|
|
|
|
|
Street talk
Safdar Hashmi, who, with his Jana Natya Manch, formed in 1973, led the movement of Indian street theatre, had once commented that, ‘If street theatre has any definition in India, it is the anti-imperialistic tradition of our people forged during the freedom movement. In other parts of the world, it is the peoples
'struggle for a just social and economic order’.
It may have been the case once, with Hasmi himself and so many other radical groups like Ashish Chatterjee’s Theatre Unit and Prabir Datta’s Silhouette using this medium to lash out at the political turbulence the country witnessed in the 70s. But the genre, which is known as ‘theatre by the people and theatre for the people’ has changed over the years, especially so in City Beautiful. Yes, it is still being as a tool to raise one’s voices against the system, by local theatre activists, but more so to generate awareness against social maladies. When one talks of street theatre in the city, the first name that one takes is of Gursharan Singh, popularly known as Gursharan Bhaaji, who was a pioneer in advocating social change and civil rights for decades, through the years of militancy, braving threats to his life. The younger lot draws inspiration from him now. True, that no life-threat looms over these activists anymore, but that does not mean that their life has become any easier. But driven by passion and inspired by the conviction they carry within themselves, they refuse to give in. Here are a few groups who, despite all odds, have been able to make a difference, however, small that may be. Theatre Age
Its founder Zulfikar Khan had little knowledge about Safdar Hasmi when he met him at the National School of Drama in 1990 but the impact came later when Zulfikar started his own group and started doing street plays in 1994. Ever since he has done 2,500 shows all over the region on topics like child labour, female foeticide, literacy, AIDS, drug abuse, the latest being excessive use of polythene in everyday life. “I cannot claim to have followed in Hashmi’s footsteps because he is huge, dedicated himself to the cause he believed in, in fact, gave his life for it. But once we did shows based on his Ahimsa Param Dharma, which we titled Himsha Param Dharma,” says Zulfikar. Among the most of his popular one is Shaq se Adat, which he and his troupe performed in the colonies of Chandigarh. “So many teenagers after watching it came forward to say that they wanted to give up drugs. This kind of feedback restores faith in ourselves,” says Zulfikar. What about funds? “There are agencies like the North Zone Cultural Centre and Nasha Mukti Kendra which sponsors shows. But then like anything sarkari, one has to wait for months for the release of the funds,” he replies. Well, what is a minor hiccup like this in front of passion! Samvaad Theatre Group
As a street theatre activist, Mukesh Sharma has been around since 2003 but only recently did register his group. Show like Dhara 294 based on eve teasing, Yeh Kaisi Bidai on female feoticide and about 30 shows on exercising one’s voting right has made him a prominent figure in the theatre circle. “I am not a trained artiste, but had enough experience from my participation in Ram Lilas,” says Mukesh. What made him chose street
theatre? “As a medium it is more direct and one gets immediate reaction from the audience,” he replies. But one has to pay the price for that. Mukesh, for the lack of sponsorships, has been shelling out money from his own pocket for most shows. “There are some government departments which sponsor shows, but it is a lengthy process and one needs to run around. Besides, each department sponsors only one group in a year. So, one has to wait for one’s turn to get funds,” he explains. City Entertainment Network
This eight-year-old theatre outfit is being run by Gaurav Sharma and his partner Sumer Singh. Their shows on female feoticide, drugs and AIDS have been a common sight in the colonies of Chandigarh and Mohali. “It’s not the city people, but the slum people who need to be told about such social evils,” Gaurav says. They are ready to provide that but expect the Administartion to extend a helping hand in return. “We need help not just in the form of money but encouragement too. Like, if we try to perform at the Sector 17 Plaza, we would be asked to obtain permission from the Deputy Commissioner and when we would finally meet the man in authority, we would be told that it is the job of the MC. All that running around robs one of
creativity,” says Gaurav. Theatre Art-Chandigarh
Born in 2000 as the brainchild of Rajiv Mehta, this group has
performed thousands of shows in and around the city. Acting, for Mehta, has always been a hobby and raising a voice against injustice, a passion. This is the reason he took up the
Jessica Lal and Shivani murder case instead of the usual AIDS and female feoticide issues. “As a theatre activist, I have been trying to follow Gursharan Singh’s ideology and trying to highlight a common’s man’s thoughts through our productions,” he says. Efforts have been made to bring a social order and the results have been positive. But these groups seemed to have failed in one area—getting the Administration interested in their endeavour. Maybe, it’s time to write a play highlighting the plight of theatre groups in the city.
parbina@tribunemail.com |
|
Textile treat
In the heart of India lies this land of contrasting and vibrant handicrafts—Madhya Pradesh. Radiating an aura of skill, dexterity of craftsmanship and desire to create, this land calls for the best in inspiration when it comes to arts and craft. And in the process of learning the best of Indian handicraft, the students of NIIFT-Mohali went on a craft documentation trip to MP for 15 days. Back with first-hand knowledge, these students share their experiences and showcased what they learnt in a seminar at the institute on Monday.
“A class of 40 students was divided into four groups and two mentors were there to guide them (Krishna Murthy and Prabhdip Brar). They travelled to various cities of MP and learnt various crafts and textiles of the area,” says Krishna Murthy, HOD, Textile Design Department. Ask him why MP and he says, “It’s an annual thing, we take students to different parts of India and teach them about the rich Indian handicrafts. Last year, it was Rajasthan and this year, we choose MP for its rich cultural heritage in textile and crafts.” Beat of all Another reason that he cites is, “The Indian craftsman is losing his identity in this tough global competition of fashion and we, at NIIFT, wanted the students to know how rich our crafts heritage was and above all, help uplift the crafts that were going extinct.”
Well, that was the basic idea of the trip, coming to the students and their learning process and creation, read to find more.
Quest for more
The group Sayyah-e-Fankaar visited Bhopal, Indore and Maheshwar. And what they learnt was jute and bamboo variation, how to make stuffed leather toys and the creation of world famous Maheshwari sari. Ask these students on what is the end result and they chorus, “Being fashion design students we have learnt to make these things and now can mix and match the traditional into contemporary designs.” What they showcased was interesting table mats in Bagh print, bag made out of maheshwari fabric, one piece
garment from the maheshwari sari and jute cushion covers.
Artistic allure
The group of seven students who formed the group Artistic Ecstacy visited Gwalior, Tikamgarh, Bhopal and Khajuraho. And crafts they learnt—-carpet making, battobai dolls, papier mache, bell metal, wood and stone carving, banjara work and terracotta pottery. Ask them what was the best of all, and says Pragati Bhardwaj, “ Battobai dolls are no more made, learning how to make them and their significance in the world of art was great.” Adds Nitika Raj, “These dolls were made during weddings and worshipped. Lot of gota was used to create these dolls, after seeing how to make them we have included the gotta work in some of our dresses.” Well what have they crafted after coming back and they say, “We’ve made candles with gotta, wall hangings in banjara work, neckpieces in traditional designs etc.”
Crafted for perfection
For Tatvaansh they learnt the delicacy and the artistry of weaving a Chanderi fabric, beedi rolling, woodcraft and stone carving. Tells Sangeeta, “Since we know the basics of these crafts now, after coming back we have made western gowns, sherwanis, one piece haulter neck dress and suits from chanderi fabric.” Calling it an experience of life she says, “Beedi rolling was one amazing thing and so was the art of wood work and stone carving. Here we saw craftsman transforming sheesham, teak, dhudi, sal and kikar into works of art and for stone carving its magic to see a craftsman chisel a sandstone into an artistic statue.”
Lost and found Having learnt by rote some of the great arts of MP, the group Lost hub of Handicrafts learnt the art of gond painting, making of mercury shivling, manufacturing of silk and wooden craft. Ask them about the crafts and they say, “Gond is a tribal art from that depicts the life of tribals and gods. This art form is more popular in tribes of Madhya Pradesh. For Mercury shivling, Mukesh Vyas is the man who makes them, but does not share the exact procedure of making as it’s his USP,” says Harmanjot Gill. Talking about silk and wood craft she says, “ We saw how silk is made and wood carving.” One fact that still amazes her is that from a single cocoon one can have 1000 mt of thread. That’s interesting. And what is their end product, “We have made t-shirt with Gond Painting.” jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com
|
|
Come September, come Zune
According to tech pundits, the new entrants in I-pods can turn the music scene forever. While others do not see anything out of this world in the new products coming up. About Zune, it is looked at as a flash-based industrial looking, first of a kind touch-screen. The HD badging comes from the inclusion of HD radio, making it the first portable media player to include HD radio that would offer songs and information with a far better sound quality than the traditional radio. It will feature multi-touch browsing, using a portable browser based on Internet explorer. As for the I-pods are concerned, people like to fall back on cell phones that serve more than one purpose. Says Anita Sahni, a software engineer who would rather go in for a cell phone equipped with all facilities than buy a separate I-pod. “There is no point going in for a product that serves only one purpose when you have a choice to chose from n number of other products that serve dual purposes.” She adds, “Most phones these days serve as an I-pod, sometimes far better than it. Why would you then requite a separate gadget for it.” jasmine@tribunemail.com |
||
|
Spade work
Thanks to media exposures, by now you all are sufficiently aware of the fact that fruits and vegetables are being ripened and coloured. This is besides the fact that water, full of harmful elements, is being used to irrigate vegetables other than the use of harmful chemicals to control insect, pests and diseases. Under such circumstances, the biggest advantage of having your own kitchen garden is that you know what you are eating. Also, let us change the concept of kitchen garden from ‘just growing vegetables’ to growing vegetables safely and including a few medicinal plants too. The basic elements for establishing a kitchen garden are — sufficient light conditions and good quality soil. In the city, there may be corners in the house or due to the shading by some structure or the neighbouring building; there are those corners that have not seen the sun. You can grow arbi, haldi, adrak etc at such places. Except for these few, almost all vegetables need plenty of sun. Soil is also very important factor. If it is too thick (clay) then one should add and mix plenty of sand so that there is proper drainage. Even when you have to replace the problem soil, go ahead.
It is important to use pesticides in the garden to the minimum. In case, only the recommended quantity is being used, it is ‘organic cultivation’ as every insecticide has a waiting period and once past that duration there is no residue left. It is only due to the vested interests or ignorance more than what is required is used, it becomes poison. Procure only those varieties that are insect, pest or disease resistant. One must keep in touch with experts to know about such types. On that, you can also use simple mosquito net, on individual plants or on the plot itself. It comes very cheap and protects plants from all kinds of insect vectors that are also responsible for the spread of diseases besides causing physical damage to the plants. The duration and life of the plants is also increased by use of such nets. Now-a-days, the fear of H1N1 is at the back of mind of everyone. The use of common medicinal plants is being advocated by those who believe in ancient systems (alternate) of medicines. There may be the argument that there is no clinical trial to support that these common medicinal plants can check it. But then there is no harm using them when it is also well-known that such plants tone up the body immune system. That is what we need! Using tulsi or giloe etc will not cause any harm. One must include such plants in the kitchen garden as part of daily use item like pudina, dhania, mirch etc.
|
|
Geek speak
Before memory upgrade, it is essential to know our usage and according to that we have to upgrade the system. But as the technology is coming up with new applications day by day, the need of adding more and more RAM will be pretty much obvious. Not only applications, even for gaming or multi-tasking work we would require sufficient amount of memory. Adding more RAM helps in different ways and helps enhance the output and efficiency at a same amount of time. Let us know the advantages that we can get after upgrading the RAM memory, helps in multi-tasking. When we open several programmes at a time than our system hangs as our hard-drive could not manage the data, the best we can do is end the programme through Task Manager. Upgrading RAM will help us to open several programmes at a time and switch between them. We will be able to multi-task smoothly, without any problem. Helps in surfing
If we do not have supportive amount of RAM for browsing the Net than we will face a lot of problems. These days most of the websites are loaded with lots of flash, banners, animations, videos/ audios to attract visitors. Despite of having fast Internet connection, we have to wait for several minutes to view the web page. Upgrading RAM will help our browser to display web pages faster, store more data in RAM and gives less burden to our hard drive. Helps in printing
Upgrading printer RAM memory boosts the quality and speed of the printer. Adding more memory to the printer will allow it to buffer and thus print at higher resolution and at a faster speed. We should also know that all printers are not upgradeable. Helps in editing videos
Generally video files are huge and require a hard drive with sufficient amount of space but at the same time we also need a fast processor and RAM memory to support and speed up the work. Video editing software usually recommends 64MB RAM but it is always good to have more RAM as we can do our work without wasting our time in waiting. Improves gaming experience
It is quite adventurous to play games on the computer using our graphic card but upgrading RAM will enhance the quality of the game with higher resolutions, color, texture and speed. We can enjoy the real gaming experience. Next to the above-mentioned points, upgrading RAM memory may help in Windows XP processing, multimedia presentations, networking. It must be noted, before buying a RAM you should know about the compatibility of motherboard. amitpalsinghgrewal@gmail.com |
|
GizmOH! I & I-pod
Mohit Sapra Mobile mania
Gurvinder Gill Complete package
Mandy Rana |
|
Jealous Faces
The more time you spend surfing this social networking website, the more jealous your partner feels, says a new Canadian study. The study also finds that the need for popularity drives young people to disclose more personal information on Facebook than they normally would reveal. In their study, Emily Christofides and Amy Muise of the University of Guelph near Toronto say Facebook use leaves many triggers for jealousy in your partner. Syas lead author Amy Muise,”You check your partner’s (Facebook) page and you see a post from someone you don’t know that says, ‘It was great seeing you last night’. “Even though it could be something very innocent, it can easily be interpreted another way.’’Once triggered, she says, Facebook-fuelled jealously leads your spouse to dig for more information about your chat partners, thus setting in motion a vicious cycle. If it is not stopped immediately, your relationship may soon go from “married’’ to “complicated’’ to divorced. According to the study, though the majority of people (76 per cent) are concerned about privacy and information control, they still disclose a great deal of personal information in online environments.
— IANS |
|
Season of Bloom(berg)
Shilpa was recently in New York to participate in the annual Indian Day Parade, which was attended by the mayor too. Sharing her thought on Bloomberg’s leadership of the New York City, Shetty told the local media last weekend, “I think he’s really been good for the city. Just to show his solidarity with the Asian community, he come out here today, which made me respect him even more. I wish him all the very best.” When asked if she thought New York City could benefit from Bloomberg being re-elected, the actor said, “Totally!” The video of this brief press encounter has been posted on the website of the mayor under the headline, “Prominent Bollywood film actor Shilpa Shetty endorses Mayor Bloomberg for re-election”. Describing Shilpa, the website says, “Shetty was born in Mangalore, India and was honoured today as the parade’s Grand Marshall where she marched with the mayor. She has appeared in nearly 50 Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages films in her illustrious career”.
— PTI |
|
Music to the ears
Shruti’s father legendary actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan is producing the film in Tamil and Telugu. It is the remake of critically acclaimed Hindi movie A Wednesday. The pretty actor is also the film’s music director. In the process she even conceptualised the music video of the film. The song in the music video is a hip-hop number titled Vaanum Ellai Illai. Also called Easier Said than Done, it features popular international rapper Blas! Insiders claim that the music video is a modern take on the theme of the film and contains lots of elements from the film. It is actually a contemporary expression of the same subject and the actress is using hip-hop to spread a political message. To add to the finesse of the music video, Shruti’s younger sister Akshara has been roped in for the project as a choreographer. The junior Haasan is a trained hip-hop and jazz dancer. — PTI
|
|
Crash course
“But it was the common flu for some bizzare reason, every body assumed that I already had swine-flu. Whoever started that rumour, it caused my phone crash. But, that was not true,” Aishwarya said. “Yes I had done all the adequate tests and I had the common-flu. I had fever and very bad chest-congestion. By the grace of God I’m here today and back to a very hectic schedule, so literally after four-days rest,” said Aishwarya. Asking the media to convey all her well-wishers about her recovery, the actor said, “Please do convey my heart-felt thanks to all my well-wishers for their messages. My phone crashed a couple of times because of the SMSes I received. But, thank you all for your steady recovery messages and well-wishes.” Aishwarya Rai, brand ambassador for Longines watches, Swiss watchmaker, was in the city at the launch of its Conquest Ceramic series.
— PTI |
|
Bollywood drift
“I did not know that I will be a part of the Hindi film till the costume designer came to take my measurement for two sets of costumes. He said he had been instructed to take measurements for both the Tamil and Hindi versions of the film...I wear different dresses in them. I was very happy when this information was revealed to me by Sabyasachi Mukherjee who has been working with Rani Mukerji,” Priyamani said. Ravan stars Bollywoood couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai in lead roles and Ratnam has already completed major portions of its shooting. According to sources, even Priyadarshan is trying to rope in Priyamani for a Hindi film. Priyamani modelled for several sari ads before she was signed for the Tamil film Paruthiveeran, which won her the Best Actress National Award. Deepika was the first to make headway in Bollywood with her dream debut in “Om Shanti Om” opposite Shah Rukh Khan. The film broke box-office records and the young actor hugely benefited from its success — she landed roles in big banner projects like Bachna Ae Haseeno, Chandni Chowk To China and Love Aaj
Kal.
Before bagging Om Shanti Om, Deepika acted in Kannada film Aishwarya. After that Yash Raj Films introduced Anushka in their light romantic drama Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Once again this newcomer was paired with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and she carved a niche for herself in the role of a girl-next-door. After that she has been signed for two more Yash Raj projects. Incidentally, another Bangalore-based girl Anushka, who is ruling the roost in the Telugu film industry, is ready to try her luck in Hindi films as her Telugu hit Arundathi is being dubbed in Hindi. A former yoga teacher, she has been the talking point among some big Hindi movie
producers. Commenting upon the popularity of Bangalore girls in tinsel town, fashion designer Prasad Bidappa said, “It’s a very cosmopolitan city and the mindset of people here is very different. Parents encourage their kids to take up professions like fashion, modelling or films.” Bidappa also runs a finishing school for models and has the credit of training models like Lara Dutta. “Apart from that, this city provides the best grooming platform to budding actors. They get right grooming that helps them to polish their skills. After spending a year or two here, they are confident enough to take up any movie
assignment. “So, it’s a combination of various factors like meeting the right people at the right time and getting good assignments, all this is done very well in Bangalore where directors come looking for budding talent,” he
said. — IANS |
|
The cast and crew of Baabarr, an upcoming Bollywood film based on the saga of nexus between the police and the underworld, unveiled the music album of their movie on Saturday. The entire team of Baabarr launched the music of the film, which has been composed by Anand Raj Anand, the producer and director of the movie also introduced Soham Shah who has made his debut in this movie. The music director of the film Anand Raj Anand said that the rave reviews about the music indicate signs of success for the film and him. “I am very happy with the response, when I came to know that the BIG music gave good reviews for the music of Baabarr after looking at the posters, it was a kind of achievement for me as I did the film with new star cast. BIG music sponsored the music after listening to it. I will not consider it less than a success,” said Anand Raj Anand who has given some hit music in the past. The female lead of the film, Urvashi Sharma, looked pretty in a green gown and seemed quite happy with the music of the film. “Superb music. We are getting very good response for it. Promos of our two songs are already on air and we are receiving very good response. The rest depends on the people whether they like it or not,” said Urvashi Sharma, who plays the lead role in the film. Directed by Ashu Trikha, the film Baabarr throws light upon ambitions of the youth and how their aims shift to organised crimes with an underlying message that crime never dies, it just modifies faces. The film also stars Om Puri, Mithun Chakravorty and Mukesh Tiwari among others, and is slated to hit the screens on September 11. — ANI
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Even before a product hits the market, it becomes the talk of the town. Thanks to gizmo freaks clued in for the latest updates in the technology sector. Whether it’s the buzz about Microsoft’s Tegra-based Zune HD media player’s upcoming September launch or Shah Rukh’s penchant for state-of-the-art technology, tech lovers know it all.
“Any normal cell can support a 32GB memory,” says Sumit Khurana, a tech freak and avid blogger, writing on technology. “The only expectation I would have from Zune would be a better sound quality, dependent on the quality of ear phones. The other good thing would be sourcing songs from anywhere, unlike Apple, which supports only itunes. Broadly, I think this would help Microsoft generate a separate revenue street.” 
Whether it is moving towards the third generation touch screen, or other new entrants of I- pod in the market, the market for cell phones, where a section is focusing primarily on the music scene, is still strong. Value for money of course is one factor that makes mobile phones sought-after gadget even when it comes to music. According to Neeraj Saxena, an avid blogger and technology analyst, brings into the division in the market. “There is a group of music buffs who would go for I-pods and all versions no matter what, and then there are people who would rather buy a cell phone which has a music player, Internet and other features. So, the coming of any new product in the market will not change the existing market scene at large.”
At this time when everyone is talking about the spiraling vegetable prices, let us see if we can produce our own vegetables. Yes, we can, even when we are living in high-rise buildings. With a little planning it can
work.
DO your computer cause problem while opening number of applications and doing multi-tasks at a time? If yes, the reason for all these problems is low memory. If you want a lightning fast computer than the best thing that you can do with out spending a lot, is upgrading the RAM. This is the most easiest, quickest, efficient and cost effective way to enhance the performance of the system.
I am a music buff. So, I always prefer an I-pod over any kind of phone. I haven’t come across a single phone that offers a good sound quality. In fact, I-pods are much better when it comes to better ear-phones and sound quality. Lastly, phones which are loaded with hi-tech features are made keeping business is mind and not music.”
The national and international markets are flooded with mobiles that offer music exclusively. When I am go in for a cell phone that offers music and other features as well, why would I go for an I-pod. Besides, I-pods get very monotonous after sometime. As for cell phones, you can experiment with music, and also switch over to the radio anytime. Mobile companies realise the fact that music is quite a driving force and stress buster, which is why they have incorporated this feature in their models.
I would certainly opt for a hi-end music phone. Why blow money on a gadget that only offers music? I don’t see any value for money in I-pods. Having said this, I must say they serve their purpose. There is a market for it as well, which keeps updating the gadgets. Personally, I would go for a gadget that offers a complete package music, games, Internet.
Shilpa Shetty is neither a US citizen nor a resident of the Big Apple, still city mayor Mike Bloomberg is going ‘ga ga’ these days. Seeking re-election, Bloomberg is hoping to garner more votes from the large Indian-American community in New York, as Bollywood actor Shilpa has endorsed him.
Notwithstanding the box office failure of her debut film Luck, Shruti Haasan has co-directed a music video for her father’s Tamil film Unnaipol Oruvan.
The cell phone of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who was recently down with ‘flu-like symptoms’ got crashed with messages flooding from her well-wishers, who presumed it to be swine-flu, according to the actor.
After Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma, another actor from this city is all set to conquer the Hindi film industry. Priyamani will make her Bollywood debut with Mani Ratnam’s Ravan.