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Making Maya’s mala
As for the imbroglio, a lot many people refrained from commenting openly…one school of thought puts forward two reasons behind the garlanding tradition in India. Firstly, it showcases one's happiness at receiving the particular guest and two; it's a public acknowledgement of the guest's importance. Says Satyapal Sehgal, from the Department of Hindi, Panjab University, "The garlanding tradition has been a part of Indian society since times immemorial. Even earlier there would be garlanding of flowers, precious gems and of money, ever since it was invented." He adds, "But garlanding also underscores the significance of flowers in our society, how they are used during prayers, for dressing up, and for welcoming." As for the currency notes replacing them, comments Prof Jagjit Singh, from the Deprtment of Punjabi, "Money is associated with prestige." And now also with Mayawati! He adds, "There's no particular tradition as such. Earlier it used to be flowers then slowly currency came in, especially during weddings." Perhaps, that explains the folds of the money in such a way that the bills mimic radiating flower petals. Did someone also not say, of course, on conditions of anonymity, "Don't know about tradition, but this was definitely a form of bribery." Back to the folded currency, rolls of coinage…shares a shopkeeper from a prominent Sector 22 store, "Currency garlands are pretty much in demand. Rather it has always been so. But people purchase them mostly for weddings, especially where they want to be extravagant and display wealth." There were several hanging by the walls with leaves spread out like a daffodil, in yet another resembling a basket. One had cash notes laid out like cards. But nothing quite chic like the conical inspired garland in news! He adds, "Our workers only make them, these designs don't have any names as such but they are all common. The shape and designing depends on the denomination of the currency used. But mostly they are Rs 5, 10, 20 and 50 notes." However, at some shops one could even spot Rs 100 notes! Adds a shopkeeper from Sector 20 booth market, "We make garlands of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes as well, but they are on order. The design is whatever the customer selects with a few modifications." Needless to say, there's one common feature - they're crisp. Yeah, exactly like the ones the lady wore, even the second time! manpriya@tribunemail.com
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Smile quotient!
"I don't have the time for daily chores, though my mother keeps pestering me to learn something in the kitchen. However, I have done household chores when I wasn't that busy," smiles actor Prachi Desai, in city for the launch of LG's Direct Cool Refrigerators, while providing an answer to whether actors use the brands they endorse. "I come from a simple family, and I have been brought up in a simple way like other kids." But one thing that separates her from the other kids was a near fixation for Bollywood. She retains the warm smile. "I always and always wanted to be an actor. I don't know why, maybe it was the lure of glitz and glamour. Back in Panchgani where I was studying, I didn't have much choice. I moved to Pune where I auditioned for Kasamh Se after my twelfth boards, and on with it full time later," explains the actor, who swiped her way to tinselville with Rock On. Looking at the petite frame, simple smile, candid answers, it is but natural to ask whether she related to her role and the accentuated make-up, hairstyles and dresses on television. The answer comes without any hitch. "Personally, no. Thankfully I did Kasamh Se for two years and decided I could not play a mother to the kids when I was myself a kid. At the same time, I visited various cities during the shoot of Kasamh Se, and realised that many Indian families still carry the same lifestyle, live with the same characters. Save for the fact television shows an exaggerated version of everything," shares Prachi, ready to be seen in Once Upon A Time and Joker. Back to where her heart belongs, Bollywood. A great ride so far, good work adding to her repertoire, age by her side, did we leave out on anything. Smiles (she is born with it), "I am getting work, I am handling the pressure of looking good, I am reading scripts and deciding on my own what will click for me; I am trying to touch base with studies again. I must say, though, it is very difficult for an outsider to pull through. I have to compete with myself and I am ready to experiment with new roles." It's just the beginning lady! jasmine@tribunemail.com
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The legacy of Patiala
Once upon a time, not too long ago, lived a legend named Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan who not only believed, but rose to the challenge of making it perfect each time. Hailed as the Tansen of the 20th century, he breathed fresh vigour into Patiala Kasur Gharana and made it scale new heights. Says Primila Puri, a leading vocalist of this gharana and the first disciple of Munawar Ali Khan, son of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, "There cannot be another one like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan." Bhayee Sikandar Singh, an avid music lover who had the good fortune of listening to him even goes to the extent of saying, "He was the gharana." Of course, the Patiala gharana predated Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. It was founded by Ali Baksh and Fateh Ali Khan, who were known as the famous vocal duo — Allu Fattu. Later, two brothers, Ustad Kale Khan and Ustad Ali Baksh Khan of Kasur Gharana, famous for tabla, sarangi and khayal, became the disciples of Ustad Fateh Ali Khan. Thus, the Patiala gharana acquired the flavour of Kasur as well, whose mitti, which has seen greats like Baba Bulle Shah, is believed to be melodious. Shares Primila, "While Ustad Ali Baksh was a master of aesthetics, Kale Khan was known for his robustness and would roar like a lion. And, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan imbibed the best of both his father Ali Baksh and uncle Kale Khan." Not only that, he chiselled it to perfection by constantly incorporating new dimensions. Jawaad Ali Khan, grandson of the Ustad, who along with brother Mazhar Ali Khan is keeping the family legacy alive, opines, "His biggest contribution was that his music was melodious and laid great emphasis on clarity of words, something which was previously not achieved in this gharana." Primila cannot agree more, "His notes were truly divine." She and Jawaad also inform that he brought Purab ang ki thumri into Patiala gharana. To those who think that he sang Punjab ang ki thumri, they qualify, "Before him thumri was not sung in this gharana. There was khayal and tappa till he brought thumri into its fold." Other distinctive features of the gharana are its chuamukhiya style, bol alaap, sur ka lagaav, aakar gayaki and above all it full-throatedness. Primila finds no contradiction in the discipline of the classical music and the buland awaaz of Patiala gharana exponents. Jawaad feels that today very few, be it Sufi singers or of other genres, have been uninfluenced by Patiala gharana and the exponents of the gharana too are many. Yet he laments, "Few carry the same robustness." Primila too can sense the Kasur flavour only in Ustad's grandsons, not just Mazhar and Jawaad but also Raza Ali Khan who happens to be the son of Ustaad Munawar. Jawaad, who learnt from his uncle Munawar, says he was equally inimitable and probably the only one to sing with the legendary ustaad. Sikandar, however, is candid and can hardly sense a parallel. Yet he does discern continuity in other exponents, especially the manner in which they establish the asthai, which is what sets the gharana apart. And what made Ustad a cut above the rest? "He had the most luminous voice ever." Of course, some purists thought his music was overtly decorative and he added too many embellishments. But Sikandar disagrees, "Just as they say, decoration should be like a luminous haze; his ornamentation was just that. Music just flowed out of him and his taans in particular possessed both fluidity and elasticity. Rather as all good music aspires to come to a single note, so did his." And today, the music is well represented by Kolkata-based vocalist Ajoy Chakraborty, among others. But, sadly, there is none in Punjab except Primila who has tried to propagate this music, without much success though. Sikandar is not surprised. "We have become so bhangra-centric that we have lost all sensitivity towards classical music. Why Patiala gharana, even Shyam Chaurasi Gharana that originated here finds no takers today." Years ago, Ajoy had said, "It is just a matter of time that people will wake up to its melody again." Well, Punjabis are yet to. Even though Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's masterpiece Sohni in Mughal-e-Azam, his bandishes under the pseudonym Sabrang and his invention, the musical instrument Surmandal, all stand testimony to the priceless legacy that the gharana has bequeathed to the world of music. Time Punjab cherishes it as well!
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Cat calls
The world's most popular cat and mouse cut the cake, shook a leg to Aahun Aahun Aahun and carried on with their pranks as part of a special birthday treat for all. And the birthday gift included a "Chooha Billi Chor Sipahi" theme show being launched as well as a special song dedicated to them. "They are the most popular cartoon characters in the world and continue to entertain generations with their acts of madness. They are the Network's top-rated show since the past seven decades and this theme show will continue the madness, bringing the viewers one-and-a-half hours of laughter and non-stop fun," says Krishna Desai, director, programming, South Asia, Turner International India Pvt Limited. The classic duo has kept the magic live and kicking over the years, surviving the changing tastes and trends. "They are a piece of art. They transcend language barriers, maintaining the pace of the show. Changes are needed to make the show popular, but Tom and Jerry are already the epitome of popularity," says Krishna. The channel plans to keep the pace alive with almost 60-odd short title shots and 60 feature films on them. And their audience falls in the age group of four-40 years. "Almost 40 per cent of our veiwership comprises adults. The humorous animation clicks with kids and adults alike." Well, with the success come scandals. The cat and mouse chase 'too violent' for kids? "We had conducted surveys, talked to parents, child counsellors as well as educationists and found that after the age of four, the child learns to distinguish between live action and animation. So, when they are watching Tom and Jerry, Ben 10 or Chota Bheem they know it is fantasy not real," Krishna explains. But the channel has a strict policy for keeping a check over its content. "We have 40-45 filters that every programme has to go throw before it is telecast," he says. Well, as for Tom and Jerry saga, the smashing, poking, crashing, screeching, whamming…continues. nehawalia@tribunemail.com
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How did you land in Shaapit? After serial Dekho Magar Pyar Se, people started noticing me. My mentor Vikram Bhatt one day called me and offered me the movie. There was no limit to my happiness. How would you describe Shaapit? It is a horror flick based on a love story. It promises to be the scariest and the most thrilling experience. Tell us about your role ... I play a young girl Kaaya who is cursed. You think highly of your mentor Vikram Bhatt. Vikram Bhatt is respectful to each and every unit member who works with him. He will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. What kind of films are you interested in? I would love to do all type of movies. Upcoming projects ? Some projects are in the pipeline but will only talk about them once I sign on the dotted line — Dharam Pal
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Music to the ear!
Ghazal usne chhedi mujhe saaz dena…zara umar-e-rafta ko awaaz dena…" Come March 20, music lovers from the city are set for a date with Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh, who will perform at the Nehru Bhavan, Sector 24.The concert has been organised by the Durga Das Foundation and The Tribune group of newspapers is the media partner for the event.Over the years, Jagjit has been admired by the naïve and the connoisseur alike. He has an enviable voice that can render a unique quality to ghazals, geets and bhajans. Little wonder then, he has excelled in all these genres. Jagjit's soulful rendition is replete with emotion, feeling and sentiment. Jagjit has cut albums with Javed Akhtar and Gulzaar and is sure to delight city folks with his latest ghazals and nazms. "He has successfully sung devotional and inspirational songs, which cut across cultural, religious and social barriers. His Hey Ram has been a best-seller," says Atul Khanna, Director, Durga Das Foundation. The artiste is very choosy about his kalaams in Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi and Persian, and almost all the lyrics in his music remain simple, melodious and easy to comprehend. (At Nehru Bhavan-24 from 7.00 pm onwards on March 20. Entry is strictly by invitation)
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Side
Lanes
Changes are inevitable. There are changes to lives, faces, cities, seasons, styles, relationships, homes, food, pets, anything. You name it and changes have hit it. In fact, change is ironically the one constant and steady factor in our lives. Yet, we resist changes all the time. We try to stall them, ignore them, brush them under the carpet, hoping against hope that we shall not have to accept them. Often, at our age, we look back and say "…things were better then!"
At the wedding we wondered if the groom would be recognisable. We, remembered him from the days we spent as first floor tenants at his grandfather's Sector 11 house. It was a vivid memory of a tall, lanky, serious, often reticent pre-teen racing around the block on his cycle. His very petite sister was always on the fringes, wondering whether the lads would let her join into all their games. Oz and I recognised Bobby immediately. The face was the same, but the young man before us was confident, articulate, a man of the world. Nikki is no longer small, but a tall, glamorous young woman pursuing her dreams in New Zealand . What has changed these two? Family, the world, the passage of time, circumstances-all add to the grand total. Yet, we are grateful that the core remains the same as we saw it 15 years ago. Gogi and Sweety can stand tall and proud of their creations. Suddenly a very tall young man appears. As he towers over us all, the face is familiar, the name forgotten with the passage of time. Ben was ever smiling and very fidgety. He is still affable and polite, but his long strides into the working world have added charisma and strength. These young adults are our future and we can rely on their fresh ideas and beliefs. We protected them for years, but they are our shields today. Whenever Raoul visits from New York, I look at him with satisfaction and declare, "Baby boy, you are the same as ever!" However, that is not true. If I measure him against the above-mentioned playmates, he too has gone beyond all expectations. The jaw has squared, the neck is sinewy, the arms muscled with exercise. The eyes have lost their innocence, aware of all the Big Apple has taught him. He can hold his own in any gathering, with any age group. He explains to me that the Elgin Marbles were gouged out from their rightful place at the Parthenon in Greece, by a glorified thief and thereafter renamed after him. He has recorded that infamous scar in a photograph. I see Europe through his camera. The four months he spent there, almost starving, often sick due to lack of funds, taught him about history, art, architecture and above all-budgeting and poverty. It taught us that whatever we had done for him was good and true. To put it crassly, we invested wisely for our twilight years. Our children will not let us down. Relationships change. Old, true and tried ones are renewed and strengthened. Recent ones are tested and often discarded for they no longer serve any purpose because we demand changes whereas we should accept what is and always has been. New friends open new vistas and channel our thoughts with the richness of theirs. If we are willing to accept and broaden our experiences with these new channels, we shall be richer for it and our life-journeys will be full of joy and learning until the end of our days. Changes are our passport into the anticipated future. Some times bitter, some times sweet- they always add to life, not detract from it. |
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Bollywood actress Deepal Shaw says that after working with filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and actor Irrfan Khan, there is no need for her to join acting school. "I have learned a lot from both Mahesh Bhatt and Irrfan Khan. For me they are my school of acting. Right from improvisation to natural subtle acting to rehearsals, they have always pushed me to do better and better," Deepal said. She made her acting debut in Mahesh Bhatt's Kalyug, opposite Emraan Hashmi and newcomer Kunal Khemu. In recently released Right Ya Wrong, the 24-year-old Deepal is seen sharing screen with Irrfan. She will also be seen with the actor in the upcoming film Tum Se. "I am a keen observer. I see Irrfan, how he acts, rehearses his dialogues scenes. How he behaves on and off the sets. All these things have helped me," the actress said. Right Yaa Wrong is based on two police officers played by Irrfan and Sunny Deol, who later become rivals. Deepal played the role of a de-glam lady cop caught between the two. The film also stars Isha Narang, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kirron Kher, Aryan Vaid and Govind Namdeo. — PTI
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He has proved his mettle as an actor in super hit films like 3 Idiots and Rang De Basanti but R Madhavan says that he often feels embarrassed by his performances in his earlier films. “I have found out that after over a year or so I feel embarrassed to watch my own films but my performances in films like Rang De Basanti, 3 Idiots and Ramji Londonwaley are something I would love to watch again and again," Madhavan said. "These films are close to my heart as the characters that I played were appreciated by all. The roles were significant and the audience could connect with it," he said. The Tamil actor, fondly known as Maddy, has acted in 11 films in Bollywood since 2001 including Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein, Dil Vil Pyar Vyar, Guru, Ramji Londonwaley, Mumbai Meri Jaan and his latest flick Teen Patti alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley. Rehna Hai... marked Madhavan's debut in Bollywood in 2001 for which he was nominated for the 'Best Male Debut and Most Promising Male Newcomer’ awards category. But true recognition came to the 29-year-old actor with Rang De Basanti in 2005.In the film, Madhavan essayed the role of Ajay Rathod, Flight Lieutenant in the Indian Air Force who was killed in a fighter aircraft crash. "My role was appreciated by film critics and it was my first major hit in Bollywood," he said. On his role in 3 Idiots and Ramji Londonwaley, Madhavan said, “The role of Farhan Qureshi was appreciated by all and was nominated for awards. Every young guy could associate with the character." However, 'Ramji...' did not do well at box office but it was simple, sweet and lovable character, he said. Maddy has also acted in number of Tamil films of which his 2006-release Thambi proved to be a big hit down south. Besides, the actor also made his entry in tele soaps in late 1990s. "I have done about 1,600 episodes on TV before films," he said. Maddy was part of television serials like Banegi Apni Baat, Saaya, Sea Hawks, Tol Mol Ke Bol and Ghar Jamai. Madhavan's upcoming projects in Bollywood include the much-delayed Hindi-Bengali bilingual Sunglass, directed by Rituparno Ghosh, Tanu Weds Manu with Kangana Ranaut and Freedom. — PTI
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New Releases
Shaapit
Producer: ASA Productions and Enterprises Director: Vikram Bhatt Cast: Aditya Narayan, Shweta Agarwal, Rahul Dev, Subh Joshi, Murli Sharma Aditya Narayan, son of Udit Narayan, makes his debut in Bollywood along with the new girl on the block Shweta Agarwal in director Vikram Bhatt's horror flick. The director promises 'Shaapit' won't disappoint the viewers. The movie opens today at multiplexes in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Zirakpur. Viewers get ready to watch the dark because the dark has secrets. War for peace
Producer: Vivek Khatkar and J.S. Rana Director: Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan Cast: Farouque Sheikh, Nafisa Ali, Shardha Das, Sushant Singh, Shardha Nigam, Saurabh Shukla, Ashish Vidyarthi, Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Mukesh Rishi Lahore, the winner of Jury Award for the Best Feature Film, Best Aspiring Filmmaker, Best Actor and Best Picture and Best Director, will also see a release today at your nearest multiplexes. The movie has a baseline "Beyond borders, between nations lies a battle to end all wars". Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan has come up with a challenging film and is thrilled with the performances of lead stars. A different film which will surely go a long way in
Bollywood. |
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Garlanding, aarti, red vermillion mark, the Hawaiian style leaves and flowers… for the reception of guests, nothing quite beats the currency hoops right? Perhaps, Ms Mayawati will provide details of the great grand garlands! The incident has put the spotlight back on the tradition that is intrinsically steeped in symbolism.
Navratan thanda thanda cool cool, soft and silky Lux, Boost is the secret of my energy, Hide 'n' Seek biscuits, Wheel detergent, Boroline antiseptic cream… wondering, whether Amitabh uses a Navratan oil to reduce stress; are Kareena Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan having a morning bath with Lux soap, is Hrithik Roshan digging into Hide 'n' Seek choco biscuits when hungry, and is Prachi Desai using the nice, flower fragrance Wheel detergent for washing clothes.
Ask a four-year old or a 40-year old about their favourite cartoon characters…most likely the answer would be Tom and Jerry! So, on Thursday when the cat and mouse game turned 70, Cartoon Network's celebrations at the Taj-17 had to be crazy, funny and cute, just like the show we all have been addicted to. And, everyone was invited.
Shweta Agarwal, a well-known model and actor of Dekho Magar Pyar Se serial fame, is ready to sizzle once again on silver screen. Her first film Tandoori Love failed to give her much recognition and now she makes debut in Vikram Bhatt's romantic horror flick Shaapit opposite Sa Re Ga Ma fame Aditya Narayan (son of Udit Narayan). She is excited because this is her big launch into Bollywood with Vikram Bhatt's trilogy of horror movies after Raaz and 1920. Shaapit opens all over this Friday. She talks to Lifestyle:
