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Hira Mandi’s new avatar
Bejewelled, beautiful courtesans, a la Madhubala or Aishwarya Rai, are just an indulgence in Mughal nostalgia. Hira Mandi, once a place of culture and tradition, has now been transformed into Lahore’s brand new Food Street
Nirupama Dutt
 When
Urdu writer Ghulam Abbas wrote a classic Urdu short story called Anandi
way back in 1939, and inspired a memorable film by Shyam Benegal
called Mandi in 1983, was he playing the role of a clairvoyant?
Well, if one looks at the fate and fortune of Lahore’s Hira Mandi
one would certainly believe so. Well prophecy does accompany major
literary endeavour but it was more a case of understanding human
nature and power games. The story is a satire on politics and
prostitution, both professions having many common principles, in which
a brothel occupied by sex workers in the heart of the city is chosen
by some politicians for its prime locality.
The street has come a long way, from being home to dancing girls to becoming a foodies’ haunt.
Photo: Raj Chengappa
A conversation in tones
As Jazz turns 100, it celebrates five genres of musical magic that have spread from the Mississippi to the Ganges
George Jacob
Jazz
is democratic in its approach; a diatribe, a lament, a sermon, an ode,
a cry, a yearning and wry humour — all are woven into its musical
vocabulary to be savoured afresh each time one hears it. At its heart
lies the incestuous imagination of improvisation. The choice of
accents and syncopations in rhythm, melody and harmony unleashes
limitless musical expression. From the traditionalists, who preferred
the New Orleans energy of the pre-War diatonic blues to the hard-bop
sound of the Thelonius Monk and the Charles Mingus era, to the
Afro-Caribbean-Cuban influences combined with Calypso and classical
elements, jazz mesmerises the ear, stirs the soul and marries the mind
in an unpredictable relationship of craving and depraved fulfilment.
George
Orwell museum in Bihar
Millennium
writer George Orwell’s birth place at Motihari in Bihar’s East
Champaran district will soon be turned into a full-fledged museum.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said Orwell’s birth place, the decrepit
two-room house on the old opium campus will be preserved for tourists.
Famous
by design
The pioneering,
first-generation fashion designer JJ Valaya, recently celebrating 20
years in the profession, tells the story of a life devoted to fashion
to Ashima Batish
The
turquoise bridal lehnga with intricate zari work, aesthetically used
stone embellishments and the perfect silhouettes was an eye grabber.
But the cost too was an eye grabber! So what does one do? Check. The
doubt of how many zeroes follow the digit 9 lingers. `A0Doublecheck.
Five zeros, the price tag ‘humbly’ reads Rs 9 lakh. The rationale
behind the five zeroes is the label attached to the creation—JJ
Valaya. The story behind it is the story of the last 20 years, of
raising the bar of creativity with every season’s collection, of
becoming an industry in himself. Valaya happily assumes the role of a
story teller.
Failure to tackle green
issues can hurt growth
Mithun Dasgupta
The
Indian government’s failure to formulate effective policies to
address environmental issues would risk causing economic growth to
lag, warn environmentalists. The world over, problems like climate
change are seen as wide-ranging market failures, presenting unique
challenges for economic development. India is expecting a 7.6 per cent
growth rate for fiscal 2012-13. Its gross domestic product (GDP) was
likely to have grown at 6.9 per cent in 2011-12.
In the city of Chopin
Warsaw was devastated by bombing during World War II. But the once ruined buildings have been reconstructed so beautifully, and lovingly, that it is hard to believe the desolation that once befell this historic city
Ranjita Biswas
Warsaw.
The city of Chopin. A city devastated by bombing during World War II.
A destruction so poignantly brought out by Roman Polanski in his award
winning film The Pianist, based on the life of a Polish-Jewish
musician who survived Nazi persecution. A city from which thousands of
Jews were deported during the Holocaust.
Clearing the Chinese hurdles
Saina faces an uphill task before the London Olympics
M. S. Unnikrishnan
The
en masse early exit of Indian shuttlers from the Badminton Asia
Championship at Quingdao (China) sends an ominous message for India's
chances of qualifying for the London Olympics. The Chinese and
Koreans, too, continue to torment and act as stumbling blocks in
India's progress. The Indian players, particularly Saina Nehwal in
women's singles, and Jwala Gutta and V. Diju in mixed doubles, are
striving for Olympic berths. If their performances in China are an
indication, then it will be tough going for them in the qualifiers.
Saina, who fell at the quarterfinals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is
India's hot property, but her performances, of late. have not been
very reassuring.
Summer
of superheroes
Batman, Spiderman, Iron Man,
the Hulk, G. I. Joe and Agent J are all set to raid the theatres near
you in the summer vacations. Here’s a look at the boxoffice power of
Hollywood’s comic book superheroes in India
Deepa Karmalkar
While
Bollywood holds back its big budget releases till after the IPL
tournament, Hollywood gears up to cash in on the vacation mood this
summer. Letting loose a platoon of comic book superheroes, Hollywood
is simply ODing (overdosing) out on hi-tech comic book movies this
holiday season. Just check out the release calendar: The Avengers (May
4), Men in Black III (May 25), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (June
29), The Amazing Spider-Man (July 3), Ghost Rider: Spirit of
Vengeance and The Dark Knight Rises (July 20). And, don’t
you know, the internet generation keenly awaits all these films.
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