Starter among soaps
Ashima Sehajpal

Twentyfive years back, it was a different 'scene' altogether. There was no 'plotting' in the television soaps, but sensible plots. Acting wasn't about business at all, but a serious business for sure. There were no reality shows, but realism was reflected in serials. That was an era, when aesthetics mattered, morals held value and actors and producers were accountable to the audience. That was the era of Hum Log, the first soap to hit Indian national television in the first week of July, 1984. It set the example for later entertainment. However, that was! There has been a transition since, some for the better, some for the worse.

"Various factors have to be studied before we conclude something. As for Hum Log, after my college, the team used to gather at Himachal Bhawan in Mumbai to rehearse for three hours followed by the shooting schedule of eight hours. The concept of rehearsing doesn't happen now. Acting in a TV soap now is like acting live", says Abhinav Chaturvedi, who played the character of Nanhe in Hum Log and now anchors a sports show. Abhinav feels that isn't a negative factor, "The situation can't be helped as the competition is tough. In fact, young actors shooting for 18 hours a day work really hard to earn their bread."

But what made a certain Dr. Arvind Singhal only choose Hum Log as the subject for his Ph. D thesis and not any other soap? Or why don't we have television critics saying good words about the present television content? "That's because television is all junk now," come the strong words from city's very own senior actor, Mita Vashishth. Ruing the fact that now she has to share space with "so-called actors", she feels acting is now a mere way of earning money, devoid of creativity.

"Television during the time of Hum Log or even 10 years after that, had experienced actors with theatre backgrounds or people who first learnt acting before stepping into the industry", adds she. With the content seeing a transformation now, based on social issues, she, however, feels a little relieved.

And, of course, there are Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan to provide impetus to television. Anup Soni, who hails from the region and is a senior actor, opines, "The status of television has grown, the reason we see all Bollywood stars eager to be a part of TV. But in an attempt to cater to a population of 100 crore, quantity is compromised over quality."

Another significant contribution to television has been from city-based actor and comedian, Jaspal Bhatti, through his 10-episode comic series, Flop Show. Now, he is making a comeback with a 52-episode series, Thank You Jijaji. "There is huge difference between the two. People still remember those 10 episodes of Flop Show and compliment me, but the same people might not ever come to know about Thank You Jijaji." He further reasons, "We can't just introduce any novel concept as we are ruled by TRPs. We are adopting concepts from the West because they are tried and tested."

On a very pragmatic note, everything is fine, as long Indian TV is popular. It caters to the people the world over. The technology used to make soaps or reality shows brings it on a par with international standards. "Plus, now we have some really unusual concepts that are 'original', Rakhi Ka Swayamvar is one of its kind in the entertainment industry. Her marriage would last till the effects of her cosmetic surgery and probably then we will have another unusual show, Rakhi ka Taalaq, that would fetch the channel come more TRPs," puns Jaspal.

A happy television journey from Hum Log to Rakhi ka Swayamvar!

ashima@tribunemail.com

Saigal of South
S.D. Sharma

Naushad mere dil ko yakeen hai ye muqammal nagmon ki kasam aaj bhi zinda hai voh Saigal, said the invincible music genius and bollywood music director, Naushad Ali, even after the demise of the singing legend. God and nature seemed to have collaborated to create a karishma called Kundan Lal Saigal, he believed and this finds testimony in the fact that many non-Hindi, Urdu-speaking artistes who cannot even properly pronounce Hindi words can copy with flawless diction the gayaki style of the legend. That is how his legacy of soulful gayaki has been kept alive by many of his admirers in India and abroad. Here in the city, the Environment Society of India has been regularly holding music concerts to propagate the style of singing immortalised by Saigal. On its invitation, the Cochin- based maestro P. Parmeswaram Nair, known as the Saigal of the South, is in the city to regale the fans of Saigal at a special concert being organised by society at the Government Museum. The amateur singer after having enraptured the crowds at Chicago, Toronto, London and other places is here again, after his earlier visit in 2004.

Sharing his admiration for Saigal, the emotional Nair recalls at the age of 10 he once heard a Saigal song, Preet mein hai jeevan jokhon from a music composer
Karamana Krishna Nair. While the Hindi lyrics were beyond the conceptual grasp of the Malayali Parmeswaram, the depth of emotions brought alive through the soulful rendition was simply a moving experience. After his education at Thiruvanthapuram, he settled at Cochin to rise to the post of deputy general manager at Cochin Shipyard. Eulogising the musical prominence of Saigal, Nair says, "One can master all the nuances of Indian classical music but not even God can teach you Saigal." Nair hails Saigal as the complete artiste who excelled as an actor and was an accomplished singer with a command on devotional and filmy songs and ghazals. "God and nature seemed to have established a phenomenon called Saigal," says Nair in reverence for the singer.

The president of the Environment Society of India Chandigarh Chapter said that besides Nair, well-known singers of the region— Kulwant Suri, SK Chopra, Radha Chopra and Rajinder Singh— will regale the audience with songs immortalised by Saigal.

The progarmme will commence at 11 am, at the Government Museum auditorium, Sector 10, on Saturday.

Sixty and not out
S.D. Sharma

The couplet by Padmashri K.L. Zakir is veritably quintessential to the persona of thespian Kamal Arora who is celebrating six decades of excellence in theatre and allied arts in City Beautiful.

Hailed as a complete artiste by theatre aficionados, Kamal has stamped his versatility and brilliance as an actor, director, make-up expert, costume, light and set designer besides his commanding stage presence as an orator and stage anchor. Kamal has acted in more than 120 plays. He has also acted in over 12 television serials, plays and six feature films playing diverse roles. He produced Anarkali, a light and sound show under the direction of Vilayat Jaffery, which brought Kamal in the national stream.

An Imam in Waris, a businessman in Train to Pakistan, a gangster in House Keeper and the role of a father in many other projects, Kamal owes his success to his wife late Asha Arora, his discerning critic and support system.

His maiden directorial came while when he was only 17. The play was titled Rakhi ki Laaj and the figure swelled over 100, including those plays and ballets he did for his institute Tagore Niketan College. The Niketan artistes under his direction performed at the Festival of India in Paris in 1985 and later in the UK.

Sharing his 60 years of experience as a theatre person, an academician and a founder member of Abhinet, the oldest theatre ensemble of the city, Kamal has many sweet and sour memories to cherish or lament. While tracing the transition of theatre from his first ever performance in a play Ishwer Bhakti at Shahjahanpur as an eight-year-old-child to Badal Sircar's Pagla Ghora at Tagore in 2008, Kamal avers that there have been tremendous innovations, especially in applied technical virtuosity.

"Theatre in the city is growing to excel and match the standards of Bengali or Marathi theatre but then they have the 300 years old traditions of professional theatre. There is an abundance of talent and potential in the region but the lack of patronage, staging facilities and growth opportunities matter a lot. The upcoming youngsters must associate senior experienced thespians," he says referring to a couplet — Ley mere tazarbon se sabak ae mahzbeen tho char saal umar mein tujh se bda honn mein.

Honoured with various awards, he calls his felicitation by thespian actor Nadira Zaheer Babbar at Prithvi theatre Mumabi in 2006 most memorable moment. Not tired or retired at 68, Kamal is still in the thick of theatrical activities, armed with an unflinching zeal and the resolve to serve the performing art in the city.

Guru mantra

Attired in saffron robe and turban, he exudes an aura of spirituality. But when he talks of the environment, he talks with a scientist's precision. He is Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, the eco-warrior, who came to the city to take part in an interactive session on Water Engagement at CII Northern Region.

Known for his self-help philosophy with the environmental essence of Gurbani, Baba Seechwal after resurrecting the 110-mile-long Lali Bein rivulet, is now busy freeing Buddha Nala in Ludhiana from the clutches of industrial pollution.

"What I tell people is to follow Guru Granth Sahib and the Indian Constitution in true spirit. If each of us accepts pawan as guru, pani as pita and dharti as mata, we can spot our planet from many environmental hazards," he says.

Alarmed at the depletion of ground water and surface water pollution, Baba Seechwal is calling upon the people of this region to plant saplings on a war footing and for this he and his followers have been providing saplings of medicinal and fruit trees to villagers.

He has a word of advice for Chandigarhians, "You have a nice clean city, maintain it." — TNS

Club CORNER
Saturday night fever

Vijay Mallaya believes in this, and so does Shah Rukh Khan. So, do most honchos who work like there is no tomorrow. 'Work hard and party harder'. So, it is work, work, and more work throughout, till they hit a day called Saturday. Here begins the most awaited weekend. Confidential files and formal suits are packed off to be opened only on Monday. It is time to let your hair down, slip into casuals, wear a mischievous smile, get set to have a little fun in life. Before you to do that, how about taking a quick look at what clubs, hotels and restaurants are offering.

Chandigarh Club believes is celebrating each day. Offers Mukesh Bassi, president of the club, "On a weekend, especially on a Saturday, you would find 1,500-2,000 members at the club playing tambola. On Sunday, Monday and Thursday enjoy live singing. And Friday is for films."

The club has plans to start a health club, and table tennis and badminton courts. As for Central Club, a game of tambola along with some relishing snacks can add as a de-stress pill. You could do the same at the PCA-Mohali on a Friday.

Voodoo-26 ensures to blow partygoers with Voodoo Saturday Night wherein you can dance till you drop. On a Sunday afternoon taste the delicacies whipped up by chef Brajesh Ghansiyal and enjoy live ghazal singing.

More fun waits at Zinc Lounge-26 as Sameer of Chakra:Vu has a line up of foot-tapping activities to offer- Electronic House Session, celebrity DJ from the band Agni. "We plan to bring in different styles of music for partygoers. Techno to dub step is a new genre, which we plan to introduce. Besides, Indian Electronica is yet another genre that is catching up with the partygoers here."

At Score-8, DJ Surya performs with DJ Lloyd, aka Bombay Bounce. So, leave your paper work and assignments and rock on the floor. "By the end of this month, I plan to do a live show with a band from Mumbai or Delhi," says Surya. "Weekends are more or less commercial nights where we play popular music. Be it House, filmi, non-filmi, anything that goes down well at the weekends."

If this isn't enough, wait for a blast from the heaven. But this is going to be an artificial one. Soak yourself and enjoy the splash of the rain dance party.

K for kulfi!

Such shops exist in Ruskin Bond's world! The world of a railway station, busy tea vendor, one post office and of course a bazaar. The bazaar with never ending, narrow lanes, where keepers selling wares of everyday use cry out loud. The hustle and bustle of a crowded shopping arena in an otherwise sleepy tiny hill town. Where everyone can be easily singled out, the tourists, the rural folk women, the children, the boarding school brats, all of them indeed. Well, this was just to create the word picture. Kalka's famous Ishar Sweets might just apply and qualify. Famous, well not so much for the Indian sweets, but for kulfi's.

The typical authentic cream dripping Indian kulfi. So what's their secret? Nikhil Kumar, proprietor, smirks, "If we told you then what would be the secret." He adds, "It's just the way we make them, using original authentic methods and I guess the purity of milk and the way we've been making for years makes all the difference." Forty years to be precise and sixty years since the first shop was set up. For the uninitiated, there are two shops, the old one and the new one, opened in 2005, and the kulfis form a staple part of both. Interesting surroundings, curious interiors with a huge lane of old traditional confectionary dotting the table singles out the new one. "Our traditional fare especially the one served at weddings is also popular," adds Nikhil.

So how many do they sell in a day? 'Pack of three of fifteen rupees'. That was just a local ordering takeaway. In between, time and again, just as many keep coming. Err..where are we?

Vijender Singh, pulls out the long cones, whirlwinds in water tub, opens before giving a last final dip in the cream. And mind you, all this in a mechanical practiced speed. Hey, how many do you sell in a day? He stares, as if taken by surprise, "We don't know, never counted. Nobody knows." Is that another secret? Adds Nikhil, "That can be just a guess but we do export them to other countries as well, like New Zealand. Rest of the countries and details my father knows. But as of now we are also trying to expand in Chandigarh and are already supplying to a few places like Chimney Heights." And did he mention, they've taken a trademark.

Already counting the many other local things that'll turn India to a trademark capital.

— Manpriya Khurana

Southern spice
Ashima Sehajpal

Sankalp, a new South Indian restaurant, opens in the city

How about having a cheese chilly or a spring dosa? Want it rather simple then opt for the Sandwich Dosa. All right! You aren't the experimenting kinds and want to stick to the traditional south Indian cuisine? No worries, there's plenty to pick from the menu at the recently opened South Indian cuisine restaurant, Sankalp in Sector 26. Around 15 odd varieties of dosas, 12 assortments of utthapams, 5 type pf biryanis, and idli with different servings. Choose, as you like. "Rich variety in the South Indian cuisine is our USP. It isn't limited to the obvious masala or plain Dosa, Idli, Vada Samber or Rasam," informs Anal Banker, Business development, Sankalp. Well this isn't their only achievement, the restaurant brand Sankalp has to its credit, name in the Guiness Book of World Records for making the 25 feet long dosa, the largest in the world in 2006. Based in Ahmedabad, the core group has 50 chains across the
country.

Experiments done on dosas and utthapams account for the huge variety of South Indian dishes in the menu. "But that doesn't mean we have compromised on the very peculiar taste of south Indian cuisine. Cheese chilly dosa and sandwich dosa is by no means a Chinese or an American dish. All we do is use vegetables that are used in a Chinese cuisine or stuff a dosa with what a sandwich is made of. The intention is to make the cuisine more delicious and interesting." Some of the must haves here are Bundi masala, which is bundi garnished with vegetables, vegetable stuffed sandwich dosa, 4-feet masala dosa, which would serve as a filling meal to a family, Idiiappam and in desserts it's the Kesari Halwa.

Another interesting concept here is of the 3-barrel dosa, where in one dish, one can have three different mini dosas, Mysore, plain and masala dosa. To add to the taste, any dish here is served with five regular chutneys, which include the popular coconut, garlic and maglapuri made of kala channa. Something you need not specially order here is samber, "We understand the psychology of people that they would feel shy to order for samber more than twice, so we thought why not serve them samber on our own. We prefer to pre deliver what our clients require."

Anal is quick to add that the taste of all dishes is uniform throughout India in all the Sankalp restaurants. "That we make possible by training all the chefs in Ahmedabad and then send them to various centres."

He views Chandigarh as a city with immense potential where in most of the south Indian restaurants have limited their menu to the usual dishes. "The south Indian cuisine market is limited to a couple of restaurants, which too have a limited variety."

ashima@tribunemail.com

Bon Appetit
Monsoon mocktails
Kandla Nijhowne

The Saawan ka maheena is upon us and boy, are we relieved!! Unfortunately, the heat and humidity can become oppressive, each time the rain-dance is stalled by the Sun God. The humidity leaves us looking more frequently for a glassful of something cool instead of a bite! Mocktails are mock cocktails, or those that do not contain any alcohol. They are merely a bunch of fruit pretending to be a drink in juice form, with sodas and flavours adding the final zing. I love the exotic (and sometimes suggestive!) names that they come with and those in turn make one believe we are sampling something, quite out of this world! In reality, most mocktails are rather easy to assemble and can be tailored to the availability of fruit or ready juice and to your personal preference. We are usually taken in with the multi-layered, colorful mocktails served at weddings and parties due to their eye-appeal, but I have a word of advice here. Avoid picking up the excessively strong coloured fancies. They obviously have an overdose of food colouring, which obviously, is harmful! Liven up the looks of home made mocktails by floating slices of fruit on the surface. You can also insert a flowery, bendable drinking straw for added appeal. Another innovative idea for creating a flutter is to freeze grapes, cherries and colourful diced fruit in you're ice cube tray. These bejewelled lovelies, tinkling invitingly around the rims of the mocktail glasses will win many a heart! Talking of hearts, alcohol lovers please don't lose heart! We shall soon investigate daaru laced drinks too!

Virgin Mary

Ingredients

4 oz Tomato juice

Few drops of Tabasco sauce

Adash of Worcestershire sauce

1-1 ½ tsp Lemon juice

Salt to taste

Method

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with some crushed ice. Taste and adjust seasoning if need be. Scatter a few spoonfuls of salt across a plate. Coat the rim of a glass with lemon juice, and then dip into the salt, ensuring that the salt adheres all around. Pour the mixture into the glass and serve chilled

Melon Fantasy

Ingredients

1 medium sized melon

½ cup powdered sugar

½ inch piece of ginger

Crushed ice

Method

Remove the outer skin and seeds from the melon. Cut into cubes and puree in a blender. Grate the ginger and place it in a square piece of muslin. Squeeze to extract the juice. Add sugar, ginger juice and ice to the melon puree and whiz in the blender. Serve in your favourite fancy glass, topped with a wedge of melon and a sprig of mint.

Virgin Miami Vice

Ingredients

1 oz Pineapple juice

1 ½ oz Strawberry puree

1 ½ oz Lemon juice

½ oz Cream

1 oz Coconut cream

Powdered sugar to taste

Crushed ice

whole strawberries for garnishing

Method

Put coconut cream, cream, 2-3 tsp sugar and pineapple juice into a blender with half-a-cup of crushed ice. Achieve a smooth blend of this mixture and then pour it into a highball glass. In the blender, place strawberry puree, lemon juice, 2 tsp sugar and half-a-cup of crushed ice and blend it till smooth. On the contents of highball glass, pour carefully the strawberry-lemon juice mixture, creating a top layer of the drink. Garnish with a whole strawberry and serve.

A cup for health

Drinking just one cup of black tea everyday might protect against cardiovascular disease, a new research has found. According to the study conducted at University of L'Aquila in Italy and supported by the Lipton Institute of Tea, black tea consumption improves blood vessel reactivity and reduces blood pressure and arterial stiffness, indicating a notably better cardiovascular health profile.

Using a group of 19 healthy men (mean age 33), the researchers assigned the participants to one of five prescribed intakes of the tea over five periods lasting one week each.

The caffeine level of each dose was standardised but the dose of tea flavonoids was controlled at the levels of 0 (the control dose), 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg per day.

A standard cup of black tea contains approximately 100-200 mg of flavonoids, depending on the individual preference of tea making.

During the course of the research, participants avoided naturally flavonoid-rich food and drinks like red wine and chocolate to ensure that the results become a true reflection of flavonoid-rich black tea consumption only. — PTI