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Bullet-proof, nah!
It's a guy thing! Straight from the slam books, only if the guys maintained it. Since they wouldn't, let us take you through some motorcycle…oops…Bullet diaries. That's right! For the uninitiated, it's not your average, typical standard, mode of conveyance, nor a two-wheeler, not even a bike. Then what? Well, you just got to read…
The product from the house of Royal Enfield has come a long way; a loyal way and a lofty way. But where does the pull lie? Certainly not the single-key operation or twin-lead brakes. Is it the 346cc engine? Or the manly look with lots of chrome? "It's the X factor," Simranbir Singh, B.Sc, (I.T.) student, puts to rest all speculation. He's been wanting to acquire the prized possession ever since Class VI, "I have been fascinated with Royal Enfield since I was half its height, and could not even mount it." Harley Davidson, nothing personal, dude! An institution, industry, statement, obsession, whatever you choose to call it, anything but bike. The owners might press charges! "We don't call it a bike," Varinder
Dandiwal,
Community living Quite a rolling, rocking love affair
happening out there. Online Bullet communities? Actually, there are countless; there's one that calls itself 'The Indian Harley', while another 'God of Indian Bikes', yet another 'Indian Chopper." We're not finished. Whoever termed the allegiance local probably just saw the Punjabi University Bullet Club or the Panjab University Bullet Club. There's one from Hyderabad, Bangalore, Udaipur, Kerala, wait, even Kottayam Bullet fans. Now the rules, it's called Bullt, second, the owners have a nomenclature Bulleteers. Let the awe, inspiration, exhilaration continue… Meet another Bullet boy, Parambir Singh Sumal, B.Com student, SGGS college-26, "No matter how much you spend on any other two-wheeler, it would still be a bike, while this is a bullet." The car lovers can blush, look the other way or just be jealous. Shares Parambir, "I recently purchased a Honda Civic but I don't think anything quite matches the Bullet experience." So is the craze provincial? "You can say it's the most wanted bike in Punjab," Parambir continues. Opines Varinder, "You go anywhere else, Mumbai, Goa, wherever, but it's only in Punjab that it is in vogue." Of course, it wasn't easy, convincing the parents and all that. Reveals Varinder, "My parents were hell bent, they wanted to buy me a car or anything but Bullet, nah. See, it's the frivolous image attached that's difficult to shake off. Plus the apprehension that all it's going to be used for is geris." Result: "I appealed for a complete year, before finally getting it in plus two." Mission accomplished! The half-a-dozen Bullet communities on social networking sites testify to the love. One by the name, Enfield Bullet actually has 11,000 and counting. Wait! Another allegiance club goes like 'Jatt Bullet te, Bullet 100 te' Meanwhile, one even whispered, the magic lies in the sound. What do you think?
manpriya@tribunemail.com |
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Legacy not lost
Endowed with the power of imagery and word play, Shiv Kumar emerged as a romantic revolutionary poet of astounding merit who lifted conventional Punjabi poetry to spectacular heights. Born on July 23, 1936, in the sleepy village of Lohtian in Gurdaspur district, his upbringing at Batala gave a foretaste of the making of a poetic legend. During his life span of 36 years, he enriched Punjabi poetry, giving to it a radical new vision and scaling the heights of popularity. As the 36th death anniversary of Batalvi falls on May 6, his admirers share their views on his contribution with Lifestyle. Acclaimed literary personality, Dr Satinder Singh Noor, vice-president of the Rashtriya Sahitya Akademy, New Delhi, extols Shiv as the crowned lyrical poet of Punjabi, whose verses are embellished with an inherent lyricism. "The divine utterances of our Gurus and saints in Gurbani, sufi poetry as also folk songs bear a special significance which must have inspired the poet." Tribute time The Punjab Arts Council in collaboration with the State Bank of India (the employers of the poet) will pay a literary and musical tribute to Batalavi at a function to be held at Randhawa Auditorium on May 6 at 6.30 PM. Secretary General, PAC, Rajpal Singh, disclosed that Aruna Shiv Batalvi has consented to grace the function. At another function the Kayanat Arts in association with the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademy will also pay a musical tribute at the Akademy complex in Sector 34 at 4 pm on May 6. Budding film artist Wamiqa Gabbi and Chandni will present a choreography on poems of Shiv
Batalvi. D.S. Saroya, IAS, director, NZCC, eulogizing the poetic versatility of Batalvi, feels that if his verses were to be translated into English to perfection like that of Tagore's Gitanjali they could certainly vie for the coveted Nobel Prize. Noted poet Bhushan Dhyanpuri, who owes a lot to the poet as a mentor and friend, recalls that such is the universality of Batalvi's articulation of pain and anguish that a song Kitte takrein taan haal sunawan Batale dia Shiv Jogiya in Pakistan has attained the status of a folk song. Noted poet Sham Singh hails Batalvi as the only poet after Waris Shah whom the entire Punjab has been singing. He never compromised despite the denouncement and pressure from progressive writers and followed the call of his conscience. Such poets are born only once in a century, says Deepak Manmohan, a family friend. |
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Heal the world
Taste of Berry’, a film on mental illness, directed by city based independent filmmaker, Dr Gaurav Chhabra has bagged the IInd position at the ‘We care Film festival’ held at the Capital. Highly appreciated by the audience ranging from media students to psychotherapists to film critics for being sensitively handling the much-tabooed issue of Schizophrenia the movie was made over last year for a Bangalore based NGO ‘Athma Shakti Vidalya’ (ASV), as it is called a half way home for mentally ill people. Unlike the formal hospital setting, the methodology of ASV uses Reparenting techniques and Regressive therapy to cure the troubled minds. The film explores this ‘Therapeutic community’ in a way of travelogue and includes the interviews of some mentally ill people who talk freely about their mental illness unlike the usual taboo. The director is presently working on two films, which includes Corbu ke khatt (Letters from Corbu) and Lock on the heaven’s door. — TNS
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Vote for khadi
Ever since she turned designer, Sunaina Suneja has been passionately promoting khadi and says the time has come when every designer should promote “responsible fashion” - to give something back to the society. “As a design fraternity, it is our responsibility to promote responsible fashion and give something back to the society. By promoting this fabric, we will be giving employment to many artisans and at the same time enriching our textile heritage,” Suneja said. Delhi-based Suneja has been working and researching on this fabric for more than 20 years and feels that making of this fabric is a very humble task. As the election fever is already on, Suneja has launched her ‘The Election Collection’ that gives a message to everyone to cast their vote and is also urging people to wear khadi on election day. “This is the first time that there are strong campaigns to urge people to come out and vote. Inspired by this, I have used khadi as my medium to send out a strong message across every Indian citizen to vote,” the designer said. Suneja has used the slogan ‘Show you care, insist you count, cast your ballot, make your mark’ to promote her collection. The collection has something for everyone - from chuidars, small kurtis, long kurtas, skirts and dresses in whites, creams and beige. “This is a summer collection so it is very cool and comfortable and the colour palette is light because people prefer to wear light colours during summer,” she said. — IANS
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Car czar
For automobile lovers the launch of Audi A6 will sure be a cool shower in the hot blistering weather. Laying emphasis on the latest engine generation, including the new turbo engine 3.0 TFSI, which equips the model with more power and highest efficiency, the new Audi comes loaded with four engine variants - 3.0 TFSI, 2.8 FSI, 3.0 TDI, 2.7 TDI. Coming to design, the new Audi A6 lays stress on bold new accents, perfectly articulating the cars strong personality. The single-frame grill, bumpers, air vents and fog lights have all gotten a facelift. In the standard xenon plus, LED daytime running lights have been redesigned as horizontal strips with six LEDs each. The new Audi A6 enters the Indian market with a higher equipment level than the predecessor and the well-known advanced Audi Multi Media Interface system, the MMI, which has been setting news standard for perfectly controlling any function of the car. The instrument panel uses new higher-resolution graphics; and a new frame better accentuates the display. To top it all the new Audi A6 has a spacious interior with its clean and elegant contours and perfect craftsmanship is characteristic of this luxury brand. The rear seats have been re-defined and a package of elaborate features makes sure the noise level is cut by almost half. Starting at 38,57,000 INR (ex-showroom Mumbai), you can choose from the six new exciting colors: Aventurin Blue, Dakar Beige, Ice Silver and Oyster Grey, besides the successful Phantom Black and Ibis White. Audi A6 will be available at dealerships across India from May 4, 2009 onwards. — TNS
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Bharti Airtel, announced Dr. Inderpal Singh Sandhu, an associate professor at the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana as the winner of the grand prize of Skoda Octavia in ‘Airtel Dhamaka,’ a quiz contest. The Skoda Octavia was presented to Dr. Sandhu at the Airtel Mohali office by Sanjeev Kumar Saxena, CEO (Mobility), Bharti Airtel, HPHP Dr Sandhu on winning the Skoda Octavia said, “It was on a holiday that I received an SMS from Airtel giving details of the Quiz contest. I thought it was a good opportunity for me to test my knowledge, as well as learn more, so I started answering the questions from the fields itself. Over the next few days, I continued participating in the quiz and I am very glad that over 90 per cent of the answers I gave were correct and bagged me a car” — TNS
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Spade work
Prop up
There are certain misplaced notions that have trickled down the ages and no one seems to correct them. For example, making mounds around plants ‘to give them support’ against falling. But do you think this can provide anchorage to the plant? No, you cannot even imagine what is the weight of the plant due to its heavy head, and such feeble support is of no significance. On the contrary, the loose soil mound conserves moisture that remains continuously in contact with the main stem leading to stem rotting. Such a soil mound also acts as breeding and hiding place for most of the insects. Plants get anchorage from their strong roots and do not need external help. But in case of an injury to the roots, due to one or the other reason, a plant may need support. You will have to tie it from all the four side like a tent, securing it with some stable structure. The support is provided in the middle of the plant and some soft material like rubber tube or cloth is kept between the plant and the knot, so that the outer skin is not injured. To pluck or not to pluck
Tittle-tattle
There is snake on my leaves! A few years back people stopped eating cucurbit fruits and there was glut in the wholesale markets as people avoided them for the fear of offending the snake god. What in fact it was? This was the leaf minor insect on the leaves that gave rise to the rumours. The insect is so named as it makes zigzag mines on the leaves, like a snake shape. It was the reflection of the snake, which died an unnatural death. The rumour had it. It was after a lot of education that people got to know the truth. satishnarula@yahoo.co.in |
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Cold comebacks
While the ‘comeback kid of the century’ Mickey Rourke readies to star in Indian director Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Hollywood debut Broken Horses, Bollywood doesn’t seem to entertain cases of successful ‘comeback’.
While 56-year-old Rourke’s career is back on track after being derailed over a decade ago when he quit acting to pursue professional boxing, Bollywood is a lot less enthusiastic about actors trying to rise from the ashes. So are comeback kids, especially those past their youth not welcome in
Bollywood, which is increasingly populated by newcomers. “A grand comeback in most cases happens when an actor is at the right place at the right time. It’s a lot about luck. Look at Arshad Warsi, he came back with a bang in Munna Bhai, years after he had been written off and the biggest example of a comeback has to be the Big B himself,” said Pandey who was Bollywood’s reigning heartthrob during the late 1980’s, but was pushed out of business by the onslaught of a new breed of actors including Shahrukh and Aamir Khan. And the argument comes back to Bollywood’s biggest comeback story, Amitabh Bachchan, but what is
interesting is even Big B’s comeback happened on the small screen albeit the big one. After delivering a spate of flops, a reportedly bankrupt Bachchan took to the idiot box with Kaun
Banega Crorepati in 2000 and never looked back. “I had left the industry in the 90’s and when I came back a lot had changed. It requires directors and producer’s faith in an actor for him to be able to deliver and that is a difficult thing to achieve especially when you don’t have a recent body of work. But as has been proved earlier, nothing is impossible in showbiz,” said Pandey who will be portraying none other than the King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley in an upcoming film. One of the most talked about comebacks in recent times has been Madhuri Dixit’s Aaja Nachle. Though the film got a lukewarm reception at the box office, Dixit was lauded for her perfomance but has not been seen any film since. This was Dixit’s second attempt to return to Bollywood, she had earlier returned to acting with Jo Pyaar Karta Hai starring Ajay Devgan and Preity Zinta. The movie had tanked at the box office and Dixit returned to being a homemaker in the US after working in some other unremarkable projects. And is it more difficult for actresses to make a comeback, and is the industry sexist along with being ageist? “Like all other things in the world, even a comeback is a more difficult proposition for women, especially if you are past a certain age as the industry is quick to dismiss you. I made my comeback with Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par and that sort of stereotyped me as the suffering mother. And now I am
consciously picking projects that help me get away from that image,” said actor Tisca Chopra. And indeed none of yesteryear’s actresses have been able to recreate the success achieved by Amitabh Bachchan. While Hema Malini did score a hit alongside Big B in Baghban, she was not able to take it forward and Zeenat Aman and Dimple Kapadia’s comeback attempts have also not been
successful. — PTI |
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Jhalak dikhla jaa
“I have to admit that I miss Mona. With her I had developed a natural and easy chemistry. I’m very fond of the way she is - I like her for her chutzpah ... not many people can be like her. And people liked watching the two of us together,” Rohit said. Together, Rohit and Mona used to set the stage on fire with their lively anchoring and inimitable jokes in the last season of Jhalak...”. “I used to call her ‘Chaddha saab’ and no one knew why I called her that - still it was fun. And our combination - me as the supposedly classy and suave host against the loud Punjabi girl - it was great,” he recalled. But the actor-filmmaker is quite sure he’ll create a “good chemistry” with his current co-host, actor Shweta Tiwari, too. Shweta became a household name after featuring as Prerna in the hit soap Kasautii Zindagii Kay. “I don’t expect her to adjust with me - I always try and adjust with the other person and for now I think I’m doing pretty well. And we will be able to create some magic,” he said. Rohit was roped in midway to host the third season of the dance show. He replaced actor Shiv Pandit. Rohit refused to reveal the reason why he didn’t join the show in the beginning but said he enjoys hosting it so much that he is ready to be the anchor as many times as the producers would offer him to do so. “I really enjoy hosting Jhalak Dikhla Jaa and if I am offered it again, I will surely do it,” he said. — IANS
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Son rise
“In terms of balance, Abhishek is far more blessed than both his parents. He is a thoroughbred and a pedigree. He has styles from both his mother and father but possesses the sensitivity and softness of his mother,” Mehra said. Mehra, who worked with Amitabh in Aks, was also all praise for Abhishek’s acting style. “Abhishek is in his nascent stage as an actor but he has got a whole lot of experience as an actor. He delves into the character and lately he’s started doing that more often. I remember while shooting for Delhi-6, I couldn’t believe that it’s Abhishek when he completely got into the character of Roshan (the protagonist). — IANS
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Costume of fame
The award, which has highlighted the best trend or outfit every year since 1963, is a double triumph for the model as it was awarded for two “linked” garments and a heart-print 1940s-style dress from Moss’s Christmas collection for Topshop and a Chanel star-print jumpsuit she wore for her 34th birthday party in January 2008. It is also something of a blow for some of the loftier names in the fashion firmament, as Moss’s frock, a modest (pounds sterling) 60, is markedly cheaper than the designer outfits that have dominated the awards for decades. Previous winners include glamorous catwalk creations from John Galliano, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Giorgio Armani. Fashion commentators suggested yesterday that the award to what is, in essence, a high street, fast-fashion outfit, represents a shift in the UK industry away from haute couture and the designer label obsession of the 1990s towards a more democratic, recession-conscious view. “Great style is not about a bottomless
budget: a high street dress can own its style credentials as convincingly as a couture one,” said Paula Reed, fashion journalist for Grazia magazine, who selected this year’s winning designs. The award, organised and presented by Bath Fashion Museum, reportedly the world’s biggest collection of historic fashion clothing, cements Moss’s status at the pinnacle of British fashion as a model, style icon and businesswoman. “I’m not surprised that Kate Moss’s design has won this, but I am pleased with the selection,” said Rosemary Harden, manager of the museum. “She is quite a new departure in fashion history and a model with a very distinct sense of style, which she has applied to one of the leading high street chains, with massive success. As a fashion historian, I’m glad this has been recorded.” Moss’s nine Topshop collections have generated more than (pounds sterling) 40m in sales and, reportedly, earned the model more than (pounds sterling)1m a year. The winning frocks from 2003, 2006 and 2007 were also unveiled this weekend, with Marni, Prada and Giles Deacon all celebrated. An exhibition of a selection of winning dresses from the past 50 years will run until September at the Bath Fashion Museum.
— The Independent |
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Height of fashion
The 33-year-old also wore a slinky little black dress and stylish four-inch heels for the photo shot and posed for a series of shots for fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar, reminiscent of the famous ‘Lunchtime Atop A Skyscraper’ photograph of grubby ‘30s builders eating lunch hundreds of feet above the city streets, reports the Daily Mail online. “It was dramatic seeing Kate perched on a girder. She looked like one of those construction workers in the famous American skyscraper pictures - only a lot sexier in just her underwear and a pin-striped jacket,” said an onlooker. The shooting took place last week and Winslet had to clamber up a ladder before an assistant followed her with black sling-backs. She then changed into a pinstripe jacket and Bridget Jones-style big knickers for other photographs. Other poses saw her in a tight-fitting raincoat with fishnet stockings and a one-shouldered white gown. — IANS
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Few Punjabi poets have elicited the love and admiration of literary aficionados the way the legendary Shiv Kumar Batalvi, hailed as the John Keats of Punjabi literature, has.
Of late, the love for gardens and gardening is touching new heights. More and more people are adapting to gardening as a hobby and want to have their own homegrown produce. But, what is needed here is knowledge of gardening and how to take care of the flora and fauna. Most books available on horticulture cater to the foreign conditions, not suitable for the region. However, do not worry we will keep touching most of the daily gardening problems and introduce you to the new flora. 
There is a lot of confusion on whether to ripe sapota (cheeku) on the tree or in the box with artificial aid. It is also not certain as to when it should be plucked from the tree. Cheeku should be plucked from the tree when it has attained a good size, the one you see being sold in the market. Another indication is the removal of brown ‘dust’ from the fruit when rubbed. You can also scratch the fruit a little and if you find it green beneath, wait till you get a yellowish flesh. The fruit when plucked is still not ripe and needs to be kept in airtight cartons. Simply wrap the individual fruit in newspaper piece and keep it in the carton. Apply tape on the opening. Commercially the chemical ripening is done, which is not good from health point of view. You can keep a fruit or two ripened fruits in the carton amongst unripe fruits. They emit ethylene and immensely enhance the process, as the fruit is ready to eat within two to three days in summers.
Actor Chunky Pandey who came back to the film industry after a good decade does not believe so. The actor who has been doing bit parts in comedy films said that he is still hopeful of a grand comeback as it is usually a matter of luck.
If actor and anchor Rohit Roy had his way, TV actor Mona Singh would have been co-hosting the ongoing season of Jhalak Dikhla Jaa like they did last year because the actor feels she has the “chutzpah” that very few in the industry can match.
Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who directed Abhishek Bachchan for the first time in Delhi-6, says he is a “pedigree” actor and is far more “blessed” than his parents Amitabh and Jaya
Bachchan.
She is, by her own admission, “not a proper designer”, but Kate Moss Versace and Mary Quant when one of her Topshop designs was crowned Dress of the Year.
Oscar-winning actor Kate Winslet got a bird’s eye-view of New York when she did a photo shoot in her underwear and a pin-striped jacket on a skyscraper rooftop.