase of daily vitamin C intake produced a 17 percent decrease in the risk for gout. An orange has about 70 mg of the vitamin. Higher concentrations come in pill form. Among the men studied those with daily intake of 1,500 supplemental mg a day had a 45 percent lower risk of gout than those who took in less than 250 mg a day, said the team headed by Choi, who is now at Boston University. — Reuters
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Your cup of tee
Sachin Kalra
To improving your game, it requires a bit more than simply playing a lot of golf, it requires overall fitness. Work on the various factors outlined here and you'll not only come closer to par, but you'll also reap numerous health benefits, such as increased lean body weight, reduced body fat, lower blood pressure and increased strength and flexibility. Be flexible
Flexibility is one important key to developing a full, fluid golf swing. Simply swinging the club is not enough, but you can increase the range of motion in your shoulders, trunk, low back and hamstrings with just a few minutes of daily stretching. But don't save your stretching until five minutes before you tee off. Flexibility exercises must be done every day. Feel the power
Resistance or weight training will strengthen the muscles and improve your hitting power. Here are some specific exercises that will help you generate more power in your upper body as well as stabilising strength in your lower body. One or more sets of eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise should be performed three days per week -abdominal curl, biceps curl, chest press, lateral raise, leg curl, leg extension, leg press, low back extension, neck extension, neck flexion, front lat pull, triceps extension and chin-ups. Strengthen the elbow
The strength in and around the elbow of the off arm has much to do with success in golf. Much of the power in your swing comes from the strength in this area. And if the off elbow is weak you can develop tennis elbow, which will definitely hurt your game. The best solution is to exercise and strengthen the elbow by squeezing a stress or tennis ball for about 20 minutes daily. Swinging time
Strong wrists are key to a strong swing. And it is pretty easy to strengthen your wrists beyond their current strength. Try the following exercises. Wrest curls, reverse wrist curls and wrist rolls. Start out with light weights to prevent injury or better still, to work out under a trained professional. Cardiovascular conditioning
Finally, cardiovascular conditioning is essential to help you keep your energy up during a long round of golf. Try to fit in at least 20 minutes of walking, cycling or whatever aerobic activity you prefer, three times per week. No back stabbing
Did you know that the best way to avoid back problems (aside from avoiding heavy lifting) is to develop strong abdominal muscles? Back problems plague older golfers. But 10 minutes of crunches, sit-ups, or leg lifts every other day can strengthen those abs and reduce the chance of back injury. Balancing act
Off balance swings are a sure path toward double and triple bogey golf. So how do you improve your balance? One way is by trying to walk along curbs without stepping onto the sidewalk or the gutter. Another way is by standing on one foot and swinging your elbows back and forth. It doesn't really matter how you improve your balance, just that you do it. kalrasachin@hotmail.com |
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So, where do we begin? “Today I’m going to recite some of my own works, from My God is a Woman, and Barh-Uraivee to name a few,” she says. By the way, My God is a Woman happens to be based on the landmark Shah Bano case where the Supreme Court and the Parliament were on opposite sides of fences. “The other Barh Uraivee happens to be set in village during Partition, when the migration has already taken place.” 
We were confused! Thoroughly. A quick rummage for the invite reaffirms it was the opening of ‘some school of hospitality’. The venue, the time (only to be rescheduled two hours later), the event, everything in harmony. Yeah! That’s right. It was the launch of School of Hospitality and Resort Management’s India campus. Panchkula, to be precise. So, what if the well co-ordinated placards to press release to even the principal suggested a fashion extravaganza. Well, they displayed their uniform not on paper, nor on hangers but through a full-fledged fashion fiesta. Did we mention? Chefs sported a designer uniform too and the faculty was made to walk the ramp. Looks like the day’s not far, when books will be launched by leggy beauties in heels!
Golf is rapidly becoming the sport of choice for many. While some view the sport as slow-paced, golf actually requires a great deal of strength and stamina and not to mention, skill.