Chandigarh is not a destination but a milestone.” No famous words these, only an observation of city-based artist Neenu Vij that succinctly sums up why the city has failed to emerge as an art nucleus, and why eminent artists like Prem Singh and Viren Tanwar are compelled to move bag and baggage to the nation’s capital, which they also perceive as the art capital.

Madan Lal, who holds regular exhibitions in Delhi and other metros, can easily empathise with those who have decided to bid adieu to the environs of City Beautiful. He quips, “No doubt Chandigarh has failed to emerge as an art hub.”

Diwan Manna, chairperson Chandigarh Lalit Kala Academy (CLKA), is not surprised as to why the city has failed to become a thriving art centre. In fact, he rattles off a host of reasons. He argues, “The city has no infrastructure support, no studios where artists, especially sculptors and print-makers, can work. Then there are no good curators who can curate a show and no art publications that could sustain interest.”

Similar thoughts are echoed by Brahm Prakash, former Principal, Government College of Art, Chandigarh. Although he cites personal reasons for moving out of the city where he spent close to three decades, he too feels that when students come out of the art college the city offers them little opportunity to work. In short, the city fares rather low on the artist friendly index.

Worse still, Diwan rues that there is no one single place like say Delhi’s Triveni Kala Sangam where one can have a bite, catch up on an exhibition and indulge in a tete-a-tete with art lovers. He questions, “Just tell me one place in the city where art connoisseurs can go. Museums all over the world are animated spaces, which have a souvenir shop, a bookshop and cafeteria. But the city administration has failed to realise the important link between food and culture.”

And to cap it all, the city, he bemoans has not become commercial when it comes to art. Put simply, it means ¾ people in the city would pay for anything and everything, but not for art. Nods Madan, “Here it is not even possible to recover the cost of colours and canvass.” Indeed, the city might have its fair share of wealthy individuals, but when it comes to buying art it draws a blank. At least the response towards buying art from artists of the city is tepid. So argues Neenu, who found effusive buyers at Gurgaon where she exhibited recently. Says Neenu, who has booked another show at Gurgaon, “The same can never be expected in the city.”

Prem Singh, former principal of Government College of Art, Chandigarh, who moved to New Delhi a few years ago, however, reasons that in Delhi too the sale is not automatically granted. “After all let us not forget that in Delhi the competition too is stiffer.” But what he likes in Delhi is the exposure and the constant buzz of art activities. Since art for him is all about a means of striking a relationship with others, he strongly believes that Delhi is the place for art and artists.

But can City Beautiful too become one such place whose heart would throb for art? He nods that indeed the place has the potential and the local academy can play a key role. While he appreciates the efforts pitched in by the CLKA in spreading art awareness by organising lectures of celebrated artists of the country, he is of the opinion that the process is one way. “It is significant to expose the city to art from outside. But it is equally important to project city’s artists at a national platform. Unless that happens, Chandigarh will remain a cocooned and its artists will have no way of assessing themselves on the national barometer, except by constantly knocking the doors outside on their own dint,” he says. An effort, opines Madan, weighs one down so much so that often enough he has contemplated shifting out of the city.

So, on the surface the city with its open spaces and artistic ambience might appear an idyllic haven for the artistic brethren, to really become the perfect place for the artist fraternity, city folks from all sections, not just government machinery, insists Diwan, will have to own up responsibility. Till then, each to his own space! 

After Bong Connection, model-turned actor Shayan Munshi now wants to dig his roots deeper into the crossover Hindi and Bengali films.Before Bong Connection by Anjan Dutt happened, Shayan did small roles in masala flicks like Ahista Ahista and Home Delivery.

“I can no longer connect with the masala flicks. My preferences will now be for the new breed of intelligent directors like Vishal Bharadwaj, Imtiaz Ali, Aniruddha Roy Choudhury, Onir or Anjan Dutt,” Munshi, who made his debut in Sujoy Ghosh’s Jhankar Beats in 2003, said.Shayan said the roles in Jhankar Beats and in My Brother Nikhil were small, but important. He wanted more such exciting roles in future like the ones he was getting in the new age Bengali films.

Coming to his much-discussed role in Ekti Tarar Khonje (Stars never sleep) by three-time National Award-winning cinematographer Abhik Mukhopadhyay, Shayan said unlike the role of US-returned Andy in Bong Connection, in ETK his role of Abhishek was more down to earth. “To fit into the role of an orphaned mufassil boy of a humble background who having moved to the big city dreamt of becoming an actor, I lived in similar surroundings for close to a month to perfect the body language,” Shayan said. — PTI

Hollywood actor Kate Winslet and her director husband Sam Mendes are heading for a romantic break in an attempt to save their marriage.In March, they announced their seven-year marriage had come to an end.

Just weeks after the split, however, both stepped out together for a family day with their son Joe and Mia Honey, Winslet’s nine-year-old daughter from her ex-husband Jim Threapleton.

They are planning to take time out of the spotlight to head to their manor in Gloucestershire, England to work on their relationship in the hope they can find ‘the spark’ in their romance again.

“Sam hasn’t any film commitments at the moment, so they are going to stay at the house with the children this summer and see if they can reignite their spark,” said a source.“Sam has always been able to walk away from girlfriends before, but now there are children involved. He wants to see if he can work it out with Kate,” the source added. — IANS

Hollywood actor Robert Pattinson admits that he wants to keep working as much as he can because he still remembers when he had no offers.

The Twilight star hopes to continue his intense shooting schedule for the foreseeable future. “I just want to work as much as I am now. I like working all the time because I spent so many years before Twilight just doing stuff for two or three months of the year. The rest of the time I’d do nothing, or I’d just have tiny little jobs,” contactmusic.com quoted him as saying.

While the 24-year-old hunk loves working, he hopes the “craziness” of his newfound fame will die down in the future.

He explained: “I find periods to escape from it and places to get away to as much as possible. I try and tell myself that it’s just a job and that all this craziness won’t last forever.” —IANS

A representative for Nicolas Cage has denied reports that the actor fought with another guest at a bar in Manhattan.

It was reported that the Ghost Rider star was involved in a fight following the New York premiere of his new film The Sorcerer’s Apprentice at Rose Bar in Manhattan, where he was celebrating the release of the movie with his friends. “It was a miscommunication with an acquaintance which was quickly resolved and did not involve a physical altercation,” said the representative. —IANS

Hollywood actor Drew Barrymore used to work in a coffee shop, despite rising to fame aged six with the movie ET the Extra-Terrestrial. The actor admits she had a host of normal jobs when she was a child and used her movie knowledge to her advantage after failing as a waitress.

“I’ve been acting since I was 11-months old but I have had normal jobs too. I worked at a coffee house and I was terrible. And I mean, really terrible. My boss just hated me. I could see the resentment in his eyes every day. I was 14,” she said. Barrymore also tried her hand in a retail store selling music and films.The 35-year-old loved her time there because she was able to talk about her industry all day long.

“I also worked at a Music Plus store. I rocked at that job because I love movies. Anyone would come in and have just a vague idea of anything and I was like ‘I got it! I’m on it!’ I loved that job,” she said. —IANS

She looks glamorous even at the age of 42 and former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson has said she doesn’t use botox to keep looking young.Unlike many Hollywood stars, the blonde bombshell is against undergoing any artificial treatment in order to look good. “I haven’t done botox. I don’t like all that facial stuff.

It scares me. You see these people who have had it, and they all look the same,” said Anderson.“I just don’t think I should go that way, especially at 43. I think I should just age. I’ve never been the prettiest person, and I don’t feel I need to chase youth,” she added.

The mother-of-two is also against travelling with too much luggage while she is on tour.“There are two things about me that always shocks people: I’m always on time and I can take 40 outfits in one bag,” she said. — PTI

Sheer opulence is exuded from each corner of Sunny and Nirmal Sandhu’s house, which sprawls across five kanals in Sector 10. The house is young and contemporary with Spanish influence.

Unique slate stacked pillars at the gate, kind of prepare you for what is inside. A wooden deck over the water among the green lawns makes for the front of the house. A huge porch covered in textured wooden ceiling takes one through the grand Spanish antique-look door. The formal living area flows into informal and merges into the dining. It opens to the wooden deck on water and greenery.

The walls are almost all glass, admirably adorned with sheers and heavy curtains. “That is to give the house a cohesive look where the outdoors merge into the indoors and there are no doors in between,” says Rajeev Mahajan, architect of this delightful house.

The ground floor has a study, a home theatre and a guest bedroom. One gets the full view of the pool at the rear yard complete with a health club, including a massage corner, sauna and a shower cubicle. The poolside has a grand fireplace with beautiful lighting.

From the centre of the double height lobby, magnificent stairs in marble, wood and glass take you up to the first floor (you can also take the elevator if your wish). This area has an amazing triangular shaped ceiling in wood.

The first floor houses a puja room and Sunny and Nirmal’s kids — Sahiba, Himmat, Vir and Nayantara’s bedroom along with a master bedroom, which is a grand suite with beautifully carved wooden ceiling. While one side has a contemporary restroom, the other has a vintage one in white and silver with mirrors as wide as 8 x 8 and huge walk in closets.

“The house is contemporary and a fusion of different elements,” says Rajeev Mahajan. “The use of lots of wood makes it rich, warm and welcoming,” he adds. “In fact, all scrap wood has been sawn into small pieces and makes up for striking textured ceiling,” he reveals. mona@tribunemail.com

Yet another attempt at taming the population! The students of Dikshant International School staged a nukkad natak, Sacch Ka Saamna, based on the issue of population control.

The play was directed by Yaveesh Kashyap, Vanshika Bansal and Rishabh, class X students of the school, to spread the message of population control and the importance of family planning at Sector-17 Chandigarh, to celebrate World Population Day. The students were trained for almost a week.

The story revolves around a reporter, played by Rishabh Garg, who invites, Yogesh Sharma, the minister for Health and Planning to the studio for an interview, during which the minister talks about the measures taken by his government for population control. A clip is shown by him of a family having 2 children, which is living happily. The reporter then, shows the clip of a stressed family having 5 children, with the father not able to provide for the needs of the family.

The street play spreads the message of how lack of family planning can lead to a disaster. The play also emphasises on how the growing population has an effect on our available resources and which if unchecked would lead to a disaster and how to avoid the same. The play narrates the various methods of family planning and population control in a very simple language through acts of comedy, songs and entertainment, which a common man would easily understand.

"I am very happy that, the students who have been trained for the past three years held a week long workshop for the fellow students on acting, story writing and scene and script writing, the children benefited foremost on confidence, thinking skills, observation, imagination were also developed and which leads to sharpening of the gateway of senses," said, Mitul Dikshit, director. — TNS

The first round of Mallika-e-Kitchen Cooking Contest 2010 - a unique initiative to promote the spirit of healthy cooking in the country at Hotel Southend, Sector-35, Chandigarh began on Monday. Vineet Chopra, Chef-Shivalik View was present to judge the participants. Around 17 participants from the city pursued the first round of the contest.

The participants brought their microwave cooked dishes along with the recipes. On predefined parameters, each recipe was scrutinized closely by the panel of judges. Shabhnam and Manisha qualified for the regional level. The winners will be taken to the second round at the 9 regional centres that are Maharashtra and Goa, Gujrat, MP and Chatisgarh, Delhi and Rajasthan, UP and Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu and Kerela, Andhra Pradesh andKarnataka, Punjab and Haryana.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajiv Jain, Business Head, Home Appliances, LG Electronics India said, "I am delighted to be a part of the Mallika-E-Kitchen contest. The response in the city has been tremendous. Mallika-e-Kitchen is an endeavor to showcase our commitment towards the Indian consumer by promoting the spirit of healthy cooking. We will continue our efforts in future as well."

Mallika-E-Kitchen, an endeavour of LG Electronics India, is a Three Stage cooking contest, which will be organised nationwide over a period of three months. The contest will be organised in around 100 cities starting from July till mid September. —TNS

Sometime back, photographs of 'sadhus' at Kumbh Mela talking on mobile phone or a rickshaw-puller calling up someone with a sleek mobile would have made front-page news.

They still make news for other reasons, of course, but those were pictures that would turn on a tornado of thoughts - Something positive is happening to the per capita income? Who says there is no equality in India; poor are poorer and the rich are even richer?

Do we know the answer lies in 'affordability'? Hail technology, hail the umpteen mobile companies; the communication device has spread its wings across the length, breadth and just about every dimension of the country. Now, if you see your housemaid carrying a sleek touch screen phone, don't be startled - it's all about affordability.

The Indian telecom story is built on the affordability plank - from the days of unleashing of the 'Calling Party Pays', to bundling of SIM card with mobile handsets for just Rs 500, to unveiling of the 'affordable lifetime connection' plans.

Mobile phones starting as low as Rs 200-300 (Ping Mobiles) to Rs 499 for Spice mobiles, to as high as Rs 4.5 lakh for Nokia Vertu point towards the wide frame of affordability. With every second company (phones by Videocon did come as a surprise) and even designers like Gucci launching their own mobile phones, buying one is a child's play.

Adds Kunal Behl, CEO, Jasper Infotech, "The expanding price points of mobile phones are a good trend. However, the more interesting trend is how feature rich phones are becoming more cost effective and durable at the same time. A data enabled phone can be purchased for as little as Rs.800 now, which was a feature restricted only to higher end smart phones that would run in the Rs.15,000 plus range."

"Look at the number of companies that are launching mobile phones every second month and that too at very convenient prices," says Sandeep Dogra from Definedweb, Industrial Area, Mohali. "Alcatel, Micromax, Lemon, Virgin, Videocon, Intex are some of the new entrants that have come up with smart, fully-loaded phones at reasonable rates.

However, they have played smart here - the new mobile companies have somewhere created replicas of the popular models adding just a dash of style, which is important to the buyers these days."

According to Naveen Mishra, telecom analyst, IDC India, "The need to communicate is uppermost and virtually covers the entire spectrum of users. The need to communicate cuts across both segments of the market - urban as well as rural. When a marginal farmer uses mobile to find out the prices of commodities in the neighbouring mandi, or a small town plumber sees a mobile phone as an aid to getting more customers, or a student uses a phone to clarify doubts from her teacher, the segments begin to overlap."

Nokia sells its N900 Black for Rs 25,499, Motorola gives Milestone Android for Rs 26,315 and on the other hand, Alcatel Qwerty, gives ICE3 features like social networking and messaging for Rs 7,000. Similarly, Micromax C2i, a CDMA mobile phone with loads of features, falls into the comfortable price range category. Now, is this growing range in affordability helping mobile buyers in any way or is it just confusing them even more?

Puts in Debadutta Upadhyaya, VP-India, Vdopia, "As the 3G becomes readily available to masses, telecom operators will come up with innovations and data plans that will revolutionise the mobile VAS market in India. The mobile ad market proportionate to the mobile content usage is expected to grow by over 700-800 percent y-o-y. iVdopia is leading the way in creating new and innovative ad formats for smart mobile devices."

Within the 'affordability plank' mantra the segments are beginning to blur as well. The first time mobile service user typically starts with a lower cost option and doesn't care much about the brand. And the rate of growth of mobile users is faster at the bottom of the price-sensitive market.

As per Naveen Mishra, "The young target segment for Indian brands comprises students, young executives and business executives or businessmen who look for differentiated and innovative product offerings at affordable levels for each of these segments, which is leading to a rise of 'Indian' brands."

In addition, exciting features, coming of new 3G technology and the over-dependence on mobile phones are some of the factors that initiated mobile phone companies into launching new phones almost every month. All this has definitely expanded the affordability range. Sums up Naveen Mishra, "The telecom revolution in India unleashed 15 years ago is a story of innovation. Lage Raho India!"

jasmine@tribunemail.com

Music knows no boundaries, but music systems do. And in times when music is all around us - from our living room to car to the cell phone - one longs for bigger speakers that could be connected to iPods or any other device when one is outdoors.

In such a situation, instead of moving the whole unit outdoors or even only the speakers, one wants to invest in some device that could resist the vagaries of weather. And outdoor speakers are specifically designed for the purpose, as most of these models are weather resistant.

Outdoor speakers allow you to move your music system to your garden or terrace and play your favourite tunes anywhere, anytime.

Many of the speakers are designed to look like they belong to the outdoors. For instance, some of the speakers are made to look like garden rocks and lanterns. These are ideal for parties, barbecues and any other outdoor event. But even though they're designed for outdoor use, you should still take good care of these speakers and keep them in a dry area. Ideally, these speakers should be placed in a cabinet or on a shelf. Wherever you decide to place it, just make it sure there is enough space for your amplifier so that it is not overheated.

Planning the wires is also very important. Make sure that the wiring from the speakers to the amplifier is direct. Try to keep the length as short as possible. This keeps the strain off your amplifier and prolongs its life. If you have a big slab of concrete between your speakers and amplifier, run the wiring around it rather than punching a hole through the concrete. It is always best to hide the wires.

Now to the connections, clip and attach the wires as described by your amplifier manufacturer. Be sure to keep your polarity correct when hooking up to your outdoor speakers. Most speaker wires are marked with a stripe or colour to help you, so utilise them. You also will want to make sure that you are not putting extra load on the amplifier by putting too many sets of speakers on one line. Oxygen-free wires are the best and if possible ask for a heat sleeve from the electronics supplier; then cover the wire with it and attach your wire for no signal loss. This will, of course, be expensive. Otherwise, normal wires can also do a good job. amitpalsinghgrewal@gmail.com

Simply plug your iPod/iPhone (or any other video spewing device, including BlackBerry) into this rechargeable bar of technology and your movies and pictures are projected across an area of up to 70" on any flat surface - walls, screens … anywhere. The MiLi features a ground-breaking LED-driven micro-projector capable of displaying 640x480 VGA images. Think of it as a pocket-sized movie theatre; it's even got a built-in stereo speaker and an AV slot so that you can replicate thunderous cinematic audio via external speakers. 

India's biggest online gaming tournament, Gillette Mach 3 India Gaming Championship 2010, announced the city winners in Chandigarh on Friday The city finals were a huge success and received an over-whelming response from gamers across the county. The city finals were held at Zapak Gameplex in Sector 36 D.

The gaming championship started with a bang. This tournament, live across 34 cities in the country, has received a phenomenal response this year with over 1.9 million registrations. Chandigarh has received a phenomenal response with over 93 thousand gamers registering for the tournament.

The main aim of the tournament is to bring out the confidence and winning spirit in everyone. The Championship rapidly gained popularity amongst gamers. The tournament proved to be the biggest gaming tournament ever as it witnessed 1.5 million registrations in just 3 weeks. The championship 2010 is based on the idea "be a winner, change your world". The lucky winners are entitled to receive prizes worth Rs. 1.5 crores. Some of the world's most popular games are being played in the Championship. The gamers are competing for casual games are indulging in games like Tennis, Racing et al and the hardcore gamers are competing on games like Counter Strike, DOTA etc. — TNS

SkodaAuto India initiates a month long 'Fabia Float Campaign' covering the interiors of Punjab . The float displaying Skoda Fabia; a test drive car traversing through places like Patiala , Bhatinda, Jalandhar, Amritsar and covering various other places in the state of Punjab.

Skoda Fabia offers our customers a huge passenger and cargo space designed with premium looks. It is an ensemble of comfort and space, no less than a luxury car. It is also easy to drive and park in the most congested areas. For the first time the customers in the interiors of Punjab can experience the Fabia with a test-drive in their very own streets. The 'Fabia Float Campaign' makes the Skoda Fabia freely available for customers throughout Punjab for a test drive. It gives all its potential customers a chance not only to get a peek but also experience a ride in the Skoda Fabia. — TNS