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The Grand-eur
On Grandparents Day meet some of the Gen-Now grandpas and grandmas, who do not mind coming out of their cocoon to bond with their grandkids
With the wealth of experience, the ability of metamorphosing from advisors to listeners to mediators to friends — grandparents surely known how to love unconditionally! Acting as cushions, they are the performing artistes who do the balancing act all the time, between their adult children and adolescent grandchildren. Playing diverse roles between two generations, today’s grandparents are not the old men in their rocking chair nor woman in her bed type. In fact, they are the ever-evolving dada-dadi who rock to the tunes of I-pod, love-playing games on the play station and X-Box and enjoy adventure sports with their kids’ kid. And, this Grandparents’ Day, we meet some of the cities rocking grandpas and grandmas who keep pace with time to suit their grandchildren’s’ needs. Harinder Sandhu, a homemaker and resident of Sector 8, loves playing golf and it’s for her grandsons Sumaer and Ishan that she participates in the Grandparents Golf championship. “My heart is where my kids are. My grandsons love the game and it’s for them that I play it with so much enthusiasm,” says Harinder. Well, Sumaer even won a golf tournament partnering with his grandmother and the proud dadi feels elated at this achievement. Ask her do kids relate to her just because of the game and she says, “No, not only for the game, but yes, playing golf helps us spend a lot of time together. Actually we make it a point to have a game of golf when they are back from their hostel.” Seventy- year-old Harinder says age is not a deterrent here, because love knows no boundaries. For the grandfather, Brig N.S. Sandhu, who’s leading an active life after retirement, it’s always fun to stay involved in grandchildren’s activities. “He doesn’t miss any opportunity to be with the children and always encourages them to participate in various activities. The best he does is preparing them for debates and declamation contests,” sums Harinder. For Dr Surinder Dhillon, resident of Sector 61, Chandigarh, one important thing, which seems to be missing in the lives of children today, is time with their parents and this is where the grandparents step in. “Inculcating beliefs and values is not as easy as it was 50-60 years ago. No questions were asked and there was an implicit sense of belief. With changing times and changing outlook, children have started to question the authenticity of everything. They do not believe until they are convinced and as grandparents, to make them believe what we are saying we have to step in their shoes and participate in their activities to involve them.” Ask him has it become a relationship of give and take and he replies, “No, we cannot say that, but as grandparents we have become more interactive and in a way, we are living our childhood again, doing things that we couldn’t do at that time.” Hmmm that sure makes the relationship a sweet one. Learning how to load songs on an I-pod and do animation from her granddaughter, Promila Das, president of Ladies Club-9, says, “I am learning how to operate Internet from my grandchildren these days. Right from making my account on Facebook to downloading songs and movies, I have learnt how to book e-tickets.” Well, do such activities help bonding with the grandchildren better? “Yes, they feel proud that are able to teach their dadi or nani something. Other than that, it also gives a sense of sharing and these small ways help the kids relate more to us and share their thoughts and desire.” Well, we must say, today’s grannies are much smarter than Gen Past grannies. But there is another point as highlighted by Dr Geeta Joshi, from Krishna clinic-44, “Our grandparents had much more time for us. Today’s grandparents have a life of their own too. Though they love to learn new things for their grandchildren, but it’s more technical. You cannot tie them down.” Her daughter, Sahiba, is teaching her nana-nani computers these days. “We didn’t have computers in our days, so we thought why not learn it from our darling grand daughter, who knows it so well. And, this also gives us a reason to catch-up with her,” says K.C Goel. More like friends, they catch-up with each other for a movie and go for picnics together. Well, that’s what we call a grand relation. jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com
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The purpose of Grandparents Day is - l To honour grandparents.lTo give grandchildren an opportunity to show love for their parent's parent. l
Courtesy Internet
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Barbaric blow
The film Baabarr is set in Lucknow and supposedly depicts the barbaric ways of gangsters living in that belt. This film is entirely focused on depicting violence in as extreme a form as possible. It’s totally a one-dimensional film. This film doesn’t have a social comment to make—at least that’s what it looks like from the way the criminally indulgent narrative pans. The filmmakers’ appear to be more interested on scoring at the box-office with an overdose of criminal acts, rather than telling a balanced and coherent story. Director Ashu Trikha’s attempt is sorely one-dimensional. His film is just too enmeshed in darkness with not much to relieve the unrelenting decent into a madness that is both violent and reprehensible. Ikram Akhtar’s script for the film is entirely manipulative and devoid of sensitivity. A 12-year-old boy picks up a country made gun and shoots a man in cold blood. Just before that he is shown to have bashed-in the head of another kid with a heavy brick. His eyes are devoid of any emotion. His heart exhibits no remorse. After shooting the person in broad daylight, he walks the streets of Aman Ganj (isn’t that ironic?) with a gun in one hand. There are no negative reactions to his act of violence. Ashu Trika and Ikram Akhtar want us to believe in the unbelievable and Ashu uses all the tools he has at his disposal including hand-held camerawork and grainy imagery to convince us that it is true. The boy, in the 10 years that followed, has traumatized one and all. Baabarr’s (Sohum Shah) reign of fear has terrorized everyone in the state, and he has become a force of evil that has permeated to every corner of the state. The allusion to Satya in the latter half of the film appears to be a last-ditch effort to gain some credibility. Frankly there is no comparison. Films like Satya, Parinda, Gulaal instead appear to be masterpieces in comparison. This film doesn’t talk about illiteracy, it doesn’t talk about the widening urban-rural divide, neither does it talk about globalisation-the super-fast changes taking place thereof and how it affects the mindset of the youth today. The narrative merely relates the story about two warring gangster groups and how they control the political dynamics of the city/state they operate in. This film appears to have been created in a vacuum. There is no justification for anything that happens, the politicians involved are all painted black and so are the protectors of the law. When encounter specialist S.P. Dwivedi [Mithun Chakraborty] is sent in to end the reign of terror you expect that some sense would prevail but the expectation comes to naught. The S.P is referred to as an ‘encounter specialist’, the very reference putting his character in a negative prism. Then when he is shown as objecting to shooting the gangsters in cold blood in a calculated operation, the character loses complete credibility. The order was simple, arrest him or kill him. In fact the narrative lacks connectedness. There is no logic to the events on display. The entire play of events are manipulated to keep the central character alive right up to the climax. And it appears downright silly. When rival gangster Tabrez (Sushant Singh) holds a gun to Baabarr’s head you would expect that he would be mortally wounded at least, if not killed. But the next scene shows Baabarr in hospital with a mere flesh wound to his cheek. There are many such unpalatable truisms (as the director would have you believe) in the film. This film is quite a sinister fantasy and only someone who is depraved, totally clueless and lacks basic understanding and sensitivity can come up with this kind of pulverizing nonsense! Johnsont307@gmail.com
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The main thread of the story centers around the closeness between the friends and how circumstances bring them back together. The film resembles Sisterhood… in that aforementioned theme, so the story is not exactly original. Neither is the writing. The theme though may appear new for a Hindi film-going audience. The events that link the plot together also don’t appear significant enough and the characters are sketchily drawn. Director Rupali Guha spends way too much time establishing the deep friendship between the girls and as a consequence the overindulgence in the initial zing leads to a distinct lack of development beyond that point. Once the break-up happens melodrama kicks in and the usual routines bring on the pathos in full measure. This film produced by Sunil Doshi (Bheja Fry) with Rupali Guha at the helm is not as sweet and juicy as it’s moniker would suggest. It’s the inconsistent treatment and weak knit story that hampers the enjoyment.
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Neeta Lulla is going to make my bridal wear, says Sameera Reddy
The 27-year-old set the ramp afire at the Kolkata Fashion Week-II Friday, turning heads in a red lehenga as she show-stopped for Neeta’s bridal collection. “I think Neeta’s Indian wear rocks and when I get married she is going to make me the best bridal outfit ever. It’s going to be the style statement of the century,” Sameera told mediapersons after the catwalk. Sameera seemed in awe of Neeta’s bridal designs.“Neeta has a lovely way of making an outfit look very rich without putting so much strain on the bride. It looks very flamboyant but it is very easy to wear,” she said. Neeta also designed Aisharya Rai Bachchan’s mehendi and wedding outfit. Asked whether she followed fashion trends, Sameera replied: “I don’t because I believe you need to be confident in what you wear.” Asked whether she is “brand conscious”, she said: “It is actually a mix.” The actor said she loves to mix-n-match things and feels the all-branded look seems superficial. —IANS
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Simply stylish
Bipasha has never looked so simple, Rocky S Dusky beauty Bipasha Basu, known for her bold and sensual image, is playing a Kashmiri girl in Lamhaa and designer Rocky S, who has draped her in the Bollywood movie, says that she has never looked so simple onscreen. “In this movie, you will be surprised to see Bipasha in a non-glamorous role. She is without any makeup and has worn simple clothes to fit in perfectly for this role,” Rocky S said in an interview. “She is looking very simple, and trust me, she has never looked that simple. She has always looked glamorous onscreen but this time, it would be the girl next door look,” he added. Elaborating on Bipasha’s look, Rocky said: “In this movie, you will see her in salwaar kameez, kaftans and dupattas. The colours that I have used there are also very subtle.”“She is playing the role of a tortured girl in the movie and this demanded a very subtle look,” he added.Was it difficult to portrayBipasha as a simple girl? “Not at all. She is someone who carries every outfit with élan. She is beautiful and sexy and looks very feminine. The character of this simple Kashmiri Muslim girl has brought out that femininity,” Rocky explained. “It took me about one-and-a-half months to create the look for her. But at the end of the day, I am very happy with her look,” he added. Apart from Lamhaa, he is also designing for Katrina Kaif in Priyadarshan’s De Dana Dan but refused to divulge any details. —IANS
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Dil bole music
DJ Tejas is in the city for Dil Bole Hadippa's, bouncy vibes
Starting with distributing numbers at private parties, playing with editing software's, self-learning and practicing through renting equipments from other DJ's, DJ Tejas has come a long way and has all the reasons to say Aahun Aahun. But this music machine believes in drifting along with music of life. In the city for promotion of Dil Bole Hadippa's, the bouncy vibe, at Voodoo's, Sector 46, on Saturday night, DJ Tejas feels Bollywood is appreciating the work of deejays. "It's time to say Dil bole Hadippa," he laughs, as his fully loaded mixes hit the dance floor. Tejas whose actual journey began when he followed a six months formation in Delhi and succeeded in making 10 of the most played DJ titles in India- Om mangalam and Love Aaj Kal power pack remix ruling the roost. However, it is Punjabi music that's scratched and rotated on the turntables the most. Agrees Dj Tejas, "I live by the cliché 'Music is life'. I find music in everything, and believe I can pull out sounds and tracks from everywhere. There is no dearth of passion and motivation." With Punjabi music forming a major part of Bollywood movies, Tejas sees it as a good trend. Party poppers have always appreciated and danced to Bollywood mixes. Dil Bole Hadippa too has a clear touch of Punjabi that makes it danceable," adds the freaky DJ who was involved with the production of the track. Bollywood, pop, house, lounge, Asian, underground- their isn't any genre which is a challenge for Tejas. " I am focusing on original house music, otherwise Bollywood and International have their own pull," puts in the DJ whose number Electro East from Friction was listed as the most heard track by BBC Radio. jasmine@tribunemail.com
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I was an inadvertent spectator to a sideshow of terror that was unleashed in Chandigarh on September 8, Tuesday. I was stuck at the 34 chowk on Ambala Road for over an hour while the convoy of the protesters passed by. I watched from an uncannily close distance all that transpired in that hour. I also read all the newspaper accounts the next day, replete with scary images of crazed rioting and policemen being humiliated. I feel I need to add my own take to something that made sensational news in our otherwise peaceful city. Many have spoken in the aftermath. The police force has been blamed in the soundest manner. Their inefficacy in tackling the situation has been pointed out at great lengths. The councilors have expostulated about the lack of foresight and preventive plan. The administration has come up with quick proposals about future rallies. Meanwhile, 34 policemen and some others are nursing wounds that are a direct consequence of unpreparedness and sheer absence of administrative strategy for handling something that exploded on Tuesday. I am unwilling to blame any of our city policemen. I think, given the fact that there were so few of them and not even armed with riot gears, and so many of maniacal protesters who were hell bent on inflicting damage, there it very little our policemen could have done. From the vantage point I had, I saw the procession of the buses carrying the so- called farmers and PSEB employees moving forth. As we moved forward to cross the chowk, the buses started to plow down and jammed the road. You could see those buses as far as your eyes could see, people inside and people on top, shouting slogans, wielding huge sticks. There was a solitary police jeep at the chowk, an inspector (I guess) and a couple of home guards. As they tried to negotiate the light for traffic flow, the men from the top of the buses started dropping down like samurais. They landed with a thud, groups of men, their eyes glazed, their faces contorted with fury and frenzy. They stood at the chowk and blocked all traffic to make way for their convoy. They didn't look like any farmer I have seen in any Manoj Kumar movies (of course, the type singing (meri desh ki dharti sona ugle). They came to confront, were already inebriated, in enormous numbers. They were charged and deadly. It would have been utter foolishness to fight the flow. The inspector very wisely stopped us and allowed for their passage. The protesters hit those who tried to wiggle their cars through the cordon. Those who took umbrage (Chandigarh folks are not exposed to mob fury) were roughed up by the protesters. In fact, one man, who leaped out of his car and started scuffling with the protesters, would have been very seriously hurt, if the policeman did not come to his rescue. The team tried very hard to prevent any untoward incident. They requested us to co-operate, placated those who remonstrated while the entire road was taken over by the protesting mob. I know this was the tip of the iceberg and in the end, we could not save the day. But, why blame our police force? Would it be good policing to hold your ground and just get mauled? Why not blame those who failed the city on Tuesday? matkachowk@gmail.com
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TAROT TALK ARIES: You draw “Six of Wands” which helps you in professional work. There will be joy all around. Be cautious of the unfamiliar. Give a little now and you will get more later. Lucky colour: Pink. Tip: Avoid situations that may turn nasty. TAURUS: “The High Priestess” reveals family pressure and responsibilities. You are original, energetic and ambitious instilling a personal style and vitality in whatever you do. Balance in relationships and professional activities need to be maintained. Past investments could start showing results. Tip: Take one thing at a time. Lucky colour: Crimson. GEMINI: “Five of Cups” takes you through difficult speculative situation. Emotional relationships are temporary as you come out of them. If you are fighting a legal battle, you win after a slight delay. An important project is likely to encounter hurdles. Tip: Take one step at a time and avoid anxiety. Lucky colour: Yellow. CANCER: “The Nine of Cups” brings you to your truths, hopes and desires that you mask with a calm surface. Learn from past experience and get on with your life rather than repeat old patterns. Tip: Trust your heart and intuition. Lucky colour: Purple. LEO: You draw “The Chariot” you are in touch with dynamic and assertive energy to make new beginnings. Multifarious activity may lead to stress and tension, be aware. You get in touch with family and friends whom you have been ignoring for some time. Tip: Be positive. Lucky colour: Turquoise. VIRGO: “The Emperor” gets you in touch with your leadership qualities. Your mind will be very alert, clear and quick, enabling you to find immediate solutions to the problems that may arise. Though you are a calm and an easygoing person, you will accelerate and become more talkative and curious. Tip: Ignore the unpleasant events Lucky colour: Sea green. LIBRA: “The queen of cups” brings romance poetry and dreamy quality in your personal relationships. It’s best to look at new directions, be open to fresh opportunities. Redecorating home and office space can bring synergy and fresh ambiance. You make an impact and a big difference wherever you are. Tip: Don’t involve yourself in more than one activity at one time. Lucky colour: Burgundy SCORPIO: “The Nine of Wands” reveals that you make progressive professional and personal commitments. A crisis concerning a friendship or your place in an organisation could reach a crucial point. Health and finances need watching on Tuesday. Try to develop an attitude of ease and inner peace. Tip: Infuse your efforts into decisive action and professional achievements. Lucky colour: Red. SAGITTARIUS: “The Nine of Pentacles” showers blessing on lovers. Your destiny may well be handed as a result you don’t have any time to spare. Domestic unrest can be avoided if you watch your step. Some career choices have to be made before an important opportunity passes you by. Tip: It is no longer necessary to take risks. Lucky colour: Crimson. CAPRICORN: “Nine of cups” interprets it as having ‘focused energy’ and concentration on a goal, because of which, even the impossible gets done. Pets, children, home, gardens can take much of your time on Wednesday. Learn a lesson from past mistakes and get on with your life. Tip: Don’t be enthusiastic in finalising a particular deal. Lucky Colour: Pink. AQUARIUS: “The Empress” takes you towards the fast and protective lane. You are sensitive and vulnerable as you handle two situations at the same time maintaining inner and outer balance. You make adjustments in personal relationships, as they are a bit fragile at the moment. On Thursday, decisions are made, conflicts are diffused and balance is regained. Tip: Be firm and stand ground. Do not let anyone get the advantage over you. Lucky colour: Citric green. PISCES: Like the “The Knight of Cups” you are emotional in personal relationship and graceful on social occasions. Your lazy streak will be more obvious than usual on Sunday. You will reap great benefits if dealing in stocks and shares. Your spouse pulls in a contrary direction. Tip: Rather worrying, infuse your efforts into decisive action and professional achievements. Lucky colour: Red.
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The first Grandparents Day was set by Governor Arch Moore and it was in 1973, West Virginia that began a statewide campaign to set aside a special day just for grandparents. Through concerted efforts on the part of individuals interested in preserving their heritage, this campaign was headed by Marian McQuade of Fayette County, mother of fifteen children. Senator Jennings Randolph (D-WV) was especially instrumental in this project. In 1973, Senator Randolph introduced a resolution in the United States Senate and in 1978, five years after its inception, Congress passed legislation proclaiming the first Sunday after Labor Day as 
A chick-flick on the lines of Sisterhood of the traveling pants, the movie Aamras is about four young school girls, Jiya (Vega), Pari (Ntasha), Rakhi (Maanvi) and Sanya (Aanchal), who are the best of friends until a misunderstanding (the male variety) tears them apart and sets them on different paths.
Bollywood star Sameera Reddy wants Neeta Lulla to design her bridal dress and expects it to be the style statement of the century.