There was Ms Variety learning bharatnatyam while the Bachata beats resonating across the shared wall enticed her too. Then, Ms Experiment while training for hip-hop felt the need to tango. Another Mr Restless, obsessed with guitar, couldn't keep from drums for long. Human nature! The more the merrier, want everything, one thing's not enough, wanna do it all, yeah that too, what about the other one? If it weren't so, Newton would've been anonymous and the cell phone, a figment of imagination. We take the veil off Ms Variety, Ms Experiment, Mr Restless et al and present ordinary, regular, next-door folks who could not stick to 'just one!'

Amita Bhatt, a Master's in Library Science, "For the past two years, I've been learning various dance forms, salsa, hip hop, jazz. While I was in Goa, I learnt classical almost throughout." Hold on. "At Shivalikview, I used to take bachata workshops too!" she adds.

The girl's not an isolated case. Prachi Bahri, Department of Laws, Panjab University, says, "I was a part of the Shiamak Davar dance troupe, learnt salsa from Varun, and I'm now going to dabble in classical." Looks like the girl's assorted!

So, is the era when devotion to one genre was considered the hallmark of dedication gone? "Dancing is a passion for me, so when you are passionate about something you cannot stick to 'a particular' thing, rather to 'any particular', you just want to experiment, try out new things," voices Amita.

Asserts Prachi, "I would love to try out new things, dance is a passion for me, when you love one dance form, can perform one, you can do any, and it's not a matter of difficulty."

Where does the current scenario send the notion of being devoted to one and only one genre? The era when young girls or boys would take to music, dance at a tender age under the tutelage of one mentor. Puneet Jewandah, dance instructor, explains, "These days, a lot of people do that, want to train in a lot of things. It's a healthy trend, also because especially genres like jazz, hip-hop, salsa are somewhere interconnected."

Opines Kathak danseuse Shobha Koser, "Technicalities like the dharas, the mudras remain the same, no matter what the dance form. So, if one has learnt, let's say, kathak, it becomes easier to dabble in Odissi, bharatnatyam etc."

"But one can master only one form. And some of the youngsters who're religious towards classical still dedicate themselves to one genre."

Adds Puneet, "Those pursuing one genre seriously, a majority of people, major in one thing and later on branch out to broaden their horizons." The girl herself learnt bharatnatyam for a good four years before moving to the USA for street jazz and so on. There's something more, "I was in awe of Ballerina too, initially, when I was really young."

Adds Shobha Koser, "I started dancing at the age of five and have stuck to kathak throughout even though I've learnt a lot of folk dances too."

The more the merrier, bring it on!

manpriya@tribunemail.com

Parveen Bhairon, an Indian-origin actress from Coventry is thrilled to land a role in Salman Khan starrer Bollywood film Veer.

She is the latest British Indian actor to feature in an Indian film after Katrina Kaif and Upen Patel.

Bhairon, 26, plays a supporting role in the film, which is said to be an epic love story about an Indian warrior fighting under the British Raj.

The film has been written by Salman Khan who also plays the lead role. Other actors in the movie include Jackie Shroff, who plays the villain, and Sohail Khan.

Bhairon, who has shot scenes in Bristol and Bath, told the local media: "It's been fantastic so far. I met Salman Khan a few times. He is very focused on his work - it's quite inspiring to see.

"We haven't been told what the film is all about - it's a bit of a secret - but the costumes are quite elaborate and there are a few fighting scenes. I'm looking forward to getting into the dialogue, which will come later. It's been interesting and exciting but a lot of hard work." Bhairon, who will soon leave for Mumbai to shoot more scenes of the film, said, "I really want to launch my career in Mumbai. It'll be the perfect stepping-stone. It's a difficult thing to do but I'm not ready to give up yet. These last few months have been surreal and I'm really excited about my future". — PTI 

They are the six musketeers—of Class X and some heavyweight vocab, National Space Settlement, NASA, life support system by now sits firmly in their scheme of things. While their counterparts can continue being hassled about boards, tuitions, grades, the current pack of six in question, has been invited to 28th Annual International Space Development Conference organized by NASA in Orlando, Florida. Some feat, to begin with!

Well, for obvious reasons, Shraygautam, Pragya Malhotra, Aditya, Amandeep Kaur, Kirti and Kanika are themselves on space already. A would be human colony in space designed by the bunch from Dikshant International School has made it to NASA National Space Settlement Contest for the year 2009. “We’re very excited,” says Pragya with practiced ease. The effort’s not been easy. “Life support system is very complex and our challenge was to create biosphere,” says Pragya. “We focussed on photosynthetic farming, hydroponic farming, wherein plants are grown without soil,” and in water contain ing dissolved nutrients.

Sure the guys must have slogged for hours at stretch? They chorus, “We worked for it about two months,” and adds Pragya “We have music and art and crafts period, we would miss them, so it comes out to extra periods.” Shares Mitul Dikshit, director, “It feels nice, we at our school focus on science and allied activities and as of now we’re not working on anything particular but we will take up similar projects in the future.”

Back to the project, of course there was competition to beat. “We had schools and students from the Tricity queuing up in this competition of sorts and trying to be selected.” Newton’s and Einstein’s in the making, for sure? “I wish to be a journalist,” corrects Pragya, “And my decision’s been pretty stable since class V.” “I want to be an astronaut,” nods Shraygautam. “And me too, even I want to be an astronaught,” shyly chips in Amandeep Kaur. So much for future of the space. 

—Manpriya Khurana

Perfection, thy name is Alipt Sandhu. Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction but facts speak loud enough to make you to believe it. Be it academics, theatre or sports, the city’s golden girl Alipt is born to lead and scale the horizons of success in these realms.

The sky is the limit for this wonder girl, a psychology (honours) graduate from Lady Shri Ram College, now pursuing her master’s in psychology from DAV College-10. Being bestowed with the prestigious President of India: Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold Medal on March 1 last for being the best student is by no means a small honour. “ I was delighted as the gold medal was presented to me by Somnath Chatterjee, speaker of the Lok Sabha.

This award is the highest honour given to a university student,” she shares, recalling those moments at her Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi.

Sharing how the honour came her way, she says that at Lady Shri Ram College she was awarded the Best All Rounder award by Dr Hamid Ansari, vice-president of India, for excellence in the field of academics, tennis and theatre. “On the basis of this, I was nominated for the President’s gold medal and was selected for this award over 150 nominated students from other colleges.”

But the foundation that of a perfect achiever was laid in City Beautiful at Carmel Convent school and later at Bhavan Vidyalya. Securing 97 per cent marks in economics was a sign of the coming glory. Says Alipt, “My pious mother Inderpreet Sandhu and agriculturist father Adarshpal Singh Sandhu have been the guiding spirits.”

Maintaining her tradition of excellence in sports, Alipt won the gold medal in the Inter College Lawn Tennis Championship representing DAV College-10. Again, it was the first time in the history of DAV College that a gold was won in the women’s category. Securing the second rank in the All India Inter Zonal Tennis Championship, Alipt has represented Chandigarh at the nationals and won a gold medal at Pune, a silver at the All-India women’s festival at Jalandhar . With seven titles in AITA tournaments, Alipt feels at the top of the world but is not complacent and murmurs, “Yeh dil maange more..”

”But then theatre remains my first love which nourishes my soul. My latest play Kharashein evolved from a Gulzar classic and has won rave reviews from Anupam Kher and Lillete Dubey. Playing the protagonist, I won best actresses award during performances at the India Habitat Centre, N.S.D’s Mudra Institute Ahmedabad, IIT-Mumbai, BITS- Pilani and Punjab Kala Bhavan here. After my very first performance in Himmat Mai, an adaptation of English play Mother Courage, I mustered enough courage to quote poet Rashid “Nazr shnaas (Connoisseur ) merre hosley ki daad toh de, Jo inteha hai teri, Ibtida (beginning) hei mere liye.”

On the birth anniversary of Raja Ravi Verma, the revolutionary painter of the 19th century, three winners of a nationwide art competition, Rang Rasiya - Freedom of Art Movement, honouring this legendary painter would be announced. The competition was a pan-India initiative that endeavoured to provide a platform to young and budding artists. The three winners would be decided after a two-day exhibition of 75 finalists.

The panel of judges would include pioneers such as Pritish Nandy, Rajeev Lochan, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Gaekwad and more. Each one of the three winners would be awarded cash prizes, the winner taking away Rs. 5 lakh as prize money while the first and second runner up would be awarded Rs. 1.5 lakh and Rs. 50000 respectively.

The gala evening to announce and felicitate the winners would be hosted by Anjali Chawla, a young entrepreneur and wife of industrialist Kabul Chawla, at The Oberoi in Delhi. The competition was launched in parallel to the soon–to-be-released movie Rang Rasiya based on Raja Ravi Verma and his life, starring Randeep Hooda and Nandana Sen and produced by Anand Mahendroo.

Raja Ravi Varma, known as a visionary, who redefined the way the Indians worshipped, dressed and imagined their tradition, succeeded in bringing art out of the clutches of the aristocracy and the orthodox priestly class. He made art an integral part of popular culture. 

He achieved recognition for his depiction of scenes from the epics of the Mahabharta and Ramayana. His paintings are considered to be among the best examples of the fusion of Indian traditions with the techniques of European academic art. He is most remembered for his paintings of beautiful sari clad women, who were portrayed as very shapely and graceful. 

His exposure in the west came when he won the first prize in Vienna Art Exhibition in 1873. After a successful career as a painter, Raja Ravi Varma died in 1906 at the age of 58. He is generally considered as one among the greatest painters in the history of Indian Art. 

Did anyone just mumble examinations? Things worse, far worse, exist. If semesters were a torture, what would you call admissions, interviews, entrance, group discussions, counseling? How would you rate deadlines, admission dates, endless forms, acknowledgement receipts, draft numbers, attestation formalities, cut off list? Get the drift? It's an altogether different SOS. The pressure of procedure, if not the performance, kills. Cope up! How? Here.

Till the time crash landing in that coveted B-school, engineering college, medical institute or renowned department happens, it's a tight ropewalk. From deadly percentage, it seeped into lethal percentile and third degree got itself a novel definition. White fluid, photocopies, passport size pictures, OMR rules, self-addressed envelopes, postal stamps…so much to juggle. 

Amusing it is, but not for ones at the fag end of queue fearing closed window for lunch, and being stranded in Tropical June heat. Recalls Nitin Jindal, biotechnology student, P.U, "I appeared for multiple management entrances this year and believe me, far more than the competition, it's the formalities, the clutter, the chaos, travelling plus uncertainty that gets one worked up." Predicament's yet not ended, "I remember once after having stood in queue for a long time, because of some silly formality, I had to go through the whole procedure again." 

Dr. Parmod Kumar, consultant psychiatrist, director, Silver Oaks hospital, says, "Stress occurs due to various factors, first being the tendency to stress, which if you have, even minor things can reach you. Next comes, the trigger, the event that leads to stressful state of mind." The trigger in question being several and severe. "Examinations itself lead to pressure, then there's strain of filling up so many forms plus there's a lot of travelling involved. 

Add to it, many a times, students have dropped a year to appear for entrance, that scales the anxiety several notches up," says Simmi Waraich, consultant psychiatrist, Fortis hospital.

Solutions subsist just in abundance. Time to get pre-arranged, be one's own secretary, and brush up record keeping practices, maintain a diary or whatever, it takes to not get worked up. "No situation occurs overnight and nothing comes immediately, people who are organised generally undergo such kind of responses. The golden rule is to be prepared in advance," adds Dr. Kumar. Agrees Dr. Waraich, "Plan from the core." And puts in, "Maintaining contacts with friends helps as do yoga or cycling.

What students generally do is just sit around or wile away though they are still thinking of the same thing. It's important to be involved in physical activity, anything that breaks the cycle of thoughts. " Well, anything that breaks the circle of chaos.

manpriya@tribunemail.com

The Food Street, with all its flavours and frivolity, came as savior for some and shocker for others. What others, if you may wonder? Count in the Student Center stalls, all the dhabas surrounding bus stand and the tuck-in corners of the city that provided for the midnight hunger needs of the students all these years. But now they have found a new love, the food street. It serves to the taste buds of one and all, suddenly becoming a chart topper with city youngsters, an after party must visit and an abode for the 'midnight children'.

The latest adda for the young college crowd of the city, some of the earlier hang out zones have suddenly lost 'the lime and the light', good or bad, seems to have been shifted towards the food street. Whether it's the food or the things that come attached along with it, the crowd at the food street is thicker than any other with-it place. 

"The facts that it's closer and kind of started the whole night food culture, makes it current favourite. The earlier escapes like the Red Cross canteen or the bus stand shops were not that happening," says Gagandeep Singh, a botany student, PU. Of course, if you had to choose between a place where patients share your menu and the spiced up stalls of Food Street, the answer is obvious. The other sufferers at the hands of food street mania are the dhaba wallahs at the Sector 17 bus stand. 

A haven for almost years for the mess-rejected appetites, they lost their young footfalls to the swanky promises of Food Street. "The thing is that Food Street offers a lot of variety, and since it is located close to the campus area, the students prefer going there," says one dhaba wallah. But he does mention that there are some loyalists who still come for their parantha treat.

Though these places may have climbed down the popularity ladder, one nest still stands strong. Now, long before the food street mania, this market ruled the taste buds. The place that got campus students hooked to some momos and hakka noodles, with its 'regulars', is still the favourite when hunger strikes hard.

 "A round of momos at the Sector 15 market is an everyday ritual for us now. Even with the food street coming, the stuff you get here comes easy on pocket and taste as well," says Nimanyu Rana, a UIET student and one of the regulars. Also, the PGs find it easily accessible and closer home.

Well, for the ones spoilt for scrumptious choice, Food Street might be the ready option. But the namak halal ones still please their appetite through these good old tuck-in shop.

lifestyle@tribunemail.com

Having a bad teacher in the reception year can harm a child’s entire education, according to a new study. Researchers at Durham University found that the effect of having an exceptionally poor - or an unusually good - teacher in the first year at primary school was still detectable six years later.

“More effort needs to be spent on the most valuable years which are the earliest years,” said study’s lead author Peter Tymms, professor of education at Durham University, as saying.

The effect of good and bad teaching is cumulative, so if a child is unlucky enough to have a poor teacher every year of their primary school career, this would make a difference of an entire level in their test performance. “The residual effect lasts as long as we can measure it,” said Tymms. The study is published in the journal Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability. -ANI