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Date and a debut
As an artist Paramjit Singh does not believe in making a statement through his work. For him, the act of painting with mind and body is more pleasing than merely transforming a concept on a canvas. Even if that 'pleasure is born out of pain' as he puts it. So, he would rather invent landscapes from nature because it provides all the ingredients - beauty, variety, light, abstraction and most importantly, perfect balance even in asymmetrical forms. And makes a fine blend of them, from what we see from his maiden solo exhibition at Punjab Kala Bhavan -16, courtesy the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi.
So, what took him so long to come to the city with a show? Though we promised to tread carefully, could not resist asking him. "Nobody ever organised any show. I have been exhibiting for the past 40 years just next door in Delhi, but never got an opportunity to come here," he replies with a throaty laugh and our earlier perceptions about him evaporates—he may be a man of few words but certainly not aloof. He couldn't come here for a solo show but his association with the city has been growing in the recent past. First, an art workshop with the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi and later, as the single-person jury for the akademi's annual exhibition. So, what is his take on the city art scene? "Most talented artists have moved away from here. Now, though it lacks in talent at present, it makes up in enthusiasm." His answer paves the way for another question - what about buyers, does he think the market here is ready for his kind of price range (his paintings starts from Rs 6 lakh and goes up to Rs 28 lakh). "I am giving a special discount of 10 per cent," he laughs, which somehow becomes a little serious as he dissects the scene, "I really do not know if there is serious buyers in the city but in general the people of this region has yet to cultivate the art of buying art. Though my price is high, it is not just about the painting but for the fact that my 50 years of experience is associated with it. Forty years back, I used sell my works for Rs 250." A founder member of the art department in Jamia Millia Islamia and now a professor emeritus in the same, Paramjit is old fashioned when he comes to his medium-oil. "Acrylic is easy and quick and I did try it out but didn't like it as it is a weak medium. Only oil can give the real body to a landscape," he says. And for inspiration comes from any place the fields of Punjab which he roamed around at the age of three, the ridges of Delhi which he painted extensively during his students days, deserts of Rajasthan to tropical forests of Bali, Scotland and London, techniques have been meticulously evolved over a period of time. "There is nothing magical about the act of painting. In fact, it involves a cold calculation," comes his parting shot, as he gets up to deal with two buyers who had flown in from Delhi. And, we are left with our thinking, if a series of cold calculations yield something that radiates so much warmth, then be it. parbina@tribunemail.com
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Classic connection
On a bad day if you play bad western classical, you still can end up pleasing people, "The notes of this music genre aren't very rigid and people can mistake it for improvisation." Then, on bad day, if you play jarring Indian classical music, "You can't escape criticism as this music form is almost a religion and you can't afford to tamper with the ethics and ethos," asserts Zoltan Lantos, a professional violinist, who knows it all about the sanctity of Indian Classical music and readily confesses, "Hindustani music is difficult to learn than any other form of music." The confession comes after the eight years of learning Hindustani music from Pandit Debu Chaudhary in Delhi.
From Hungary to the by lanes of Delhi, Zoltan's journey began in mid 80's and ended in 1994, when he again went back to his native land. In the city on Friday, he along with other musicians, Balint Gyemant, a guitarist and Peter Szalai, a tabla player will play fusion, heavily overloaded with influences of Indian classical music, hence the name of the concert, Samsaara, "A perpetual contribution that comes after eight years of learning Hindustani music." His fascination with Indian music began after a chance encounter with Pandit Ravi Shankar's music. "The music, unlike all that I had listened to till then, was uplifting and spiritual, something that any musician would aspire to learn." And here he makes another vital point, "Learning Indian classical is an eternal process. It can't be mastered, only improvised upon. But if learnt well, then one goes to heaven as it is as pure as God." Peter Szalai has also learnt tabla in India From Ustad Allah Rakha. Though Balint has no Indian music experience, he enjoys fusing his Jazz music with Indian for the peace it has. However, Zoltan didn't limit his musical experience to Ragas, "I even learnt playing Sarangi but had to stop after my cuticles got hurt." The way out came in the form of Tarangini, a prototype of Sarangi that has 21 strings and produces same notes as the original, "The intention was to have Indian music around." Well intended! |
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Nature's own
We had heard that Paramjit Singh's landscapes come with an air of mystery which haunts and beckons, making the viewer's experience almost spiritual and magical. Whoever said that was absolutely right. The 40 frames comprising some of his recent oil paintings, drawings in charcoal drawings, etchings and pastels take a viewer sometimes through a dense wood, sometime into the depth of water and sometimes through a desert filled with thorny bushes, but the experience is always the same - divine. Paramjit Singh, who is here for the inauguration of his first-ever exhibition in the city, which is being organised by the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi, believes in capturing nature with all its splendour but not as it is. So one can see all the characteristics of impressionist paintings - visible brush strokes, open compositions, emphasis on light and its changing qualities, ordinary subject matter, unusual visual angles and movement. There is this blue water body in which he creates the illusion of depth and movement and another one - a desertscape which started as a scene from a sea shore in 2006 but by the time it was finished in 2008, it turned into a vast area with sandy soil and thorny bushes. There are others that make lasting impression - a few felled trees in Bali executed with charcoal crayon on grass paper, a few limited edition etchings like Walk in the Wood. Be it his huge canvasses or his intimate drawings and etchings, the crispness each frame bears comes from Paramjit's unique technique - incorporation of white areas as part of the landscape in the conceptual stage. In other words, while most artists use a rubber to create the white areas in a painting, in Paramjit's lines and colours evolves complimenting those clouds and illuminated spaces. Paramjit's colours come from nature and hence as bright and vibrant as nature itself. And, if you thought symmetry means perfection, Paramjit's paintings will teach you otherwise. Because each frame explains how nature is very asymmetrical, yet very balanced. One just needs to know how to observe it and there are all the elements Paramjit so effectively captures - the air, the texture, the mood, the beauty. On till November 10. parbina@tribunemail.com
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Gem packed
Vibhuti's collection (Goddess of Wealth Lakshmi) that deals in production, cutting and polishing of natural yellow and blue sapphires (Neelam and Pukhraj Ceyloni) and also deals in natural rubies from Burma and emeralds from Zimbabwe, is being showcased at Hotel Aroma-22. Exhibiting their collection of studded gems with precious stones, American diamonds, semi precious and imitation stones they have showcased mesmerising art jewellery from India's first heritage Pink City, Jaipur.
Selling self-designed jewellery, at Vibhuti's collection you can pick thewa, kundan, meenakari, polki, victorian and 92.5 sterling silver designed jewellery. With a motto of customer satisfaction, if any jewellery purchased from them has any complaints or any stones drops or loses its place, you can get it exchanged at the earliest and get it repaired free of cost. |
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Kebabs to crabs
Come November and the food palate goes piquant and sizzling. And celebrating the warmth of winters, Copper Chimney begins, The Great Indian Kabab Festival.
Though the origin of kebab may lie in the short supply of cooking fuel in the East, the phrase Kebab or Kabab is essentially Persian in origin and Arabic tradition has it that the dish was invented by medieval Iranic soldiers who used their swords to grill meat over open-field fires.
We have mellowed down the robustic herbs and smoothened the flavours for a contemporary palate.” Well, with a variation in taste, they have used hand-pounded spices in the kebab recipes and have altered certain recipes for innovation. “For the Murg Galauti Kebab, we have used minced chicken than mutton. Bhatti Da Sabut Murg is served with skewers unlike platters and in Mahi Tikka Sarsonwali we have used a mustard marinade,” says Anthony. Talk about the vegetarian variety and he says, “We have ample of them.” But aren’t they restricted to paneer only. “Yes, the major veg kebabs are made from paneer, but we have a variety to offer here too. Our Hariyali Subz Aur Matar Ki Seekh are soft kebabs of sauted spinach blended with green peas, other than this we have Tandoori Subz Bahar that is made of assorted English vegetables like Brocolli, Red and Yellow bell papers etc and Subz Shkampuri Kebab that are made of minced vegetables stuffed with cream cheese.” That’s not all, to go as accompaniments are tandoori breads also. You can pick from Zaitooni Mirch Kulcha made from white flour bread with a sprinkling of olives and paprika and Khajur Badami Naan, enriched with almonds and dates Though the food fest is more about Afgani flavours you can find traces of Rajasthani, Pashtuni and Awadhi flavours in it. Says Anthony, “Our cuisine is more a North west frontier cuisine, which has a mix of everything.” Last the Chefs for the food fest have come from Mumbai and would be training the Chefs here, for these items maybe included in the regular menu also.
On till November 15. jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com
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African allure
The African Barbeques sizzle live at Barbeque Nation. On offer is an array of sauces from Peri Peri to Harrissa to Zulu coriander to go with Marguez, sosaties and soya sausages. For barbeques that tastes as unique as it sounds, this one is not just about experiencing food but also seen is the passion, which is truly African. Through this festival they bring on table not just authentic Barbeques of Africa, but also an experience, which revolves around the thematic decor, uniform, music and the last but not the least the fire eaters in and around the restaurant. The servers are dressed with face paints uniquely and the greeting at the entry by loudly calling “Jumbo” meaning welcome spells the wild flavor of Africa right away. With the most relished barbeques from the African continents you can try from Sosa ties, to marguez, to the Soya sausages covering the varied regions of Africa. As unique as it sounds the festival brings on skewers the all time favorite Lamb Marguez with harrissa sauce and Chicken Sosaties from southern provinces of Africa, which have gained the reputation for being one of the popular barbeques available across the globe. Also being served is the Crab balls and fish with Peri peri sauce which is a delight for seafood lovers and vegetarians could savour the Soya sausages along with Grilled Corn with Zulu coriander sauce. Commenting Prosenjit Roy Chowdhury, CEO Barbeque Nation says, "Our aim of the food festival is to offer a variety of the most relished barbeques from the continent of Africa to our guests and this event is aimed towards fulfilling the commitment. We at Barbeque Nation have always strived to offer our customer something unique and refreshing. Through this food festival the locale can come and enjoy Barbeques of their choices as we are continuing with our signature dishes too."
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Rae’s, the sandwich and salad station as it calls itself, at the HPCL petrol station in Sector 22, opposite Hotel Aroma, is the brainchild of city-born-Delhi-returned Raehat Mundy. A stint at in the Capital’s corporate sector and some grounding at Hotel Crown Plaza’s bakery section later, this 25 year old is back to where her heart is: the city and cooking. With an array of breads, sandwiches, salads and cakes, ranging from capuchino walnut tartlets to chocolate coconut eggless cake, she plans to introduce a lot of smoothies and shakes. And, with a 24-hour eatery bang next doors, how does she plan to beat the competition? “Well, firstly, I think there’s space for everyone and second, I’ll let my competitive pricing and quality of products do the talking,” she says. Surely, one can expect good quality, with Raehat insisting that “all products are home-made, starting from scratch.” As for the nomenclature, you may well have guessed it. It’s from the lady herself, served abbreviated.
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Bon Appetit
When we cook a rogan josh or a korma or a vindaloo, we don't even begin to refer to any of them as a curry. Curry was a term, which the English used to define all our gravies. The origin of the anglicised word curry itself is the stuff of legends, but we have settled on it being a derivative of the Tamil word, kari, meaning a spiced sauce. Most curries do require the addition of the heavenly, fragrant garam-masala, but that is not the sawdust you pick up in the store, packaged some six months ago! Make your own garam masala please! It only requires a little effort and a grinder, and nothing beats its seductive flavour! The recipes given below are versatile; vegetables or paneer can be cooked in a makkhani gravy, just as a chicken kadhaai can be turned out using the second mix of ingredients. Butter Chicken
750 gm boneless chicken, cut into cubes 2 tbsp. lemon juice 1 tbsp.oil ¾ tsp turmeric 1½ tsp dhania powder 1 tsp jeera powder 1 ½ tsp garam masala 1 onion, thinly sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp. finely chopped ginger root 1 tbsp oil 3-4 tbsp. butter Salt and pepper to taste 2 cups tomato puree ½ cup heavy cream Method In a medium bowl, place chicken pieces and sprinkle with lemon juice, oil, turmeric and half of the dhania, jeera and garam masala powders. Toss to coat and set aside. In a heavy karhaai, cook onion, garlic, and ginger in oil and 2 tbsp butter until fragrant. Add the rest of the ground masalas, pepper, salt, tomato puree, and 2 tbsp. butter and simmer for 10 minutes. Cool and grind to a smooth puree. Return to the karhaai and stir in the marinated chicken pieces. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Stir in heavy cream and serve, garnished with green dhaniya and a scattering of fried cashew if liked. Kadhai Paneer
800 gms paneer, cut into cubes 2-3 onions, chopped 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste 1 tsp coriander seeds, roasted & pounded 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp red chili powder ½ tsp turmeric powder ½ cups tomato puree 1 cup green, yellow & red capsicums, chopped ¾ tsp cumin powder A pinch each of mace powder, clove powder, black cumin powder & fenugreek seeds 1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped Method Heat ghee in a pan, add chopped onions and saute until brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and stir-fry till the moisture evaporates. Also add red chili powder, coriander seeds, black pepper powder, turmeric and stir-fry until they change color. Then add tomato puree, salt, paneer cubes, capsicum and fry until the paneer is light brown. Sprinkle the cumin, cardamom, mace, clove, black cumin powders, fenugreek seeds and cook until the paneer is cooked. Remove and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with thinly sliced fresh ginger and serve. |
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But much more than his works, it is the paradox associated with the artist himself that took precedence for us. Like, a true blue Punjabi from Amritsar, who never exhibited in this region and we were sufficiently warned that he was as reserved as his painting were eloquent. 
However that’s history, and this dish now involves more delicate handling than grilling over an open fire. Says Anthony Fernandes, manager operations, Copper Chimney, “For this food fest we have added contemporary flavours to ethnic style of grilling a kebab.” Ask him about the subtle changes and he says, “All we have changed is the mixture of spices. 
How about refueling an empty stomach along with tanking up your vehicle. Well, after a string of conveniences and eateries (Nirula’s et al) at the city’s fuel joints, here’s another one that aspires to be zara hat ke.
Ingredients
Ingredients