Exceptions can't be ruled out but observation suggests that there exists a correlation between age and success of artists. The older the artist, more the number of years of experience with canvas or stone, more the fame, both in and outside the art fraternity.

But on Tuesday afternoon, a sincere effort was made to break the norm of First come, first served. "Even if a young artist has a better vision of art than a veteran, the latter's experience would eclipse the talent of the youngster," says RM Singh, secretary, Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi. As part of the effort, 16 young artists from Punjab have been shortlisted for a two-week sculptors' workshop organised by the Akademi at the Punjab Kala Bhawan.

During these two weeks, these artists will make sculptures out of stones kept at the Kala Bhawan. "The intention is to make art lovers visit and see how stones are sculpted into various shapes. They will then realise the amount of hardwork that goes into creating any work of art," he adds.

Raw material, motive, theme - 'Punjab heritage' - were provided, and for inspiration someone special was invited - Nek Chand. And he did what he was called for, said a few inspirational words: "These artists are fortunate to get such a platform to display their work in front of the public. If Akademis stick to renowned artists only, who will give youngsters a chance?"

The artists discussed and debated the role they can play to promote art in the region. Sonika Mann, the only female participant in the workshop, aims to sculpt the stone that reflects the folk culture of Punjab. "That's all I have thought about right now. A quality sculptor doesn't break the stone as per a preset image, rather he or she should mould the idea as the stones break."

Sonika caught our intention because RM Singh introduced her as a snake charmer. As the founder member of Wildlife Conservation Society, an NGO, she has till date rescued more than 1,300 snakes. And she draws a parallel between both her passions: "One can be an artist only if he or she is sensitive towards people and other living beings around him."

The purpose of holding a workshop for young artists was justified when we met Gurpreet Dhuri from Dhuri. Coming from a very humble background, Gurpreet has no intentions to shift his base to a bigger city, where people are more aware of art, for he believes any worthwhile work of art will attract the audience anywhere. "Art cannot die inside a studio, it will eventually move out to people who realise its value. At times it also depends on the audience," he avers.

Amrit Singh, a sculptor and participant, feels the workshop is an initiative to boost the confidence of upcoming artists. Specially-abled Amrit from village Jhandemajra believes that he has not been affected much by his shortcoming as his talent lends him support. "Making sculptures makes up for the disability. In fact, I feel privileged to render shapes to stones that otherwise don't denote anything." Do we need to say more on how significant this workshop can be? ashima@tribunemail.com

A versatile playwright, poet, film and television actor, director and above all, a promoter of the cultural heritage of Punjab — Mangal Dhillon — fits into each role with equal ease. Raised in a sleepy village, Wander Jattan in Punjab, he carved a niche for himself in the world of theatre and cinema. 

The actor is credited with memorable roles in over 40 TV serials, religious Hindi and Punjabi classics, both in India and abroad. In the city on the invitation of Punjab Arts Council and Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi for staging his play Saavdhan, Theatre Wala Pagal Hai, in a new avatar as Chitraatak, Mangal Dhillon gets into a lively conversation.

What makes your play Chitraatak unique?

Going beyond the limitations of conventional theatre, I have employed the finer elements of theatre and dynamics of cinema to present the play on screen and the stage simultaneously. I have attempted to bring the soul of various characters face-to-face with the self in this 100-minute soul-searching monologue.

What fascinates you more — being a playwright, poet, film actor or a director?

All these are complimentary and contribute towards making me an artist. But I attribute my success to formal training in theatre from the Department of Indian Theatre, Panjab University.

What changes have you observed in the city theatre scene since the eighties when you staged Sandhya Chhaya?

From what I gather, there has been a tremendous change. There have been advancements on the technical front and infrastructure, but not on professional commitment and resolve. When I staged Sandhya Chhaya, each show was sold on tickets but with difficulty. In contrast, watching a ticketed theatre show in the West is a status symbol, which explains the secondary position of theatre and practitioners in our country.

Any suggestions to revive theatre movement in the region?

I have suggested and taken up the issue of introducing theatre as an optional subject in schools and colleges. Awareness about theatre will inspire students to imbibe its nuances, which will shape their personality even if they do not practice theatre.

(Catch Mangal Dhillon in his play Chitraatak at the Randhawa auditoriumon on June 5 at 6.30pm ) 

Shahid Kapoor is undoubtedly one of the best dancers in Bollywood and his aesthetically-inclined dad Pankaj Kapoor is reportedly putting together a specially-designed dance track in Mausam.

"We don't want to disappoint Shahid's target audience, the young fans. So yes, Shahid will dance after all," said the film's producer Sheetal Talwar.

A source added: "There was closed-door meeting between the producers, the director and Shahid. It was unanimously decided that there would be a very unique song-and-dance. It was felt that Mausam was too expensive a project to make it seem even slightly experimental in flavour."

Shahid's buddy Ahmed Khan is busy trying to accommodate the dance into his crammed diary.

According to a source very close to the project, Pankaj had initially planned an exclusive heavily melody-based music score based only on ragas for his 
directorial debut.

In fact, Pritam Chakraborty, who is doing the music score in Mausam, has just recorded a raga-based love melody in the voice of Rashid Khan.

"It was meant to be only a small music piece. But when Pankaj-ji heard the tune, he wanted it as a full-fledged song," he said.

He admits the music in Mausam would be heavily melodious in the tradition of the great love stories down the ages from Bobby to Love Story to Ek Duuje Ke Liye to Saawariya. — IANS

Sri Lanka is in a new era of peace after winning its long fought war against the Tamil Tigers, says actress Jacqueline Fernandez, elated that the IIFA Awards are being held in her home country this year and looking forward to playing the perfect host to her Bollywood colleagues.

"It's one of the biggest events Sri Lanka has seen to date. I have quite a few roles to play at the IIFA this year," Jacqueline told.

"This is just not any award function for me because I am a Sri Lankan and everyone from the film fraternity is actually coming to Sri Lanka; so for me it's like a chance to welcome the people who have welcomed me so warmly," added the actress, who made her Bollywood debut with Aladin.

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards are being held in Colombo June 3- 5 against a backdrop of massive protests from Tamils in India, who allege that members of the community continue to be discriminated in Sri Lanka and allege genocide against Sri Lankan Tamils during the war against the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).

Film associations from southern India have also decided to boycott any actor who participates in the IIFA event this year.

"It's sad, you know. It is a very critical moment for Sri Lanka. We are really hoping for support and cooperation from every one. We are in a new era. The war ended last year and we are trying to make our country as peaceful as possible to retain the peace. Some people want to ruin that. They should see the bigger picture and move on," said Jacqueline, a former Miss Sri Lanka.

She is quite familiar with the Hindi film industry. In 2009, she started her acting career with director Sujoy Gosh's fantasy film Aladin in which she teamed up with Bollywood megastar and IIFA brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan as well as Sanjay Dutt and Riteish Deshmukh. She also played the lead role in romantic comedy Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai.

Jacqueline will not only welcome Bollywood stars but will also participate in the fashion extravaganza at the event.

"I will be the showstopper for a local designer Yoland and will be walking the ramp for (Hindi film industry's most sought after designer) Manish Malhotra," Jacqueline told.

Talking about the outfits she will showcase, she said: "It's not traditional Sri Lankan outfit, it's more of fusion. She (Yoland) has designed lots of saris and kaftans. She makes a fusion of what she gets because she is very well-known international designer."

The 25-year-old will also perform at the main awards function, but not on any Bollywood numbers.

"Actually, this year it's going to be very different for me. I am not going to perform on any songs from my films. I am going to perform with a Sri Lankan dance troupe. Being a Sri Lankan, I want to do the opening numbers, I want to do the welcome number and want to perform with Sri Lankan dancers," said Jacqueline.

Jacqueline, however, won't participate in the charity cricket match to be played between Bollywood celebrities and Sri Lankan cricketers to help rehabilitate former Tamil Tiger child soldiers.

"I am only there to support. I will support (Sri Lanka cricket captain) Kumar Sangakkara. He is a buddy and I will support his team," she said.

— IANS

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan today lauded the civic body of Mandvi town in Gujarat for taking up the cause of promoting tourism.

"The normal job of a civic body is to provide basic amenities to the people. But Mandvi nagarpalika has done a remarkable job by promoting the cause of tourism by creating sand sculptures," he said.

Mandvi is a beach town in Kutch district.

The Bollywood icon, who is in Gujarat to shoot for commercial for Tourism Department, was speaking after visiting the sand sculptures of his and his poet-father Harivanshrai Bachchan created at the beach.

He congratulated sand artist Anil Kumar Joshi for creating the two huge sculptures. "They are wonderful and unique," the 68-year-old actor remarked.

Nagarpalika President Aniruddh Dave said the sculptures were a tribute to the megastar and his father in the golden jubilee year of Gujarat.

Bachchan clicked several photographs of the sand sculptures. 

Singer Gwen Stefani who launched her fashion line L.A.M.B in 2004 admits she has been obsessed with make-up since she was 10-year-old.

"I've always loved beauty. I was the girl who was like, 'Ask your mom if we can play with clothes or makeup,' And you know what? I'm doing the same thing now that I was doing when I was 10.”

"I have so much make-up - I'm not kidding. I'm the girl who would wear baggy jeans but didn't forget to put on tons of makeup.”— IANS 

Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz insists she's too busy focusing on her career to consider raising a family."You know how you have those moments of feeling dissatisfied and you think, 'What would make my life better?' Well, I've yet to go, 'A-ha, that's it: a child!' I'm not saying I don't want them, but right now I see how torn up parents get when they're away from their kids, how guilty they feel, and I don't want that! I don't want to feel like I ought to be missing someone, I don't want to not do a film at a moment's notice," she said.

However she isn't ruling out motherhood entirely, adding: "Don't get me wrong. I'm 100 per cent committed when I commit to somebody or something. I'm a full-on nurturer - that's all I do." — IANS

The Spice Girls are reportedly planning to regroup for the second time but without Victoria Beckham.Singers Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown and Melanie Chisholm met together to finalise plans for a new album, a DVD, merchandising and a new tour, however, they are apparently having a tough time convincing Victoria, who is reluctant to rejoin.

"The girls are so excited. They are buzzing about getting back together and each have so many new ideas and so much to bring to the table," said a source.

"They are desperate to get Posh on board, but that is the sticking point. Although she's still so nostalgic about the good old days, she has moved on now and is relishing the fashion world.

"They don't want to give up on her, but have so many plans. The way things are going they might have to go on without her if she doesn't come round soon," the source added.

— IANS

Hollywood actor Rupert Grint said he gets embarrassed while watching old Harry Potter movies because he can't stand seeing himself go through puberty on screen.The actor rose to fame as Ron Weasley in the wizarding franchise.

"It is weird I suppose. I've not known any different... it's the way I've grown up. You get used to it. It's weird - like having a big home movie. If the old films are on TV I'll glimpse slightly, but I've never watched one all the way through," he said.

The 21-year-old star admits he is concerned about being typecast by the series which is why he decided to take on a completely different role in his new comedy Wild Target.

He said: "I guess it was one of the reasons I did Wild Target because it was kind of a way out... Harry Potter is coming to an end, it's the last one, then it's all done. It's a weird feeling because we've been so long in this bubble and now we have to walk away from it all. It's important to do different things and stretch out." — IANS

The global surface temperature increased by 0.18 degree Celsius during the 100 years ending 2005. Does all the academic jargon really make a difference? Then why bother? As many as 1.25 billion people around the world don't have water… world water consumption is doubling every 20 years…shrug over statistics, stay put within the blinds, continue consuming water carelessly instead of conserving!

Parents should consider teen activity options when choosing where to live so that children can maintain a healthy weight, suggests a new study. The research has appeared in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Lead author Sandy Slater, a research assistant professor at the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said: "Active-living neighbourhoods are an essential part of reversing our nation's obesity epidemic. Young teens who can walk and bike safely near home and have access to physical activity settings are much more likely to be active and much less likely to be obese." The three-year study collected data from more than 12,000 students, with roughly a third each living in urban, suburban and rural neighbourhoods.

Environmental factors included the presence of parks and sports fields and whether teens could walk safely to reach such settings or just walk in general. Being able to walk or bike to a nearby teen-friendly destination, such as a community arts centre, a movie theatre or coffee shop can also matter.

Heather Wooten, a senior planning and policy associate with Planning for Healthy Places at Public Health Law and Policy, said: "These destinations themselves don't involve physical activity, but being able to safely walk or bike to them increases your ability to engage in moderate physical activity on a regular basis." While settings such as playgrounds appealed to younger children, said Slater, the study found they did not motivate teens. Bike paths were most likely to be associated with lower incidence of obesity.

Safety was also important. Slater said: "Perceptions of neighbourhood safety were one of the strongest predictors of physical activity. "If kids don't feel safe walking or biking in their neighbourhood then they're not likely to use outdoor physical-activity related settings or facilities." Wooten suggests that communities could reap some benefits from working with local teens in planning teen-specific recreational facilities.

She said: "They may find skate parks, community gardens, or bike trails are more teens' speed." When choosing a neighbourhood to live in, parents might want to look beyond whether their school has a fancy new sports field.

Wooten said: "They should also look at whether their teens can walk or bike to school, and whether they can walk or bike to nearby destinations - whether those destinations are parks or a YMCA or even the local library." — ANI

College students of the 1980s and '90s were more empathetic than present day counterparts, a new study claims. A University of Michigan study saw an analysis of data on empathy among as many as 14,000 college students over the last 30 years.

Sara Konrath, a researcher at the U-M Institute for Social Research, said: "We found the biggest drop in empathy after the year 2000. College kids today are about 40 percent lower in empathy than their counterparts of 20 or 30 years ago, as measured by standard tests of this personality trait."

Konrath conducted the meta-analysis; combining the results of 72 different studies of American college students conducted between 1979 and 2009, with U-M graduate student Edward O'Brien and undergraduate student Courtney Hsing.

Compared to college students of the late 1970s, the study found, college students today are less likely to agree with statements such as "I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective" and "I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me."

In a related but separate analysis, Konrath found that nationally representative samples of Americans see changes in other people's kindness and helpfulness over a similar time period.

"Many people see the current group of college students---sometimes called 'Generation Me'---as one of the most self-centred, narcissistic, competitive, confident and individualistic in recent history," said Konrath, who is also affiliated with the University of Rochester Department of Psychiatry. "It's not surprising that this growing emphasis on the self is accompanied by a corresponding devaluation of others," O'Brien said. The study was presented in Boston at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science. — ANI

The Confederation of Indian Industry's Young Indians (CII's Yi), Chandigarh Chapter, launched a "Go Green" campaign to spread awareness on environment conservation.

The involvement of youngsters is indeed a great method to spread the message across the society. The cycle rally, flagged off from the city on Tuesday, marked the launch of the week-long 'Go Green' campaign.

Says Navita Mahajan, chairperson, CII Young Indians Chandigarh Chapter, "The campaign is an effort to educate different sections of society on issues pertaining to the environment." To address the general apathy towards environment and to engage people in the process, the campaign has interesting features like streetplays, interactive quiz at public places, jingles on FM, mass SMSes and panel discussion on e-Waste, and live demo on rainwater harvesting at CII on June 5 on the World Environment Day.

"We have garnered the support of students from schools and colleges because we think that youngsters can bring about faster changes," says Arshinder Kaur, environment chair, Chandigarh. — TNS

It is only befitting that a surgeon's first book should be titled The Scalpel. And Dr HS Rissam pen has indeed moved like a scalpel to explore medical profession's underbelly to churn out a thriller. Goodness gracious, the noble profession of medicine and the grimy world of crime…wherein lay the meeting ground?

Dr Rissam, who was in the city for the promotion of his book The Scalpel: Game Beneath, avers, "We all have our special talents. Some can sing, a few can paint and others can write." As for a doctor writing fiction, he asserts that it isn't an oddity. "Remember, the world over doctors have written medical thrillers with aplomb and felicity."

The writer in Dr Rissam was lying dormant all this while for he feels, "There was this danger of not being taken seriously by either world -medicine and literature." So he decided to establish himself on a firm footing as a doctor before branching out to writing. Of course, the immediate provocation for this well-known interventional cardiologist and a Padma Shri recipient was a publisher's comment - 'In India there aren't any good thriller writers'.

The doctor took on the challenge underlying the unflattering remark. Thus came about a fictional account touching upon organ trade and medical tourism. How much of it is inspired by life, more so by his experience spanning over three decades? He quips, "Half of fact is fiction and half of fiction is fact."

Of course, the lead protagonist Nona Lal seems to be an almost utopian, fairyland character. With blue blood flowing in her veins she is a perfect combination of beauty and sharp acumen. Can she possibly exist? His answer is as idealistic, "Well she is a woman every father would love to have as a daughter, every woman would love to emulate and every man is searching for." Yes, she exists in bits and parts in several women he has met in his life.

Incidentally, it's not only Nona's character that has struck a chord. The book has been well received and reviews vary from "compulsory reading" to "engaging thriller" to "it has love, deceit, lies." Wonder of all wonders, the medical community whose many unpleasant secrets he seems to have laid bare has no qualms in accepting the book. He reasons, "See, contrary to what people may think, majority of us are good human beings who are mighty pleased when the wrongdoers are exposed. Same is true of the medical community, which has no problems with the black sheep of the profession being singled out." So, at many medical conferences now, he is asked to read excerpts from the book.

Books, by the way, have been Dr Rissam's friends right from childhood days. In Jammu as a 10-year-old he even got the library rules changed to allow him access to regular books and not just children's section. No doubt good books have influenced him, but he owes his writing dexterity as much to bad books that prompted him to write better. "Good writing" he rues, "Isn't so much appreciated by publishers who want books to be sexed up." With a glint of pride, he says, "But I stood my ground and even though my heroine is the most beautiful woman in the world, nowhere have I dwelt on her physical attributes."

Interestingly, Nona Lal shall re-emerge in his next book. You bet a sequel is in the offing! But before that he shall delight readers with a prequel. So, get set for the game before and after. Trust a doctor to go beyond the obvious symptoms. After all prognoses, diagnosis and treatment everything falls in the same line.

And only a few doctors like him possess the precision to stitch it all together to create an exposé that exposes as well as entertains!

nonika@tribunemail.com

Reliance Media World's radio arm, 92.7 BIG FM, organised a Free Health Check up camp on ‘World No Tobacco Day’ at Sector 56. World No Tobacco Day. The camp was organised for the residents of Palsora. The camp was organised in association with Fortis Hospital. Around 200 residents of the colony and around got themselves checked at the camp.

RJ Anubhav visited the colony along with the doctors and talked about the dangerous effects of tobacco. According to Siddharth Bhardwaj, vice president, North, 92.7 BIG FM, "We believe that youth is the strongest medium of spreading a message. When it comes to tobacco, youngsters are the soft targets hence we launched this drive on premises of an institution. The drive ensures to impact the lives of our listeners in the most affective and positive way." — TNS

As expected excitement and enthusiasm gripped all the 22 participants as melody ruled supreme at the Gurukul-S4 Trust Voice of Chandigarh-2010 semifinal contest held at Bal Bhawan- 23 here today. Notwithstanding the results, the participants mesmerised the audience with soulful, peppy Bollywood and folk songs in the semifinals of VOC-2010. The event was organised as part of the Sur with Taal--Talent Hunt-2010.

Chief guest Sanjay Kumar, finance secretary, UT Administration and CR Moudgil, director, HPSA and MR Chandla, station director, All India Radio, Chandigarh complimented the organisers for providing a platform to the 
budding singers.

Rinku Kalia, CEO of the Sur with Taal--Talent Hunt-2010 disclosed that four competitions- Voice of Chandigarh, Dancer of Chandigarh, Great Chandigarh Laughter Champion and Cultural Olympiad for Special Children were being organised in different phases to judge the aesthetic potential and versatility of the artistes. "The winners will perform at mega nite to be held as part of the birthday celebrations of the melody queen, Lata Mangeshkar on October 1st at the Tagore Theatre," added Manmohan Garg, CEO, Gurukul Vidyapeeth.

Besides Rinku Kalia, famous Punjabi folk Sufi singer Dolly Guleria and Varinder Bachan will be part of the jury who will shortlist the participants for the finals to be held in August.