With the entry of the 13th star sign Ophiuchus into the zodiac system, a big debate has been set into motion

Ophiuchus has set the debate rolling, especially on Facebook and Twitter where the discussion on the new sun sign fails to die. There are a million stories on the web about the changed sun sign—cause and effect, why, what and how of it; apparently it has nothing to do with our Vedic astrology. But the dramatic entry of Ophiuchus between Scorpio and Sagittarius has upset many people who take astrology seriously. The insertion of the 13th number in astrology may bring in the doomsday predictions of 2012 nearer to belief, but what most people are upset about is that their zodiac sign has suddenly changed! We check out and get the details.

Star power

"The presence of Ophiuchus cannot be denied, but 12 signs will not change," says city-based astrologer PK Khurrana. Informing that the star has been present since a long time, he says, "I have been practicing Ophiuchus since 1995 and the addition of this star makes no changes in the exciting number of zodiac signs. The new sign will cover only those born between November 29 and December 17. They will have a distinguished personality, have traits of honesty, will be intellectual, sexually magnetic, prone to change and jealous. But they must keep in mind that they will have a fear in mind, a kind of phobia of going into extremes. People born on November 29, December 7, 4, 2, 10 and 11, will be under the influence of Ophiuchus and will be scared of lizards, water and even their own success." Ask him will the addition of 13th number bring some ill-luck and he says, "First of all there is no addition. And if still we say there is an addition, it is not the 13th star but the 9th sign. Pisces will be the 13th sign and it already exists in the zodiac."

For astrologer Himanshu Shangari from Sector 39, "This is more of an astronomic then astrologic change. In astronomy whatever is visible is astrology, but according to Vedic astrology what's not visible is also taken into consideration. For example, we also consider Rahu and Ketu, though they are shadow planets. Our Vedic astrology is a science beyond astronomy. Humare yahan jo dikta nahi hai who bhi sach hai."

Earlier known as Serpentarius, Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations proposed by Ptolemy in the second century and have come into limelight, courtesy Parke Kunkle of the Minnesota Planetarium Society.

Says astrologer Prem Kumar Sharma, "The basic logic is that the heavens will always be divided into 12 divisions to have 30 degrees of each sign and 27 nakshtras, no matter how many times the polar axis shifts. The 13th planet was discovered many years ago, but our Vedas are very clear on this aspect. The rishis were aware that there are actually many more planets, and also Suns and Moons, but the complete set of planets that actually influence the life and destiny of the Earth are only nine, including Sun, Moon and Rahu/Ketu."

Sign me in

Having triggered, 'what's my new sun sign debate', people are actually in two minds. Says Preeti Dhillon, homemaker from Phase VII, Mohali, "I got to know about this new sun sign from Facebook and it is actually difficult to adjust to the very thought. Though my zodiac sign remains the same, there is an anxiety about this new sign."

Taken from the Greek word for serpent-bearer, Ophiuchus, is portrayed by a half-legged man with a stick and grasping a snake. Says writer and cardiologist Dr Jaideep Singh Chadha, "We have been living in farce for so long. We never believed in sun signs anyway. They have been a party material; if you have nothing to talk about you talk about sun-signs. They have no significance in my life so they can go on looking for more stars and make life astrologically complicated."

HaviKoro, a group of street dancers who grew up on the streets of Houston, are in the city for a performance

Sometimes nothing seems right - this isn't the world you applied the license for, the job is taking out every ounce of happiness from your schedule, the traffic isn't getting any better, your folks do not make sense, there is always less money…blah blah!

Okay, good enough reasons to make you climb up the highest floor of a building and wonder if a free fall would do any good! But hang your boots for a little while, as we spin a story about a group of boys who faced grave difficulties, who turned around to tell the world, 'well, if we can make it, why can't you.'

The story begins with this group called HaviKoro, a group of street dancers who grew up on the streets of Houston witnessing problems at every nook and corner - gang-wars, drugs, broken families, poverty.

This group of six - Mario Jaramillo, Marlon Efren Perla Lizama, Nathan Rene Cano, Chris Thomas, Joe Manuel Belamarez and Steven Cantor - is set to perform in the city on January 19 to celebrate the 6th anniversary of American Corner in Chandigarh, organised by the US Embassy, New Delhi.

What makes these individual street dancers in the HaviKoro group different from the funky, jazzy, spiked hair students watching them teach steps in hip-hop is their passion of dance. "This is what gave us salvation," says Mario Jaramillo, 34, group leader. "We have toured almost 30 countries, telling people that we also grew up in the same environment marred by various problems. But we decided to stick to our talent, which is dance and it made all the difference." Indeed it did, still does for the group, which originally existed as two groups Havi and Koro. Mario quickly explains, "These two groups would be in competition against each other. Then they merged, making it the best in Texas."

This Houston-based group known for acrobatic, hip- hop dance style has performed in dozens of countries from Azerbaijan to Vietnam as ambassadors representing the unique contribution of hip-hop to American culture. Do we know enough about street dance? "Well, street dance was originally known as social dance, which meant dancing with friends at parties. Then came in the element of competition brining in the new style that we follow—called 'organised freestyle sequence,' he explains.

Of the rich dance forms that we know, this one has an uncanny association with the streets. It has been born and brought up there. Mario doesn't contest this piece of information. "Street dance emerged out of poverty, dancers didn't have any money, equipment. They didn't go to any dancing schools, what they had was pure passion, passion to beat the odds with jerks in dance," he smiles, looking at his team members for approval. They nod back in affirmation.

Street dance, open spaces, a move here, a jerk there, a hand slides here; the knee knocks down there. It is interesting, groovy and freestyle. We see one of team member share the moves at the workshop at The Lobby, Sector-26. Does this remind us of something! Well, all dances look the same. Don't they? "Thanks to Youtube. Today, street dance groups don't have to prove themselves on the street. All it takes is posting a video on the Youtube, follow the step, practice and there you are, a break-dancer! This is why every single dance looks the same. But HaviKoro is all about originality," the group leader wants us to realise what it means surviving for 20-odd years. "We do incorporate new steps of and on, which are choreographed, but nothing at all takes away the original element. This is how we survive, live and breathe-through dance," Mario looks one more time towards rest of his members. This time it is thumbs up from the group. Do you think, the little story inspires you to beat the odds of life! If the Havikoro's can, why can't you? jasmine@tribunemail.com

The ongoing exhibition Paintings and Sculptures draws from various aspects of daily living

The 48 works revealed infinite takes on life; there’s nature, there’s human nature and some are untitled, open to interpretation. The ongoing exhibition ‘Paintings and Sculptures’ by various artists draws from an assortment of influences and thought processes.

John Philipose’s works throw various hues that merge into each other; colours forming abstract shapes. There’s blue, green and violet giving way to each other; red and black drawn out in stark contrasts. Veena Karki’s idea is of women sitting pretty, drawing a picture of poise and beauty. There’s also a woman against tulips, yet another painted with bows and arrows, while yet another paints the stark realities of life - a woman far away from the earth balanced on a logwood. Says Him Rajni, “This woman is so sure and secure. I tried to show that you could be far away from earth, anywhere, and still be safe.” There’s also a group of women looking up together at unending towering structure. She adds, “Even a simple life throws up so many questions and many times we are clueless.”

Moving on to the colourful eclectic faces resembling the ones found on playing cards or Rashmi Nanda’s pair of birds, symbolising togetherness in each of the frames.

Photos: Pradeep Tewari

Then the signature Bheem Malhotra canvases - water on colours depicting the magic of clouds, mountains, trees, snow and a lake. There’s one titled ‘Shimla by Night, Hills Scape’, yet another shows monsoon mood in rural area and a foggy morning.

The sculptures stood apart. Each had an inspiration and an anecdote to go along with it. There’s a table and sitting statues holding a book. Shares SC Ahuja, artist from Delhi, “In this one, I tried to show when a poor villager comes to the court to get justice, how he is literally looted by the lawyers who charge hefty fees. They just empty him.” Yet another shows a man pulling another man. He adds, “I tried bringing the stark contrast between haves and have-nots. Invariably in any civilisation, one is the dominator the other dominated.” Yet another sculpture by Gurucharan Singh shows a man flying the kite.

— Manpriya Khurana

On at the Museum of Fine Arts, Panjab University, till January 22

Harleen Bedi and Jaspal Singh’s home has an enviable collection of artefacts from across the world.

India has a rich and diverse tradition of handicrafts, and this is what Harleen Bedi and Jaspal Singh’s home in phase VII, Mohali, showcases. Collected from travels all over the country and, sourced from abroad, their two-bedroom apartment has an enviable collection of the best crafts from almost each state of India, right from the entrance where Harleen has put two unique bells, one from Kerala in wood and another from Gujarat in metal. A flowerpot in jute from Mizoram ushers one in.

Each and every part of the house, including the kitchen, has artistic pieces jostling with each other for attention. A large living room reverberates with colour. It’s the mother of pearl chandelier that’s the showstopper here. It also acts as a demarcation between the sitting and the dining area.

Rajasthan’s jali work on marble, gold leaf painting from Tanjore, a print of ‘A Relaxing Evening in Paris’ by Mario De Miranda are placed side by side. A hand-painted peacock feather frames a mirror.

The table holds corals from Kanyakumari, card player statue from Italy and a camel bone pot from Jodhpur. A painting ‘Mother and I’, especially commissioned by Harleen, that has half of the face as young and another half as mature, is close to her heart. “I lost my mum when I was young. This painting has a mother and daughter scripting the story of life together,” she says.

There is lot of Goan art spread across the home. “My husband was posted in Goa for long. I have spent some really good time there and picked up pieces with much love that reflect their amazing culture,” says Harleen. So one has a replica of a typical Goan house and the famous Basilica of Bom Jesus made by Portuguese artistes, in addition to angels from Goa and four different views of Goan life painted by Mario De Miranda. A coconut water jug that keeps water cool acts as the flower vase, while a fenny bottle sits pretty on the dining table.

A bamboo root shaped up as an old man’s serene face from Assam, mashals from Gujarat, windmills in bone china all the way from Holland, tapestry from Afghanistan — the list of artefacts that adorn this place is almost endless.

One special corner is Japanese. This has figures of old Japanese couples that also act as small money banks. A corner dedicated to crystals has vibrant flowers pieces from Czechoslovakia. And it’s the plates that Harleen is particularly proud of. She has a fine collection from Rajasthan, Pakistan and Macau. Some of the plates used in Portugal to serve pizza adorn the wall.

The family’s bedroom has a mirror in wooden frame in the shape of a fish. It has paintings from art college students from Chandigarh as well Goa. An antique table in wood and brass becomes the TV trolley.

“I pick anything that touches my heart. This horse painting has been done by a young boy who has no hands; he painted with his feet,” says Harleen. “My nieces and students, (she is assistant director, Higher Education, Punjab) often gift me their creations and I make sure to find a place for each of them in my already brimming house,” she says.

The brother-sister duo of Priyadarshani Mishra and Gagan Mishra has carved a niche for themselves as proponents of children theatre at the national level. Besides holding workshops in theatre, mainly for students, the Jaipur-based duo has emerged as the pioneers of ‘theatre in education’.

While Gagan Mishra (30) is an NSD alumnus with scores of gold medals, his younger sister Priydarshani Mishra holds a post-graduate degree in theatre arts. She has acted, directed, written plays and columns, worked as backstage artiste in 83 productions, besides having done roles in telefilms such as Mein jeeti, Saza-ae–Yafta and anchoring big shows.

In the city for staging their play Triyatra at TFT national theatre festival, they share their views.

“Initially, I opted for theatre as it was a scoring subject, but later I found it so interesting that I took it up full time. After winning a gold medal at the university level, I joined brother Gagan’s Curio Art Performing Society,” says Priyadarshani.

“To survive and grow, theatre has to be close to the pulse of the people. We have tried to involve students in this endeavour. Working with them is a rewarding experience as you can learn a lot,” says Gagan Mishra.

Their efforts bore fruits and most of the educational institutions introduced theatre as a subject. “Our concept of ‘theatre in education’ has been widely appreciated. In 2009, a batch of six female artistes from the Central School of Speech and Drama, London University, had a month long training at our institute,” adds Gagan Mishra.

Managing youngsters is quite a task for traffic cops. And they have loads of interesting stories to share. Read on...

It's a very 'Tom and Jerry' relationship; the Tom stands for traffic police and the Jerry for "a gang of young school boys who got caught riding triple."

One is after the other, the other going round and rounds in circles till of course they are caught. As mutual as it gets, because "You can run, you can hide but you can't escape my love." The men in the white uniform, often branded as villains for handing out that ticket, share a couple of interesting notes from their diaries.

"You wouldn't believe, instead of girls sometimes boys wrap a cloth around their faces so that we aren't able to recognise or catch them," traffic martial with the Chandigarh police for eight years now, Gurnaam Singh, recalls some of the 300-odd challans he's cut.

@Fall sick, be unaware, not know the way or not know the rules, be from outside the city, have ill parents to take care of… the young brigade will do anything to escape getting hauled! He adds, "We generally put up centres around schools and coaching centres early in the morning and we get to hear all sorts of excuses from traffic offenders. Right from girls who'll say they are staying in paying guest accommodations and have all sorts of problems. And then there are boys on bullets who just wouldn't stop."

You wouldn't believe, instead of girls, sometimes boys wrap a cloth around their faces so that we are not able to recognise or catch them.— Gurnaam Singh, traffic martial

The list of what needs to be done runs as long as the excuses itself. Shares Gurnaam Singh, "You wouldn't believe we've caught kids as young as twelve or thirteen year old driving. She simply left her vehicle with us. Among the many measures we can take, one is parents should be held strictly responsible for under-age driving. They should be called immediately." Once again, is anybody listening?

There is an echo. "On getting caught, they all act as if there's no one as innocent as them. They put up such a naïve face," laughs Kishori Lal, head constable. And then there are all sorts of excuses to be put up with. "They do try their luck, give all possible excuses that they remember at that moment." Spontaneous skills don't really work. Haven't the ones on the wrong side of law often testified?

Not everyone tries the wide-eyed look; there are some who'd rather throw their weight around. The rowdy ones are not far behind. Shares one officer, "There was this one boy, apparently the son of a sitting minister. They generally try to hand over the phone asking us to talk to one of their parents."

Moving on, when the first thing the officer does is ask for the license, there's no way you can escape; even from the wrong side. Does that bring us to one of the most common offences? Shares Gurnaam Singh, "Jumping red lights is one of the most common offences that youngsters make. Then there are boys who'll take a wrong turn or make a wrong entry just to escape getting caught."

There's yet another echo. Nods Kishori Lal, "The youngsters drive without a helmet and another most common law they break is driving on the wrong side." And do the tried and tested excuses ever work? He adds, "No, not at all. We never let them off." Is anybody listening?

manpriya@tribunemail.com

Try to think of your school days when you had to make science models. Wasn't it a scary phase of your life? But what if you are told that making those models will be a piece of cake now?

Iken Scientifica, a company started by three IIT pass-outs, has done precisely that, by coming up with concepts that will make science every child's play!

Says Shikha Sood, Business Partner, "Our vision is to make children enjoy science. We want them to learn beyond books. We want to change the perception of students towards science with a more logical and interesting outlook."

The company is holding workshops for classes 4-8 in various city schools. The students will be asked to make models ranging from simple cars and robots, to complex hydraulic car-lifting machine. "The models are related to the NCERT syllabus and will make their students' base stronger. They will also be learning how to make judicious use of money, as students will be making models from Kens - the virtual money provided by us," she adds.

And that's not all. "We have come up with History textbooks in the form of comics to make the concepts more appealing," says Shikha. Akbar will now be seen in the form of a comic character; revolutionaries from the freedom struggle will be seen fighting! "History has always been a very boring subject, but in the form of comics it will be interesting for students," she says.

Shikha adds, "Our purpose is not to sell these things at the local level. We want to make it a part of school curriculum and provide 'edutainment' to the students, so that learning can be fun not a burden."

A research has dispelled the myth that beautiful blondes and handsome men are not very bright. Studies conducted by the London School of Economics (LSE) have found that they possess greater intelligence and have IQs 14 points above average. The children of these couples will tend to inherit both qualities of looks and brains, building a genetic link over successive generations between them, according to the journal Intelligence.

"Physical attractiveness is significantly positively associated with general intelligence, both with and without controls for social class, body size and health," said a report quoting the LSE researcher Satoshi Kanazawa in a publication. In other research on social standing, he found that middle-class girls tended to have higher IQs than their working-class counterparts. In the UK, the study found that men who are physically attractive had IQs an average 13.6 points above the norm while women were about 11.4 points higher.

Kanazawa's findings were based on the National Child Development Study, which followed 17,419 people since their birth in a single week in March 1958. Throughout their childhood up to early adulthood, they were given a series of tests for academic progress, intelligence and marked on appearance. The American research was taken from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which involved a similar study of 35,000 young Americans. Kanazawa said: "Our contention that beautiful people are more intelligent is purely scientific. It is not a prescription for how to treat or judge others." — IANS

We have always heard that love is in the air, but with growing technology, love is online as well! With Yahoo, Facebook, Orkut…now it's all about finding soulmates on the Internet. "We chat with new people on a daily basis and many times click with them," says Ritu Sharma, from the Department of English, Panjab University.

Love is happening over chats and that also with unknown people…what happened to the two people sitting together in an atmosphere resounding with music scenario? "In today's world no one has the time to do all that. We are no filmstars, so when we fall in love, there is no background music," says Aadil Bhat, a student of the School of Communication Studies, PU. It means love is no more the same? "Love has not lost its meaning, only ways of expressing it have changed. People don't want to spend time in knowing a person once they enter into a relationship and online chatting serves the purpose," says Kanika Mahajan from the PU Sociology Department.

Making decisions, choosing among potential candidates, falling in love… sound more like an agreement! "There is nothing wrong in deciding what you want and then choosing among the best options. This is what online dating is all about. You meet numerous people and you go ahead with those who share your interests. After that you narrow down your search to that one person who is made for you," says Shanaini Dhamija from the History Department at PU.

There are reasons galore in support of online dating. "These days you work in different cities. Due to this, online friendship blooms when people feel lonely, as laptops are one's best friends," says Vivek Datta from PU Mathematics Department.

Her enthusiasm has been aptly reflected in the role of Niyati in Creative Eye Production's new family soap Rishton Ke Bhanwar Mein Uljhee…Niyati. Jayashree is no stranger to viewers now. She has given outstanding performances in Ek Safar Aisa.., Khabie Socha Na Tha and Agnipareeksha Jeevan Ki Ganga. Lifestyle catches up with Jayashree.

What's special about the role of Niyati?

I liked the way producer Dheeraj Kumar has adapted the story. When I was selected to play the lead role, I thought it was my role in Agneepareeksha Jeevan Ki Ganga that was recognised.

How close are you to your character in the serial?

I identify with a lot of qualities of Niyati. Like her, I am god-fearing, I believe in family values, helping everyone and spreading happiness.

How is the experience of working with the director of this show?

Vijay K Saini is an easy-going, grounded and systematic person. His choice of story is unique as we can all see that. He has a good team of people.

Any memorable moment on the set?

I am quite close to everyone. Every moment associated with Rishton Ki Bhanwar Mein Uljhee… Niyati has been memorable. Playing the role of Niyati has got me closer to every member of the team.

Any plans of getting back to Bollywood in the near future?

At the moment, I am concentrating on this show. But I believe when there is a calling it will happen.

What advice would you give to the upcoming artists?

Do not give up. Have complete faith in God and yourself. Patience and persistence pays. — Dharam Pal

Actor Reese Witherspoon, who got engaged to Hollywood talent agent Jim Toth recently, says she wants to extend her family.

The 34-year-old actor already has two children - 11-year-old Ava and seven-year-old Deacon with ex-husband actor Ryan Phillipe.

"Oh sure, I would be lucky to have more kids. When it starts out it's physically exhausting, and then it becomes very emotional. It's been really fascinating. I've felt lucky to be able to guide them through life," said the 'Legally Blonde' star.

Witherspoon ended her marriage with Phillipe in 2006, but insisted that dating as a single mother was not difficult as it showed the men who were interested in pursuing a relationship with her would be willing to embrace family life.

"In some ways, it's really good, because if somebody's not interested in having a family, they don't want to go out with you in the first place. It kind of weeds out the guys who aren't serious," the Hollywood beauty added. — PTI