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Are you ready for a Small Slim Punjabi Wedding?
There's trouble brewing in the Indian wedding paradise. If Food Minister KV Thomas has his way (we mean his plan to limit the food served at various functions, especially weddings to reduce wastage), the Big, Fat Indian Wedding will soon be a thing of the past. This is something that could seriously offend (pun intended) our Punjabi sentiments. After all a wedding is an occasion to show off one's wealth and prosperity. We ask people for their feedback.
"An official order for a personal affair such as wedding! How absurd can things go," says Rajiv Bhatia, an employee of a telecom company in Mohali. He adds, "This is not the way to prevent food scarcity. If the government wants to save food and do something for the underprivileged, it must mend it's ways. Why don't the ministers put a tab on corruption or on foreign tours rather then legalising a personal affair like wedding." Though the Opposition has slammed the proposal by branding it as 'absurd', the idea is finding favour with the Congress government and people of our city. And believing the same Raju Chadha from Bombay Chopstics says, "I am all for the proposal. Weddings are definitely a sheer wastage of money and food. Being a restaurateur I totally agree that a lot of food is wasted at the wedding functions and if the government comes up with a concrete step to curb this menace then we would surely save food for the hungry and needy." Agreeing that we people spent an abominable amount on weddings, Hema Bedi, a content writer says, "If this becomes a law it will save us Indians from so much of a show-off called wedding. Though people are bound to have contrary views about this issue as weddings are supposed to be a big affair in our society. I believe it's a great idea. It will surely help in curtailing food wastage." "Though the thought of saving food for the needy is good but we are a democratic country and an affair like how a wedding should be organised cannot be legalised here. Marriage is one ceremony where you have to invite people whether you like it or not," says Savita Vaidya, homemaker from Sector 28.
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The frugal sixties
To conserve food, the government is thinking of putting a limit on guests and edibles at celebratory functions. As children, we were admonished for wasting food in our plates. The logic was that a starving person could use it. We looked around for the poor and wondered how a baigan or chapati could travel from the erring plate into a beggar's stomach. As a result, we obediently ate up and put on extra poundage along the way. However, today all of us realise that the fewer the onions consumed and wasted, lesser the shortages in the masala department. In fact, not knowing their onions, almost cost the government its majority. Of course, the mildewed, rat-infested grains stored in certified godowns, is a state secret and not included in the purview of this article.
At my marriage in 1964, the biggest problem was the guest list. We were allowed only 100, which included family and friends. After enumerating the family from our own and the groom's side, very few vacancies were available. Most of my classmates from the English department were sidelined. A comprehensive list was penned and then we got down to literally eliminating people according to past grudges, bitchy exchanges, cheap gifts and unreciprocated hospitality. Let me assure you that the wedding created life-long enemies of people who were proud of knowing us. Such rulings by the state can sift out true friends from "known strangers." Tony Fletcher, that iconic, legendary ICS officer, was the Deputy Commissioner when he was invited to a wedding. "Aapki ladki ki hi shaadi hai!" the junior officer assured him. (Translated into any western language this would lead to a paternity suit in the courts. Maybe Governor Tiwari is facing a similar dilemma). Reluctantly Tony succumbed to the persistent appeals. The host thought that as he had the karta dharta of the district in the wedding plate, all would be well. Tony took a head count and discovered that two centuries had been hit. He walked out in disgust and charge sheeted the host the following morning. Recent weddings in Chandigarh have boasted of guest lists running into six figures. This also means that the invitation cards must have been scented with saffron and handed over with boxes of our best Indian sweets and dried fruits. All this extravagance ensures sweeter, more profuse blessings. And as the guests grow heavier, the servers and decorators at these functions look hollow eyed and emaciated. Am I a Maoist or a Red? I do not think so. All I know is that the divide between the rich and the poor is growing, particularly as there is no control over our burgeoning population. Jobs are few, the food decreasing. A new control over celebratory expenditure might help in levelling the playing field. All around us, the Arab dictatorships are on fire. Can this happen to us? To my mind, it already is. More break-ins, more looting, more murder and kidnapping. Our only saving grace is that we find it hard to unite towards a common purpose. This very ethnic trait might save us from all out disaster. |
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Rose festival begins
Once again, the festival of roses is set to greet C-town residents with its delicate scent. With rose festival around the corner, everybody is geared up to welcome it with arms wide open. Chandigarh people will have all the fun and folic at their doorstep for three consecutive days this rose festival i.e. 25, 26 and 27 Feb. Today’s attraction
“This time there are 825 exquisite rose varieties that would be showcased. The best among them are Queen Elizabeth, A-1, Superstar, Rose Hybrid Tea and Rose Floribunda. There are going to be 32,500 rose plants on display for the audience. Apart from that, there is a flower arrangement competition. There are various categories based on participation by Government/ Semi-Government Institutions and Private nurseries, entries by amateurs and participation by school and college students. This year we have also introduced the concept of ‘Best Garden in the City’ maintained both by amateurs and Government and Semi- government bodies,” says Jigna K. Sanghadia, Executive Engineer, Horticulture Division. More in store
If you think the fun ends here, you are wrong. To add to the attraction, leisure valley has been transformed into a mini amusement park. “We have set up special amusement slides for visitors. Apart from this some kiosks have also been setup,” says a senior officer. Consequently, this rose festival would be all about marveling the beauty of roses along with fun filled rides. Star night
This years rose festival promises a starry night from day one. On Feb 25, Hans Raj Hans will charm the audience with some of his Sufi renditions. The next day, Uday Dhaiya, the comedian from ‘Laughter Challenge’, promises to give a lively performance that would leave the audience rolling with laughter. Also present on the second day would be Priyani Vani, one of the contestants of Star voice of India. The last day holds in store Mohit Chauhan and his melodious tunes which would goad you to sing along with him. |
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Shoes for office wear
Liberty Shoes has launched an eclectic office collection for working women. Meeting the demands of the workplace requires a perfect balance between comfort and style. And, that’s what the Senorita Office Collection from Liberty is about. It’s a range that reflects taste and elegance with slick designs in rich leather that make a statement. Combining simplicity with sophistication to be classy and comfortable and make the right professional impression.
The collection includes shoes in black, brown, beige, with the price ranging between Rs 399 to Rs 1299. — TNS
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Godrej FairGlow, will now be available in a new, beautiful avatar across the country. This specialist fairness soap will woo users of other beauty soaps with its fairness plus protein’s formula and will be launching the Godrej FairGlow ‘No Samjhauta’ campaign for the same. Over the next few months, women and other citizens across major cities in Maharashtra and Punjab will be encouraged to swap their ordinary beauty soap with FairGlow. The campaign will seek to spread awareness amongst users about FairGlow soap’s ‘fairness plus proteins’ formula that works from within and inhibits melanin, which darkens the skin. The campaign will be supported by a ‘No Samjhauta’ story contest which will invite real life instances from participants where when faced with a choice, they chose not to compromise on doing the right thing or taking the right decision. This contest aims to invite participants to submit their stories at the activation kiosk or online by logging into the Godrej FairGlow website (www.fairglow.com). Two winners with the most interesting story will stand a chance to win Rs five lakh each to make their No Samjhauta story turn into a reality. Speaking on the re-launch and the campaign, Tarun Arora, EVP, marketing, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd said, “Since its inception, FairGlow has been strongly positioned as a ‘fairness’ soap. While, our users are happy with the results and continue to remain loyal, we also feel that there are many out there who need to include a fairness specialist soap as part of their beauty regimen. ‘No Samjhauta’ campaign is our initiative to encourage people towards living a life without compromising on their principles and values while at the same time induce non users into sampling the soap.” — TNS
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Madhvan would love to play angry young man
This is your first film with Kangna Ranaut. How was the experience working with her? Working with National Award winning actor Kangna Ranaut was a pleasure. I really enjoyed working with the talented actress. Off late, I have grown extremely fond of her and would like to do more films with the gorgeous actress. Why did you choose to do a romantic comedy? I liked the story and Anand L. Rai, the director's vision. That is why I agreed to do Tanu Weds Manu. It shows how two seemingly opposite people fall in love. Tell us about your character? I play the role of Manu in the movie who is brought up in a small town in a middle class family. He is very happy with whatever his parents have in mind for him and possesses no rebellious quality so much so that he goes to London for nine years and comes back with his tradition intact. How was it working with the director? Anand L. Rai debuted in Bollywood with Strangers. I was impressed with his work. He is a brilliant director to work with and managed some mind-blowing shots at locations in Punjab and in the charming lanes of Lucknow. How is Kangna Ranaut as a co-star? She is a superb actor and extremely talented. She was very enthusiastic throughout the movie and did a great job. I hope I could do another movie with her. What type of roles do you want to do in the near future? In the South, I have played some dynamic characters, really brutal and masculine ones. I am eager to offer varied shades of characters to my Hindi audience but I would love to play the role of an angry young man now. What are your upcoming projects in Hindi? I have signed two more Hindi films but I will not disclose the details right now.
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Watch out for this wedding
Film: Tanu Weds Manu Directed by Anand L. Rai, Tanu Weds Manu is set to hit theatres today in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Zirakpur. The movie, a romantic comedy, throws lights on the Indian arranged marriage system wherein parents choose life partners for their children. R. Madhvan plays a NRI doctor while Kangna Ranaut plays a rebellious middle class girl. She has even dressed up like a man for a song sequence in the movie. Punjabi singer Mika features along with Kangna for the foot-tapping track Jugni… beautifully choreographed by Saroj Khan. The director Anand L. Rai says, it is a different kind of romantic comedy. It's very real. There are many twists and turns in the tale to keep you hooked for sure! We can expect a thumping performance from the brand new pair.
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Madonna borrows daughter's clothes She may have been a fashion icon herself but pop diva Madonna borrows her teen daughter's clothes at times without her consent. The Material Girl and her 14-year-old daughter, Lourdes, run a fashion line for teens and their styles are so similar that they often wear each other's garments. But Lourdes gets fed up when some of her clothes go missing-only to find out her 52-year-old superstar mother has been raiding her closet. "Madonna does actually borrow my clothes... and I go into her closet. I'm not supposed to take things without asking, but she's always taking things without asking. "I mean, she gets mad at me when I take things without asking her, but she has such amazing clothes, so it's kind of annoying sometimes... She wears my shoes a lot and she wears my accessories," said Lourdes. —Agency
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Anne Hathaway won’t mock people as Oscars host Unlike other award ceremony hosts, Hollywood actor Anne Hathaway won't be poking fun at celebrities while co-anchoring the Academy Awards because she feels she hasn't "earned the right" to do so.
The Devil Wears Prada star also admitted she only accepted the hosting role after Franco came on board because he eased some of her fears about presenting such a huge live audience." James is so brave and so willing to make unconventional choices," she added. The 83rd Academy Awards will take place at the Kodak Theatre.—Agency
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Salman to perform death-defying stunt Bollywood's Dabangg actor Salman Khan will be seen doing a death defying stunt in PepsiCo's Mountain Dew new ad — he jumps from 10,000 feet in a ‘wingsuit’ from which a parachute springs open. "Everyone is afraid of something or the other at some point of his or her life. However, if you try to run away from fear, you would be tired and eventually fear will win. So the best way to overcome fear is to face it, run through it because Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai," Salman said in a statement. Salman was initially not so sure about the stunt but he eventually did it. Wingsuit flying is a new sport of flying through the air in a special jumpsuit and pulling the parachute's ripcord as one approaches the ground. Salman is said to be the first celebrity brand ambassador roped in by Mountain Dew. Alpana Titus, category marketing director (flavoured carbonated drinks), PepsiCo India Beverages, says the new campaign is quite big in terms of quality and budget. —Agency
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Playboy covergirl makes a Bollywood debut Playboy covergirl Candice Boucher will make her Bollywood debut as a sand artist in director Prashant Chadha's Aazaan. Acclaimed sand artist Alexandra Konofalskaya was flown down from Belarus to train Candice for her role. "I never imagined myself in a Bollywood film but now I'm looking forward to its premiere. I love your country and I want to see a lot of India," she said in a press statement. Aazaan is an international espionage film about an informant who has to go undercover beyond enemy lines to save the nation from destruction by biological warfare. "While scripting the film, I felt that Candice would make the perfect mystery miss. Given that she's a Playboy covergirl, the instant connect is, 'She must be hot.' She is but there's also a certain vulnerability that makes her more appealing," said Chadha, who made his directorial debut with Himesh Reshammiyaa starrer Aap Ka Surroor. — IANS
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Lindsay Lohan to serve jail time
The Mean Girls star has been given until March 10 to decide if she will accept a plea deal or go to trial, reported Los Angeles Times online.The actress appeared in court today for a hearing on a felony charge over a $2,500 necklace, which she allegedly stole from a Venice jewellery shop last month. The 24-year-old actor, who is out on a $ 40,000 bail, was charged on February 9 with grand theft involving the necklace that was allegedly stolen from Kamofie and Company on January 22. Lohan's lawyer Shawn Holley and prosecutor Danette Meyers discussed a possible plea bargain for about 30 minutes in the judge's chamber before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz addressed Lohan. The case was allowed to continue because Shawn Holley said that Lohan had not received video tapes of the alleged incident from District Attorney Danette Meyers. "One thing about me is that I treat everyone the same. I don't care if you are Lindsay Lohan or Jane Doe," said Judge Schwartz. "This case does involve jail time. Period. If this case is resolved in front of me, you are going to jail. I don't want you under any apprehension," he added."If the case does not settle in my court it will be set for preliminary hearing in front of Judge Sautner who would also be doing the probation violation at the same time as the preliminary hearing. If you are in violation then Judge Sautner will impose the sentence. But there is going to be jail time in this case," said the judge. —Agency |
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Camels turn models
In 2010, horses turned models for the students of Government College of Art. This year, it was the turn of three camels from a nearby village. “We keep doing such sessions with human models. However, this year again we wanted to bring in animals to our campus so that students can study their anatomy,” says DS Kapoor, the principal.
Meanwhile, students attended the two-day sketching programme on February 22 -23 with a lot of enthusiasm. “I was so engrossed in drawing on the first day that I went for lunch at 5 pm,” says Yatti Dutt, third-year student, Bachelors of Graphics. He adds, “I have used a lot of perspectives and employed pencils for all my sketches.” Students have their own perception of the camels. All of them portrayed the three in their own interesting way. Shivshankar Singh, first-year, MFA, explains, “I have tried to capture the different moods of these desert kings. I have also tried to work upon details of face structure, muscles, movements and expressions.” One of the students ran out of canvas. Undeterred, she proceeded on to finish her sketch on newspaper. “Newspapers can be a good substitute for canvas. In fact, I love the effect that it has added to my sketch,” says Manjot Kaur, first-year MFA student. “I took half-an-hour to finish my first sketch,” says Bhupinder Singh Bisht, first-year MFA student. Most of the students took their own time to create these elements of art. “For each of my work, I took 2 –3 minutes,” says Ravi Prakash Singh, first-year BFA student. For the next time, the students want to have elephants, lions, tigers, pandas and cows as models! Says former principal of the college Brahma Prakash, “Lions, tigers and pandas are not possible inside the college premises, but students can definitely take their venture to the zoo.” Well, that would be a sight! |
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Through the lens’ eye
If one wants a peep into the minds of young student photographers and their impressions of life around them, Click is the exhibition one needs to check out. Photographs by these students of Government College of Art-10 are on display at the Government Museum and Art gallery-10 till February 26. Here are few of the interesting works. Golden Locks by Aneet Sidhu This photograph depicts a poor kid with a hippie hairstyle. The kid looks modern unlike his real identity. “I have always tried to click characters from different parts of India and the various shades of our culture. I feel if one cannot reach the corners of the nation, then the corners can reach you through photographs,” says Aneet, second-year student. (Price: Rs 6,000)
This is almost a personification where the wall is the human face for Sameer. “I love this work. The wall actually attracted me with its features. I am very much into capturing still lives, landscapes and human behaviour,” says Sameer, second-year student. (Price: Rs 6,000) Speed less motion by Jaspreet Singh His pictures are dreamy. All that he has captured is his dream. Says Jaspreet, “The car in Speed less motion is my dream. I don’t have a car and I want to own one.” (Price: Rs 10,000) Bloom by Surleen Kaur Moments of life are very prominent in her works. “Freedom, love, care and bondages are what I love covering,” says Surleen. (Price: Rs 5,000) Solitary by Arnav Anand
(Price: Rs 8,000)
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The multi-lingual star R. Madhvan, who debuted in Bollywood with Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein, is known for his performances in films like Mumbai Meri Jaan, Yuva (Tamil), Guru, 13 B, Teen Patti and 3 idiots. Now, he is all set to try his hands on a romantic comedy Tanu Weds Manu which hits the silver screen this Friday. It is a different kind of romantic story rooted in Indian culture. It is a film set in Punjab and beautifully shot in Kapurthala, Jalandhar and Amritsar. R. Madhvan, better known as Maddy, talks about his new film.\
The 28-year-old actor is set to co-host the ceremony with James Franco on Sunday but says she wouldn't feel comfortable mocking the nominees and other guests."I can guarantee that if you're looking for someone to call people out, we're not your hosts. I think that humour is really difficult to pull off, and I'm not particularly adept at it. I would not feel comfortable doing it. In addition, I do not mean to sound overly serious, but I am the youngest host in the history of the Oscars and I have no business being cynical or calling anyone out. I certainly haven't earned the right to do that," said Hathaway.
Hollywood starlet Lindsay Lohan was told by a judge that she will not escape prison even if she strikes a plea deal in the case of grand theft against her, in a court hearing here today.
‘The wall has eyes by Sameer Rana
The bright green grass in the background makes this picture much more appealing than the others. “In this one I have tried to show solitude, but one detail that really caught my attention is the insect in the frame that looks greedy even when lonely,” explains Arnav.