Street play
Manpriya Khurana

Dance like a Russian
Neha Walia

Hello TUNEZ
Hit hai!

Kambakkht Ishq (EROS Music): Anu Malik has been lying low of late, but whenever he does get up, he manages to come up with foot-tapping music.

When a Bollywood film boasts of appearance by Sylvester Stallone, expectations are bound to be sky high. The same goes with the music also. Anu Mailk does not disappoint here.

His compositions are divided into two categories. One variety is the boisterous, foot-tapping kind and the second comprises of mushy romantic numbers. In the former come Lakh lakh (sung by Neeraj Shridhar) with its out and out Punjabi feel and Bebo mein Bebo by Alisha Chinai. That is not to forget Kambakht ishq by Sunidhi Chauhan and KK. It is a fun song boasting of a lot of oomph. As if to compensate for so much of hungama, there is Kyun aajkal, first as a solo by Shreya Ghoshal and then as a duet by her and Shaan. Both are a class act and drip with emotions and gentle rhythm.It is customary for Anu Malik to have a guest composition. Here it is Om Mangalam, written, composed and performed by RDB. It makes a masterly use of a shloka although the word Kambakht ishq is also repeated several times. The film has been shot extensively in Hollywood. So there is an English number Welcome to Hollywood.

Lifting the spirits

New York (YRF Music): Why o why does Pritam just have to spoil his name by picking up tunes? Hai Junoon is the most popular song from his latest album, but it has been lifted from the Indonesian band, Samsons. The irony is that the similarity was noticed and pointed out by none other than Pankaj Awasthi whose composition, Aye saaye mere, is included in New York. The first line (Na nanana naa na na in the beginning of the Hindi track) is indeed a direct lift from Samsons' Naluri Lelaki.

Says Awasthi: "I have nothing for or against Pritam. I had come across the similarities between the two numbers. Isn't it shameful to indulge in such flagrant lifts? Don't we have enough good composers?"The controversy takes away credit from some of the other songs, which are good. In fact, Hai Junoon sung by KK is the best of the lot. Tune jo na kaha has been sung by Mohit Chauhan in an impressive manner. Lyrics of all songs by Sandeep Shrivastava are good. Aye saaye mere composed and sung by Pankaj Awasthi has a Sufi feel to it. This is a counterfoil to the other songs all of which are western in orientation. There are two instrumental numbers in the album, both composed by Julius Packiam. Sam's Theme has been hummed by Cara Lisa Monteiro. — ASC

Romancing Urdu
S.D. Sharma

Mera wazood bhi kuchh iss tarah jahaan mein hai

Here is acclaimed Urdu poet Nafas Ambalavi for you, introducing himself through his couplet. A medical practitioner by profession and with a strong poetical passion, Ambala- based Dr Kamlesh Kaushik, better known by his pen name Nafas Amabalvi among the literary fraternity, is a poet of delicate fancy and mature observation. His creations are marked with emotional intensity expressing love, joy, despair and socio-cultural connotations as "Qatre ko samundar se kabhi kam naa samjhna, qatre ke bina koi samunder nahin hota." A sought after poet in mushairas, Nafas is a man of many talents. He has established his credentials as an actor, singer, playwright and poet by winning awards at the KU Zonal Youth Festivals way back in 1985.

Sharing his infatuation for performing and literary voyage, Nafas disclosed that once during his teens when he was studying in Mumbai, he mustered the courage to show his first ghazal to his father Major B.R. Sharma. "He did not believe it at first. Then he said, ‘if at all it is your creation, you have the potential and impulse to merit an invincible poet.’ Papa blessed me in his authoritative Army style," recalls Nafas and adds, "but with an advice to discover the genius in me."

"Having studied at different places like Mumbai, Allahabad, Kurukshetra and Rohtak, I had the opportunity to study cultural ethos of people from diverse regions which I have recaptured dexterously in my poetry," he claims which he substantiate with a couplet "Yoon sajata tha ghazal apne lahoo ke ranmg se/ Loag kehte hain Nafas ka shayri pesha na tha."

Nafas recalls his meeting with legendry poets Bashir Badr and Munnaver Rana who taught him that Urdu poetry is a curious artwork and it is mandatory for a writer to learn and imbibe the finer nuances of the language. "So, I took up an Urdu course from Jamia Millia Islamia to embellish my poetry. I owe my meager success as a poet to my life and professional partner Dr Sunita Kaushik besides my mentors M.P. Chand and B.D. Kalia Hamdam," he says.

Commenting on the declining number in Urdu readership, Nafas observed that in view of less employment opportunities, there are hardly any takers for Urdu. The government must institute scholarships to encourage students and incentives for poets.

Tracing the transition of ghazal and its popularity, Nafas claims that during the royal Mughal patronage, the romance was the only theme for ghazal and its audience was limited to royal courtyards only, but today ghazal are written on various themes, right from emotional to socio-cultural relevance. Not complacent, the poet in Nafas exhorts him to scale new horizons as reflected in his sheyer,

Crafts collage
Jasmine Singh

This statement is sure to get some acceptance from both the sexes, especially from the men. Whenever a woman looks at her closest spilling with clothes, she sighs and says, ‘I wish I had another red kurta, a green churidaar or a crochet top’. Enough is never enough for them. Now, what has this got to with the exhibition Karigari Craft Bazaar at Lajpat Rai Bhaiwan? A quick round in the hall will get you the answer, which brings in 60 craftsmen from different states showcasing their stuff.

One item that every state has brought and displaced with fervour are unstitched suits, dupattas and kurtis — Rajasthani long, short and medium kurtis starting at Rs 80 going up to Rs 450, kalamkaari block-printed dress material at Rs 90 per mt, Lucknawi kurtis Rs 350 and tops starting at Rs 150, pure cotton suits from Ahmedabad, slight and refreshing pure cotton suits from Kolkata at Rs 360-2,000, golden block printed and vegetable dyed suits from Panipat, phulkari suits from Patiala for Rs 400-1200, Gujrati block printed colourful kurtis, Jaipur masakali suits inspired by Delhi 6. Says Iqbal Singh, president, Akhil Bhartiya Dastkar Samiti, "The exhibition aims at bringing about a direct interaction between dastkar and consumers, which helps in eliminating the role of a middleman."

Apart from clothes, on display is an array of stuff for home decor. Crochet tablecloth, bed sheets, table spreads, dry fruit stands, mirror, candle stand, cushions and tablemats in a reasonable price range. Other knick-knacks that Karigiri offers are jute bags, antique furniture from Saharanpur, brass items, jute juttis, jute jewellery (very interesting party wear sets for Rs 250), Hyderabadi pearls, necklace earrings, lac bangles (Rs 1,500 a pair), ranihaar (Rs 6,000) to name a few.

Photos: Parvesh Chauhan

Side Lanes
Taxing task
Joyshri Lobo

The budget is out. Pranab Da is back on his favourite horse, reins firmly in hand. India is happy with the track he is racing. Why am I grousing? I came to Chandigarh in 1963 to complete my MA at Punjab University. My parents lived in a rented accomodation but then sold a huge ancestral property in Jullundur in the mid 70's and bought their own piece of roof in Sector 19, next to a park, for the current price of a second hand Maruti OMNI. I married, moved out and returned to the parental home in 2006. Today the park trees provide welcome shade over the benches under them. The fermenting municipal rubbish bin has gone (thanks to my mother's persistence) so the air is scented. Last week, a red roofed gazebo was grouted in. There is still one metal sewer cover with the map of Chandigarh engraved on it. The similarity between 1979 and 2009 ends here.

Like all true Chandigarhians, we too have landscaped the strip of land outside our boundary wall. These extra bits and pieces add colour and uniqueness to the city. In 2007, a part of this strip was dug to put fibre optic cables for quick Internet and phone access. I uprooted the Easter lilies and relocated them inside. A year later the pavement fixers arrived with perfect red and white dog-biscuit shaped tiles and interlocked them to perfection. Our dogs missed their usual poo area but we shifted them to the park The pavement layers' camped under the trees, serviced by "Bittu's Water Tankers," which drove in twice a day to provide drinking cum bath water. In the mean time, the neighbour started his annual improvements and maintenance. You cannot separate an Indian from a wall so our boundary became the perfect loo. We could not tell which set of labourers crapped when and where but the air smelt like the outskirts of Delhi-fetid and foul. Oblivious of the various heaps of poo, the young Sector 19 cricket team continued practicing to become members of the Indian 20-20. There are more fisticuffs than cricket, but seeing their idols Bhajji and Yuvi, there is hope still. In the mean time, a horde of maalis descended to plant flowering shrubs, watered by municipal tankers. By April peace descended and I could meditate again in sweet air. But the municipality had an after thought. Wilting under a dreadful summer, by end June they opted for water pipes to sustain the plants in the park. While the supervisor snored on a bench in the shade, the labourers hacked the fibre optic cables in a dozen places. Sunil Mittal's Airtel, one of the best inter-net and phone services in the country, has been stymied by a simple pick and shovel! If, by Friday, my very patient editor does not get this piece, you, my dear, loyal reader, will know how your taxes are utilised. The logical sequence of events should have been as follows: dig deep>lay cables> lay water pipes> cover with soil> lay tiles> plant shrubs. Perhaps we want to feed the have-nots, but here the daily Rozgaar schemes are being carried a bit too far. Pranab Da, you had better rap a few knuckles if you want a workable budget.

On the opposite side of the road, live many dignitaries of the civil and public (read goormenty) departments. There is extensive repair and maintenance work in progress in their first-in-Chandigarh-government-accomodation. They are missing the sight and smell of cast-iron garbage bins of yesteryear and all kinds detritus is being flung into the just beautified park. They are also freely using water during non-watering hours, being above the aam aadmi's law. Perhaps they come from an un-related government agency or planet and are blind to the municipal projects around them? Will the Chandigarh Administration be kind enough to enlighten me on this?

Bag a bargain