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Fasts, feasts & fanfare
Starting by cooking varieties of scrumptious sweet dishes prepared from milk and curd that were Lord Krishna's favourite, most families fast on this day; but since one meal is allowed in some communities, people cook a variety to offer to the Lord and then have it as prasad. Known as phalhar, which consists of fruits, mithai, curd, singhare ki puri, aloo and sabudana kheer, various states have assorted recipes to follow.
Hilly fare A day that sees people lined to visit the Gopal mandir, in Himachal, this day sees women cooking a special meal that includes ogle (singhare) ke atta ki roti, aloo, sabudana kheer, milla (a traditional dish that is made from curd and sabudana), khai (samak ke chawal) ki kheer (a variety of rice that resembles suji and is used only in fasts), bhuji (made out of leaves of arbi), and for sweets, there is khuani and affemdana (opium seeds) halwa. "People in the hills usually eat in the evening during the Janmashtami fast, but the food is cooked early in the morning," says Manorama Sood, homemaker from Sector-28. She adds, "The rituals are almost the same, starting with waking up early in the morning, having a bath and then, cooking the meal. The dishes cooked are first offered to the Lord and then consumed as prasad." In Assam, Janmasthami sees people cooking special nariyal ka ladoo and kala channa ka prasad.
From the land of golden sand Says Shyam Sunder Jagnani, businessman and resident of Sector 7, Panchkula, "Though here it is celebrated more in temples than homes, back home in Rajasthan every house is decorated for the day and women cook special sweetmeats." Ask him about any specialty and he says, "There are three to four things that are made. First, we have this sweetmeat that is made from dhania, ghee and mawa, this dish is called taneri, then there is another dish called chukki, this is also made of dhania but here chashani (sugar syrup) is used to make the mithai and last, we have chhaina murgi." What about the rituals? "In Rajasthan, the Janamashtmi fast is like any other fast where you don't eat anything the whole day, but yes, one is allowed to have water and tea. And then it is after midnight that we eat the prasad and food," sums up Jagnani God's own
Bengali bonhomie "In Bengal, we cook whatever was Krishna's favourite. Right from kheer to makhan to Shrikhand, this day sees people in Bengal specially feed children," says Suchitra Mitra, a Bhartnatyam exponent from the city. She adds, "Apart from this, every house has puja and decoration to mark the birth of Lord Krishna." Apna Punjab
On the occasion of Janmashtami, the devotees prepare every favorite dish of the Lord. And when it comes to Punjabis, there is variety waiting. Says Dimpy Anand, resident of Sector 35, "It's sweets and dairy products that are mostly made on this day, but there are various other things also that are included." Listing the dishes she says, "Since Lord Krishna was fond of milk and curd, major dishes are made from that and it includes kalakand, peda, srikhand (these days we also add various fruit flavours to make it more tasty), dahi vada, dahi ki karhi, tikki made out of aloo or sabudana, singhare ki puri and chips made out of potatoes that are dipped in a singhare batter."
jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com
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God gifted
Janmashtami is celebrated with enormous zeal and enthusiasm and d'Mart collection offers impeccable finished sculptures of Shri Krishna on this occasion. The range offered by d'Mart Exclusif is as follows:
Krishna in satin black, launched in 2008 another masterpiece also originated from Italy is 54 cm in height, and is available in a limited edition of 1001 pieces worldwide. Made up of 92.5 percent sterling silver with subtle gold enameling.
Murlidhar is a creation of imaginary art with fusion of porcelain and brass together, so well balanced to make it a perfect creation of Lord Krishna in true avatar. A rare masterpiece worth an heirloom collection. The sculpture of Murlidhar originated from Germany is 87 cm in height. It is available in a worldwide limited Edition of 251 pieces only. Krishna in Marble is also available. This masterpiece is available in white carrara marble as well as in color and made from single block of Marble and is originated from Italy is 148 cm in height and 83 cm in width. Bal Gopal is another manifestation of childhood Krishna launched in 2007. This masterpiece has originated from Italy. It is 28 cm in height and is available in a Worldwide Limited Edition of 5001 pieces.
Radha Krishna is another manifestation of Krishna launched in 2008. This masterpiece is available in 2501 worldwide limited edition and is 27cm in height. This piece is the combination of
Radha, Krishna and cow in which individually Krishna can be sold with either with cow or
Radha. Unique hand furnished statue of Lord Krishna with his soul mate (Radha) in front of sacred cow. —
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Raining Rahman
Delhi once again resonated with A R Rahman’s music as the Oscar winning masetro performed with acclaimed Bollywood singers at a
concert here. “It is for the first time that I am performing with such a small band and with almost no rehearsals,” Rahman said before the performance, organised to commemorate the golden jubilee celebrations of Doordarshan.
The performance began with a big bang with Mangal Mangal song by sufi singer Kailash Kher. Kher accompanied by his band, ‘Kailasa’ performed a string of his popular numbers besides songs composed by Rahman including Maula Mere Maula, Rang De Basanti, and Ye Jo Des Hai Mera. During his performance Kher briefly mentioned his recent visit to San Francisco where he was asked to sing a song that would represent India. With the same song, Ye jo Des hai mera, Kher mesmerised the audience who sang and clapped along to the every lyrics crooned by the singer. Later the sufi singer was joined by percussionist Sivamani and Rahman on the floor to add more flavour to the mystic evening. The melodious voices of Hari Haran and Sadhana Sargam marked the end of the evening leaving the audience asking for an more. —
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Prices fall for all, with this concept as the focus on the occasion of Independence Day, Amartex offers some respite to customers from the ever increasing prices of commodities. About 50 per cent discount on textile products and 15 per cent less on Amartex chana daal and basmati rice, offers on cold drinks, juices, ketchup etc. Amartex stores are all set for the four-day Hungama over the Independence Day – Janamashtmi weekend. With the belief of quality deliverance to customers, Arun Grover, the founder and CMD of the Amartex Group, started this company in 1988, and today the group stands at the turnover of over Rs 250 crores and over 25 stores in the North with a target of 50 more stores to open in next three years. —TNS
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Honour Bound
The Haryana Waqf Board, Government of Haryana, has bestowed the prestigious Fifth Khwaja Altaf Hussain Hali Award-2009 on acclaimed Panchkula-based litterateur Naresh for his contribution to Urdu language. The citation and cash award will be presented to him on August 19 at a function at Ambala.
Why is Urdu closer to your heart? Sham-e-Bazm-e-Adab hai Urdu Naresh, Iss se sarf-e-nazar-karen kyonkar — doling out this couplet instantly, Naresh says only the cultured and passionate souls are blessed to relish the literary creations in any language of expression, especially Urdu. But Urdu as a language or living culture had intuitively attained a significant level in literary forms to be a medium of complex thought, argument and analysis. So much so that Urdu has been the official language of India for over a century besides being a true representative of our Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb. Despite its felicitous expression and poetic grandeur, very few books have been published in Urdu. Is it losing readership? Readership has, in fact, increased for Urdu but in Devnagari script. As perceptible from the popularity of cinema with dominant use of Urdu, it has no substitute for compelling charms of its labo-lehza and style of expression. Its emotion-laced publications augmented the frontal attacks on the British rule and culture during the freedom struggle through newspapers like Zamindar, Urdu Adab, Veer Partap, Milap and others. Are the state akademies making significant contribution to promote Urdu? Without any prejudice, no! Not enough to justify the endeavour of the governments. I am disgusted and unhappy over the functioning of akdemies reduced to a mere platform of literary politics. The focus should have been on teaching of Urdu and popularising it among youngsters, but certainly not on benefiting an esoteric group of writers. I feel half of the budget should be utilised for teaching Urdu and another half for the publication of books instead of lavishly spending on mushairas and functions. Naresh signs off expressing his anguish — Urdu ki jo halat hai usase dekh ke aye dost, Tum hi se nahin saare zamane se khafa hun.” |
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Art of giving
The Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi invites applications from artists below 30 for its Scholarships for Budding Artists programme from any of streams — drawing, painting, mix media, installations, photography, graphics and sculpture.
Introduced last year, it is aimed at providing talented young artists with scholarships for a period of one year to continue their research to develop new ideas and quest for individual signature in their respective disciplines. The scholarship is worth Rs 2,000 per month. The application forms are available at the Akademi office in the State Library-34, Government College of Art-10, Chandigarh College of Architecture-12, Department of Fine Arts, Panjab University and NIIFT-Mohali. Sponsored by various individuals and corporates, the Akademi gave scholarships to eight young artists last year. The progress of scholarship holders is being monitored quarterly before releasing the money. The scholarships are named after Amrita Shergill, Rabinderanath Tagore, F.N. Souza, Le Corbusier, J. Swaminathan, Mulkh Raj Anand, Jamini Roy and Dr M. S. Randhawa. The Akademi plans to organise an exhibition of their work at the end of their tenure. The scholarships are available only for tricity residents. The last date for submitting the applications is by August 20. The age of the applicants should not be more than 30 years on
September 20. —TNS |
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Finger-dipping smooth
For all you 'cool hunters' waiting to check out the next 'hip' thing, try Krushers, a lip-smacking offer from the KFC! A unique range of chilled 'really thick, really tasty' beverages, Krushers promises to provide an overload experience of great taste and value. Made from a unique combination of chocolate, cookie bits, coffee, dairy and ice, this provocative, lip smacking range of beverages is available in three mouth watering variants.
Positioned as an indulgent drink offering snack value during mid meals, Krushers is a perfect accompaniment with the meals. The jaw-numbing crushed liquid snack - Crunchy Krushers is a must try and is available in three tasty moods Choco Lash (a blend of chocolate in icy dairy slush with delicious cookie chunks), Whipped Cookies (a scrumptious jar full of cookies chunks drowned in icy dairy slush) and for all those coffee lovers' cookie chunks get the wake-me-up taste of coffee in the irresistible Coffee Crush. For all those who cannot resist going the fruity-way, the lip-smacking Smoothie, Krushers comes in two sinful flavours Strawberry Storm (a blend of creamy yogurt and icy dairy slush, with crunchy and luscious strawberries) and Mango Banana Burst (unique combination of mango and banana in the creamy yogurt and icy dairy slush) The tongue-chiller to beat the heat - Sparkling Krushers, Virgin Mojito is a refreshing and electric thirst quencher with juicy lemon wedges and fresh mint leaves to tempt you. These exciting and enticing flavours are priced at Rs 39, Rs 49 and Rs 59, respectively. —
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In 1961, my father, Kashi Nath Dutt, was principal of the Government Mens' College, Ludhiana. At that time, women were allowed admission only in the Post Graduate classes. As this restricted their numbers, each female student had a host of male admirers. This was good for our morale and we all considered ourselves to be some sort of beauty queens. During youth festivals and annual plays, we were greatly sought after for the women's roles. This was a far cry from the Army, where young soldiers were expected to play the part and were often caught wearing a sari over striped shorts, rather than a petticoat. The Chinese were intruding across our borders in the North-East. War drums were heard and there was a collective sense of insecurity in the country. Though we shouted Hindi-Chini bhai, bhai! Baba decided that role models were required to whip up true patriotic zeal. Milkha Singh came and roused the students with his words and incredible speed. The great Everest hero, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay too arrived with another mountaineer, Brigadier Gyan Singh.
My sister Rohini and I persuaded Baba into bringing the climbing duo to the Principal's Lodge for a cup of tea and their autographs. The sherpa wore a flashy American shirt, was very humble and completely at ease. It was an ease acquired through working closely as a guide and porter with many global expeditions. Used to being in the limelight, Tenzing was taller than he looked in his famous photographs. His smile was infectious, his face without a trace of guile. He talked to my sister and I at great length about his daughters. He was very proud of them and spoke in halting English and Hindi. He wanted to know how I felt in a men college and if I was comfortable studying there. I told him that we'd never felt safer as the boys were most protective towards us, particularly when we went to other colleges for tennis tournaments, fetes and cultural events. The Brigadier was very good looking, a dapper dresser and sported a bottle green felt hat with a pheasant feather. He gave a stirring, very inspiring talk to the students. We heard him in pin drop silence, which he appreciated and commented upon. Baba heaved a sigh of relief because the Mens College had earlier disgraced itself by behaving in a very rowdy fashion at the Annual Youth Festival. As many colleges participated, the students got carried away as they rooted for the home team. The more Baba told them to behave like true gentlemen and gentlewomen, the more they seemed to revert back to their very macho, Punjabi instincts. However, none of their misdemeanors are a patch on what today's rowdies do as they move around in packs across the globe. Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary are no more. There have been many other successful and charismatic sherpas after him, but Tenzing was the one to raise the bar amongst his band of porters. Hillary and he were the first to conquer Everest, with very little modern gadgetry to help them to the summit. To honour his friend and companion, the New Zealander dedicated himself to making the sherpas lives and homes better. His son Peter is continuing the legacy today. Everest has become a tourist resort. I hear the Chinese are building a road to the summit with restaurants and curio shops along the way. I wonder if the first, conquering duo approves of this? |
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Hello Tunez
And the song Aahun aahun (Master Salim, Neeraj Sridhar, Suzie Q) has been “inspired” by a Pakistani song by Naseebo Lal, who incidentally has had to seek anticipatory bail for the Lahore High Court for singing
vulgar songs. There is no vulgarity in the song as remixed by Pritam but the issue of being a copycat remains. If you are okay with that, the album as such is lively and enjoyable. In fact, it is packed with chartbusters from start to finish. Chor bazari in akhiyon ki (Neeraj Sridhar, Sunidhi Chauhan) is particularly swinging. When it comes to soft music, nothing could be more soothing than Ajj din chadhyea tere rang varga by Raahat Fateh Ali Khan and Ye dooriyan by Mohit Chauhan, although they too are not very original. Lyricist Irshad Kamil deserves to be complimented for some of his creations. Sunidhi Chauhan’s Thoda thoda pyar has faint similarity with her earlier Dekhta hai tu kya. Main kya hoon is marked by some inspired singing by KK. Twist, Chor bazari and Aahun aahun also have remix versions which too are foot
tapping. Sounds music
In fact, Aazma is also a variation of the same song. What is remarkable is that it has been sung by heroine Shruti Haasan (daughter of Kamala Haasan) with additional vocals by Clinton Cerejo. Khudaya ve by Sailm Merchant is haunting. Jee le (Shruti Pathak, Naresh Kamath) switches several times between Indian and western styles. This one also has two other versions, one by Salim-Sulaiman and another one by Salim Merchant remixed by D J Amyth. Things get louder with Laga le sung by Anushka Manchanda and Robert “Bob” Omulo. Lyrics are by Shabbir Ahmed, with Anvita Dutt Guptan as the guest lyricist, with Jee le. —
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The excitement is building, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna. Celebrated across the country-Janmashtami falls on the eighth day after Rakshabandhan and calls for midnight celebrations and bhakti gaan throughout the day. This day being special for the birth of the Lord, it sees various communities and devotees of the deity cook up a transcendental storm in their kitchens.
When it comes to Madhya Pardesh, people in the state celebrate the day with great pomp and show. Ridhima Arora, a homemaker from Mohali says, "Back home in Bhopal, this day was celebrated with great fervour. Though there wasn't any elaborate menu that was cooked at our home, but yes, the Maheshwaris, a clan that is an ardent believer of Lord Krishna, cook some 56 dishes on the day. The food is cooked early in the morning and then offered to the Lord. There is a special mahurat at night and people have food after that." Ask what do people eat and she says, "Whatever is offered to the Lord that is consumed as prasad after midnight." 
Amber & Emerald edition of Krishna were launched in 2005 and conceptualised and designed in India. Handcrafted in 92.5 percent sterling silver with Swarovski crystals and subtle enameling. Both the pieces originated from Italy are 54 cm in height, and is available in limited edition of 500 pieces worldwide.
Credited with over 70 books in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi, the former chairperson of the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi and professor of Modern Literature at Panjab University, Naresh is recipient of many national and international awards. He was honoured with the Punjab State Shiromani Urdu Sahitkar Award-2004, Rashtarpati Hindi Award, Poet of Millennium (Music World) UK-2000 and International Educator Award IBC, Cambridge, which carried citations and cash prizes. Naresh represented India at the International Conference of Progressive Writers at London in 1985 and participated in mushairas in Pakistan in 1964 and later in 2007 for research on manuscripts of Hindi literature scripted in Persian. He shares his views on issues relating to the promotion of Urdu. 
Love Aaj Kal (Eros Music): You have to hand it to Pritam. Even when he is criticised severely for lifting tunes, he goes on about his task unmindful. Here he does the chore through the “been” played at the opening of Twist (Neeraj Sridhar). It is lock, stock and barrel from the old classic, Tan dole mera man dole.
Luck (T Series): This one is not quite as boisterous as the earlier Pritam creation, but is suffused with some good tunes by Salim-Sulaiman. The album is dominated by songs of composers. But the recurring theme is that of Luck Aazma by Sukhwinder Singh, which has a remix version with
additional vocals by Satya Hinduja.