Due to fresh snowfall in the Bannihal and Patnitop sectors coupled with shooting stones in Panthal, no traffic is allowed to ensure the safety of passengers, Brigadier T.P.S Rawat of the Border Roads Organization (BRO) told IANS.

Rawat said snowfall was continuing on two sides of the Jawahar Tunnel in Bannihal.

“When it stops, we shall move our men and machines to restore the highway for traffic,” he said.

He said the runway at the Srinagar airport was being continuously cleared to keep air traffic worthy.

A mild snowfall lashed Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley Sunday.

“We have a big timber industry and would want Indian private companies to come and invest in the our timber companies,” Djombo told IANS in an interview here.

The country, also informally known as Congo-Brazzaville to differentiate it from its larger neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo (erstwhile Zaire), is also looking forward to cooperation with India in science and technology, agriculture, railways, information technology, industry, health and pharmaceutical sectors.

Djombo was here to participate in the 12th edition of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS).

Explaining the steps taken by the government for efficient management of forests in the country, Djombo said: “We are the first tropical country in the world to have 2.5 million hectares of certified forest cover and are expected to double it between 2012 and 2015.”

The minister however expressed concern over poor financing from developed nations for sustainable management of forests.

“There is a financial and climate injustice being done to us. We are making so much efforts for forest management compared to the Amazon forest in Brazil or rainforest in Indonesia but compensation is less. It is like all bad students are getting rewards,” said the 50-year-old leader, who is a member of the Congolese Labour Party.

Djombo sought to know if the international community is waiting for his country’s forest to be cleaned up before it can be compensated.

The country wants green economy to be promoted in Africa and would want to see a mechanism in this regard at the Rio +20 conference in Brazil in June this year.

The Republic of Congo will lead the African delegation to the Rio conference, which will mark 20 years after the Earth Summit.

The country with a population of around 3.6 million also wants India to help it in taking measures for adapting to climate change.

On the economic front, India and Congo have a total trade of $650 million.

Main items of India’s imports from the central African country are metallic ore and metal scrap, organic chemicals, pearls, semi-precious stones, oil seeds and petroleum while India exports rice (non-basmati), tea, spirits and beverages, power loom fabrics, pharmaceuticals and meat products.

According to the ministry of external affairs, there has been a sharp increase in imports by India in 2008-09 especially of ores, slag and ash and mineral fuels, mineral oils and products.

The pictures he painted of Victorian England were often bleak, his characters an unfashionable black or white in their evil or goodness and his books sometimes dismissed as too long. But Dickens, born Feb 7, 1812, in Portsmouth, England, is the prolific author whose contribution has seeped into the contemporary — Uriah Heep, for instance, is the byword for insincerity, Scrooge for miserliness and these are just a few.

Dickens’ lasting contribution to modern English literature was a depiction of grim social reality in details, a style many Indo-Anglian writers have emulated in their contemporary, post-colonial and diaspora canvas of the day.

To promote the Dickensian style, the British Council in collaboration with Penguin-India is hosting an all-India creative writing competition, “After Dickens”, to encourage young writers between 16-21 years to write a “small creative treatise on Dickens in either poetry, prose, short stories and reportage”.

The brood of emerging celebrity writers are also on the radar.

The council has invited contemporary Indian writers in English – “especially those whose writing dwells around cities and urban landscapes” – to contribute pieces on what they feel Dickens would have been writing today. Some who have agreed to contribute include novelists Amit Chaudhuri, Neel Mukherjee and Anita Nair.

There are other programmes planned, including a film programme in major cities offering cinematic milestones like “Great Expectations”, “Pickwick Papers”, “Nicholas Nickleby” and “Oliver Twist”, as well as a series of talks by author Craig Taylor discussing creative ways of teaching Dickens.

According to Mitra Mukherjee-Parikh, head of the university department of English, SNDT Women’s University in Mumbai, “Dickens had a fascination for the new idea of the city”.

Dickens as a classical literary legacy lives on the Indian campus.

“Dickens remains important to us. The orphan figure and the figures of childhood move every reader. He deals with England getting industrialised and how man gets caught in it the trap which is not of his making. His books marks a shift into the urban world with its unemployment, poverty and wronged women who lose property,” Sherina Joshi, associate professor in Delhi University’s Deshbandhu College, said.

Delhi University teaches Dickens’ “Hard Times” in its undergraduate module.

But the legacy could be waning.

“We regularly have one or two texts on Dickens. Currently, we have one, which is part of the compulsory course. However, students are getting more attracted to contemporary literature,” Coomi Vevaina, head of the Department of English at the University of Mumbai, told IANS.

Simi Malhotra, as associate professor of English at the Jamia Millia Islamia, added that the “Indian understanding of novel writing has changed in the last 10 years with post-colonial novels and feminist novels”.

“Students are interested in contemporary novels – let’s say Amitav Ghosh has more relevance here than Dickens. In last 10 years, the volume of research on Dickens has declined sharply,” Malhotra said.

Dickens does not inspire publisher Shobit Arya of Wisdom Tree personally, though he concedes Dickens’ “power of story-telling”.

“We have moved on…we would rather read a novel that speaks of immediate reality – in the Indian milieu,” a post-graduate student at the Jamia Millia Islamia told IANS while Alka Bansal, a senior librarian at the Tagore International School in Delhi (Vasant Vihar) said she “virtually forces Dickens on the children, bred on fast-paced Twilght-kind of mass fictions”.

But for writer-politician Shashi Tharoor, who played the leader of the gang of child thieves in a stage production of “Oliver Twist” in 1968, “the Artful Dodger” remains his favourite character.

Till five years ago, Dickens’ books were in demand at all major book shops in the metros.

“Children read classics then. But with the arrival of the mass fiction, no one wants to read Charles Dickens any more,” a spokesperson for the Midland book shop told IANS.

Compared to the Rs.50 edition of the 1970s, economics has taken toll on Dickens too. The prices of the books now range between Rs.150 to Rs.1,500 depending on the nature of binding and the publisher, the spokesperson added.

With his unique work, Janio Nunez Leal has pieces in many private collections around the work, the Prensa Latina news agency reported.

Nunez, who worked as a “torcedor” or cigar twister in many cigar factories, first took up the idea of becoming a tobacco sculptor in 1994.

His work will be on display at the 14th Habano Cigar Festival to be held Feb 27-March 2.

Tourists wanting to know more about Cuban culture and tobacco are flocking to his recently opened studio-workshop in Boca Ciega beach in Havana.

In 2000, Nunez met Celia Sandy, granddaughter of former British prime minister Winston Churchill, who was known for his love for Cuban cigars.

Nunez then created a life-size sculpture of Churchill.

He says his sculptures are made only of tobacco leaves, using only an idea without any mold or frame.

His pieces, however, must be well preserved at 18-24 degrees Celcius and a relative humidity of 60-70 percent.

Chaplain, who has been touring the world with her one-woman show, was in India to perform at the 10th Ishara International Puppet Festival in the capital Feb 1-15. She performed Friday at the India Habitat Centre.

The act has been directed by American vaudeville performer and the lead of the 1985 movie “Jewel in the Nile” of Avner Eisenberg.

Chaplain’s one-hour non-stop act follows a day in the life of a mad-hatter Jewish woman who shares her private space with the people.

Grounded in traditional clowning, physical acting and monologue, she shares her most private moments — like engagement, falling in love, wedding, honeymoon, child birth and the Jewish-style baptism of her child in a hostess gown — on the stage with her audience in a day.

It is the only gift that a comedian can give to the audience, the comedienne said.

Chaplain transforms simple objects like lamp-posts, paper towels and a dress made of lamp shade into characters. The show uses basic elements of puppetry by using objects as dolls on the stage to people the space and create new characters.

It drives home a crucial and neo-contemporary message: a performer does not need human company on stage. Innovative use of objects can stand in for a cast. The audience is riveted to the stage till the end of the monologue because of powerful story-telling and Chaplain’s astounding range of expressions and movements.

A element of slapstick adds to the mirth – and yet conveys a sense of wistfulness at the same time. A roll of paper towels becomes Chaplain’s son on stage while she marries a lamppost of a man clad in a paper veil.

She comments on the 21st century human isolation, reversal of roles and the lonely lives of women especially in the West, looking for love and sense of belonging. The act comes across as Charlie Chaplain’s tragic-comic showcases and Lucille Ball’s slapstick rolled into one.

“I am an actress, physical comedian and a clown… it just kind of happened to me,” Chaplain told IANS.

“When I went to school in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, I trained with a little Italian American man – my teacher Tony Montanan – who was a brilliant comic. I studied with him for a number of years and with other persons engaged in clowning and comedy

“I really had no interest in it but the clown kept coming back to me though I wanted to be taken seriously,” she said.

The comedienne said she wanted to be “taken seriously as an actress but kept working as a clown”.

“I wondered why I was not taken seriously… Only when I started auditioning for a series in New York I realised that I had the ability for physical comedy. I combined physical acting with monologue. And everyone said here is this actress who is very serious,” Chaplain said.

The comedienne is also a founder of the New York Goofs (1998), a group of comic actors.

Recalling the beginning of her show, Chaplain said the act has its roots “in a classroom commission in 2003 about a woman being cheated by a man and avenging the betrayal”.

“Years ago, I came across a guy Paul Zaloom, a comic puppeteer and actor (and television presenter), who illustrated with objects he made into puppets. He was a bit of inspiration,” she said.

She has also worked for 24 years as a “Hospital Clown” for the Big Apple Circus in the US to “bring joy to ailing children in hospitals”.

“It is an easy hop for the local NRI families in the region – to and fro,” Antonia Carver, director of the fair that will be held from March 21 to 24, told IANS here.

Pointing to an emerging trend in the buying pattern among Indian expatriates in the Gulf, Carver said “the first-time galleries like Seven Arts and Galerie Mirchandani were trying to give the Indian communities overseas something new…something fresh”.

The generation gap has a lot to do with the diverse selection of art work from India, Carver explained.

“While the older parents in big families are highly supportive of Indian modernists, the children look for contemporary artists. The new generation of potential Indian buyers who have grown up in Dubai has one foot in India, one in Dubai and one in the world,” Carver said.

“But they want to keep their connection with India,” she said.

Four leading Indian galleries, including Chemould Presscott Road (Mumbai), Experimenter (Kolkata), Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke (Mumbai) and Seven Art Limited (New Delhi), will present a medley of old and new Indian art at Art Dubai.

“The fair is well-supported by major Indian business families in the United Arab Emirates,” Carver said.

“We have art connoisseur Smita Prabhakar, and collector Lekha Poddar on our advisory board while Mumbai gallerist Shireen Gandhy is a member of the selection committee. South Asian art historian Savita Apte is the co-director of the fair,” Carver said.

She was at the recent India Art Fair to “identify young talent and new works for the future – and generate awareness about the emerging power of Middle Eastern and South Asian art”.

Carver, an arts writer and administrator who has been in Dubai for the last eight years, said “the visitors’ profile of the fair has changed in the last few years with more and more participation of non-resident Indian collectors – even from London and New York”.

One of the important NRI entries to the fair is young Dubai-born Indian artist, Ubik, who will engage viewers in a dialogue about “art fairs” through an interactive installation.

“He will make a small intervention (project) at the fair using fortune cookies that will contain imprints of his bank statements inside them instead of the usual one-line messages. The installation will comment on the nature of art fairs and the changing finances of artists,” Carver said.

“Every visitor will be given one fortune cookie,” she said. The brief is to create new installation works that analyse the fair as a model, the director said.

The director of Art Dubai said “the fair will display art works by nearly 600 artists”.

“It will exhibit more than 1,000 sculptures and lots of video,” Carver said.

The fair will host around 75 galleries.

Castro made the candid admission during the release of a two-volume memoir here, official media said Saturday.

The leader of the Cuban Revolution, 85, who left office in 2006 due to an illness, conversed for six hours with guests at Friday’s release of “Guerrillero del Tiempo”, written by journalist Katiuska Blanco.

The nearly 1,000-page memoir begins with the first recollections of his childhood and ends in December 1958 on the eve of the guerrilla movement’s victory that brought down dictator Batista.

Blanco is also the author of “Todo el Tiempo de los Cedros” (All the Days of the Cedars), an official history of the Castro family (2003).

Castro spoke of the mistake of believing that socialism can solve all economic problems.

He also outlined his deepest opposition to students having to pay for their education, and about international affairs like the dispute over the Falkland Islands.

Fidel Castro did not rule out continuing to write. “I have to do it now because one’s memory wears out.”

This was Castro’s first public appearance since April 2011 when he attended the closure of the 6th Communist Party Congress where his younger brother Raul Castro replaced him as head of the party.

Fidel Castro spoke on a variety of subjects Friday. The event was attended by Cuban intellectuals and Culture Minister Abel Prieto.

In July 2010 Castro made a surprise return to public life after four years of convalescence from the serious illness that forced him to delegate the Cuban presidency to Raul in 2006.

Since then the Cuban leader has participated with irregular frequency in meetings, visits, ceremonies and press conferences with Cuban and foreign reporters.

The unique journey of Indian cuisine, on show at The Imperial, actually began being chronicled when two famous British landscape artists, Thomas and William Daniell, set about experiencing the rich culture and the culinary traditions of India’s landmark locations in 1786.

The 18th century artists, an uncle-nephew duo, started work in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the east and moved north towards Garhwal. As they travelled along the Ganges visiting Kanpur and the Mughal cities of Agra and Delhi, they captured the spirit and food traditions of these places on the canvas.

They also stopped at Lucknow, then Madras (now Chennai) and Mysore and touched Bombay (now Mumbai) before returning to England in 1794.

Some 150 works of art, aptly titled Oriental Scenery, resulted from this fascinating journey of the Daniells, like the lithograph of Jantar Mantar that was painted from the exact spot where Daniell’s Tavern at The Imperial is located today.

The restaurant recreates this epic journey of Thomas and William across the length and breath of India, capturing some of the finest regional favorites from all those places that left an everlasting impression on their minds.

The new avtar of Daniell’s Tavern traces some of the finest regional fares from the epic journey. These include the East India Soup (Jehangiri Shorba) or Mulligatawny Soup (for the vegetarians), which are excellent orders before the actual ‘Journey Begins’.

The “First Tour” includes Nawab of Oudh’s Pride (bhune murgh ke parche), Shamiana Prawns (sunheri jhinga) and Benaras Special (tandoori phool). Clive’s Order (kasundi paneer tikka), Viceroy’s Favourite (chicken Chettinad) and Chingri Malai Curry (Bengali prawn curry) are other favourites.

Other similar delights are the Angrezi Sahib’s Choice (kosha mangsho), Burra Memsahab’s Favourite (pepper mutton) and Barrackpore’s Favourite (mochar ghonto). The Shahi Tudka, the dessert with roots, perhaps, in kitchens of the Nizam of Hyderabad, is an absolute must!

The journey of Daniells provided an entirely new vision of the Indian subcontinent and influenced decorative arts and British architectural design. Sutradar “narrator” Pran takes us through the collection of paintings and art at Daniell’s Tavern, established in 1933.

“The Imperial offers an ode to the wonderful journey of Hindoostan and presents this exceptional tour in the form of art and cuisine to diners at Daniell’s Tavern,” The Imperial’s senior vice president and general manager Vijay Wanchoo told IANS.

“Thomas and William Daniell may have returned to England in 1794 but they left behind a valuable collection of art, some of which are on display at Daniell’s Tavern.”

The leader of the Cuban Revolution, 85, who left office in 2006 due to an illness, conversed for six hours with guests at Friday’s presentation of the two volumes of “Guerrillero del Tiempo”, written by author and journalist Katiuska Blanco.

This was Castro’s first public appearance since April 2011, when he attended the closure of the 6th Communist Party Congress, at which his younger brother, President Raul Castro, replaced him as head of the organization.

The nearly 1,000-page memoir begins with the first recollections of his childhood and ends December 1958 on the eve of the guerrilla movement’s victory that brought down the dictator Fulgencio Batista.

Wearing an athletic jacket and checked shirt, according to photos published in Cuban newspapers and on the official Web site Cubadebate, Fidel Castro spoke on a variety of subjects during the event attended by leading Cuban intellectuals and by Culture Minister Abel Prieto.

He spoke, according to official media, of the mistake of believing that socialism means all economic problems are solved, of his deepest opposition to students having to pay for their education, and about international affairs like the dispute over the Falkland Islands, “that bit of land snatched from Argentina”, he said.

The “admirable” struggles that today’s Latin American students and students around the world are waging for their rights was another topic he discussed.

Fidel Castro did not rule out continuing to write. “I have to do it now because one’s memory wears out,” he said.

After six hours of conversation, Castro, according to the report in the daily Granma, regretted having to leave but said he is a “collaborator” of the doctors treating him.

In July 2010 Castro made a surprise return to public life after four years of convalescence from the serious illness that forced him to delegate the Cuban presidency to younger brother Raul in 2006.

From that time the Cuban leader has participated with irregular frequency in meetings, visits, ceremonies and press conferences with Cuban and foreign reporters.

His last public appearance was last April at the 6th Communist Party Congress.

“Guerrillero del Tiempo” was written by Cuban journalist Katiuska Blanco, who is also the author of “Todo el Tiempo de los Cedros” (All the Days of the Cedars), an official history of the Castro family published in 2003.

The participating countries are Denamrk, Hungary, Egypt, Morocco and India. The festival is being organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR).

Sondorgo of Hungary, one of the Europe’s most versatile bands, will present their new album “Tamburising – Lost Music of the Balkans” with singer and actress Katya Tompos Feb 6. Their aim is to foster and preserve Southern Slavic traditions of the Serbs and Croats as found in various settlements in Hungary.

The Orient West Choir from Denmark is a contemporary interpretation of the musical connections between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The troupe that will perform Feb 7 combines Gregorain chants with middle eastern music. The band features music from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Palestine and Israel.

Marouane Hajji, a Sufi musician from the Moroccan spiritual capital at Fes, will present refined music of the Tijani and Skali – one of the higher forms of Moroccan Sufi music.

Five troupes will represent the Indian Sufi music traditions. They are the Kashmir Music Society Group, Baul Fakiri Qawaali Music Group from West Bengal, and Delhi’s Nizami Khusro Bandhu, Dhruv Sangari & Group and the Yusouf Khan Nizami Qawaali Group.

“I am honored to release this special edition – the first draft manuscript of Tagore’s work which is a part of the Rothenstein Collection that is preserved in the Houghton Library of Harvard University in the US,” Mukherjee said after releasing the book.

“It is indeed very sentimental to have a look and feel of the diary in which Tagore wrote the English translation in his own hand. Though the (Harvard) university has permitted to make replicas, their copyright does not allow us to sell them,” said Mukherjee, who unveiled the book at the Asiatic Society established in 1784 in the city.

This year also marks 100 years of Gitanjali – a collection of prose translations made by the author from the original Bangla and published in 1912. Tagore was given the Nobel for it a year later.

Mukherjee, who chairs the National Implementation Committee (NIC) constituted for guiding the celebrations of Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary, also unveiled another book titled “Nameless Recognition: The Impact of Rabindranath Tagore on Indian Literaturse”, which is a compilation of papers delivered at the National Conference on ‘The Impact of Tagore on Other Indian Literatures’ held earlier.

Among a host of projects by the NIC for the celebrations is a printed bibliography of Tagore in English and other Indian languages prepared by the National Library.

“Rabindra Nattayan Project”, a collaborative effort in playwriting by Indian and Bangladeshi writers, has also been included as a part of the programmes, aimed at dramitising the poems, short stories and novels of Tagore.

Announcing that a musical will be held Feb 12 to honour the veteran singer on his completing a golden jubilee as a singer, Baby told a press conference that the short film on Yesudas would be jointly produced by Kairali TV and Swaralaya, a music reality show.

Yesudas, 71, has sung over 35,000 songs in 14 languages.

“We know that documentation of the entire history of Yesudas is not an easy task, but we will be failing in our duty if we do not make an attempt. Kairali TV has in its possession lot of visuals of the singer but that is not enough,” Baby told reporters.

“We will also ask people to give us the songs sung by Yesudas if they have in a book form because during yesteryears, song books of Yesudas hits were commonly available. This will help us to document all the songs sung by the veteran, as even Yesudas himself does not have a record of how many songs he has rendered,” added Baby.

For the musical night, the organisers are bringing together singers like P.Susheela, S.Janaki, M.Jayachandran who have sung with Yesudas.

“We have decided to classify the veteran singer’s career into five decades and from each decade four hit songs will be selected through people’s choice. A total of 20 songs would be sung that day,” said Thiruvananthapuram Municiapal Corporation Mayor K.Chandrika, who is also heads the organising committee of the musical.

Yesudas has been conferred with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan besides seven national and 17 state film awards.

1. “Bollywood’s Top 20: Superstars of Indian Cinema”; Edited by Bhaichand Patel; Published by Penguin India; Priced at Rs.599

Cinema has been mainstay of popular entertainment for almost a century now. Visually arresting, Bollywood has enthralled moviegoers over the decades with its melodious music, colourful drama and lively plotlines. At the heart of the mystique is the towering presence of its galaxy of stars. “Bollywood’s Top 20″ is an exciting collection of new essays by renowned writers that pays tribute to Hindi cinema’s biggest stars of all time – Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Nargis and Madhubala to Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Kareena Kapoor – who are indispensable to the Bollywood pantheon. Each piece offers unique insights into the lives of Bollywood’s most exceptional legends – their struggles and triumphs, downfalls and scandals.

2. “On Safari: The Tiger & The Baobab Tree”; Written by Babi Nobis; Published by Om Books International; Priced at Rs.2,995

Trailing tigers with his lens on the rugged terrains of Kanha, Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh, Corbett, Nepal and, of course, the Sunderbans, and lions, cheetahs, buffaloes, rhinos, elephants, wildebeest and more in Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa over the last two decades, renowned wildlife photographer Babi Nobis shares with the reader the alluring magic of wilderness and its majestic inhabitants, in over 250 stunning visuals. Babi Nobis is a well-known tea exporter, a gold medal-winning trap shooter as well as a natural history enthusiast.

3. “Hira Mandi”; Written by Claudine Le Tourneur D’lson; Published by Roli Books; Priced at Rs.195

Very few French writers have ventured to write on the social religious, political and cultural issues of the Pakistani society. In “Hira Mandi”, the traditional “red light country” of Lahore, the writer looks at the history of flesh trade in the historic city through the portrayal of a dancer-prostitute’s son who seeks to escape his milieu as he dreams of becoming an artist. Based on a true story, this gripping novel handles its subject with realism and sensitivity, mingling human emotions with history’s macabre dance in the partition of India.

4. “Encyclopadia of Hinduism”; Edited by Dr. Kapil Kapoor; Published by Rupa & Co; Priced at Rs.21,000

A joint initiative by Rupa Publications and the India Heritage Research Foundation, the volume is a comprehensive guide to one of the world’s oldest, richest and most diverse faiths – Hinduism. The encyclopedia contains information about the theory and practice of Sanatana Dharma, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It is meant for people of all ages and across regions. The full-color illustrations are a ready guide for all those who want to know about the culture and traditions of Aryavarta.

5. “Anna: 13 Days That Shook India”; Written by Ashutosh; Published by Harper-Collins-India; Priced at Rs.199

Anna Hazare’s fast unto death, demanding the implementation of a strong Lokpal bill, was a watershed moment in post-independence India. Coming soon after a slew of corruption exposes, the movement galvanised an increasingly disenchanted middle class. Well-known Hindi journalist Ashutosh weaves together the story of the thirteen days in 2011 that changed India. He had a ringside view of the developments, stationed at the Ramlila ground in New Delhi, the venue of the fast, and had an intimate access to the two warring parties: the Congress government at the centre and Team Anna. Ashutosh evokes the Jayaprakash Narayan movement and Gandhi’s satyagraha, and mines the history of India’s post-independence politics to understand the phenomenon called Anna Hazare.

Bihar has perhaps spun its first homegrown thriller, a Western style potboiler, by son-of-the soil writer Hemant Kumar. A former journalist and corporate honcho, Kumar’s novel “Prey By The Ganges (Wisdom Tree)” was released by MP Shatrughan Sinha in the capital Thursday.

The book explores the darkest depths of human consciousness, a morass which engulfed post-independence Bihar where might was right.

“I lived in Bihar for 17 years of my life. Even after I left Bihar in 1976 and travelled all over the country and abroad, the story kept playing on my mind. I kept going back to the state as journalist to report elections and politics,” Hemant Kumar told IANS.

He said “the sexually attractive and handsome thakur with his magnetic evil aura was the face of feudal Bihar of the late 1940s, 50s and 60s when oppression and crime were widespread”.

“It is still there,” Kumar said.

The malevolent thakur Gajanan Singh echoes a character the writer had met several years ago. “I used to know a man … a feudal landlord in a place near Ranchi (now in Jharkhand, but then in Bihar). He was a very good looking and an evil man, who picked up women like snacks on the way,” Kumar recalled.

The action follows the trail of the meandering Ganges that sweeps past Patna city into dense jungles, sandflats and slides to form a strange arc — often called the badlands of the wild east.

“I used to stroll along and across the Ganges when I vacationed in Patna every year. The Ganges was full of stories because of the crime that thrived around its banks. Robbery, treachery, rape and wife-snatching, the river was a hive of dark acts. But the darkest of them was rape,” Kumar said.

In the book, rape becomes a symbol of caste and social status — used as a tool of oppression.

The writer is working on a sequel on a much broader canvas. “It will be pure fiction without caste, society or politics,” Kumar said. “Bihar has more intellect than it is given credit for.”

Sobhit Arya, founder and publisher of Wisdom Tree, said: “‘Prey By The Ganges’ is the second book in the Chlorophyll series that we have launched to promote contemporary Indian and sub-continental fiction.”

The third book in the series, “Breath of Death”, a thriller by Pakistan-based writer and neurosurgeon Saad Shafqat, who co-wrote cricketer Javed Miandad’s autobiography, will be published soon.

Bihar has perhaps spun its first homegrown thriller, a Western style potboiler, by son-of-the soil writer Hemant Kumar. A former journalist and corporate honcho, Kumar’s novel “Prey By The Ganges (Wisdom Tree)” was released by MP Shatrughan Sinha in the capital Thursday.

The book explores the darkest depths of human consciousness, a morass which engulfed post-independence Bihar where might was right.

“I lived in Bihar for 17 years of my life. Even after I left Bihar in 1976 and travelled all over the country and abroad, the story kept playing on my mind. I kept going back to the state as journalist to report elections and politics,” Hemant Kumar told IANS.

He said “the sexually attractive and handsome thakur with his magnetic evil aura was the face of feudal Bihar of the late 1940s, 50s and 60s when oppression and crime were widespread”.

“It is still there,” Kumar said.

The malevolent thakur Gajanan Singh echoes a character the writer had met several years ago. “I used to know a man … a feudal landlord in a place near Ranchi (now in Jharkhand, but then in Bihar). He was a very good looking and an evil man, who picked up women like snacks on the way,” Kumar recalled.

The action follows the trail of the meandering Ganges that sweeps past Patna city into dense jungles, sandflats and slides to form a strange arc — often called the badlands of the wild east.

“I used to stroll along and across the Ganges when I vacationed in Patna every year. The Ganges was full of stories because of the crime that thrived around its banks. Robbery, treachery, rape and wife-snatching, the river was a hive of dark acts. But the darkest of them was rape,” Kumar said.

In the book, rape becomes a symbol of caste and social status — used as a tool of oppression.

The writer is working on a sequel on a much broader canvas. “It will be pure fiction without caste, society or politics,” Kumar said. “Bihar has more intellect than it is given credit for.”

Sobhit Arya, founder and publisher of Wisdom Tree, said: “‘Prey By The Ganges’ is the second book in the Chlorophyll series that we have launched to promote contemporary Indian and sub-continental fiction.”

The third book in the series, “Breath of Death”, a thriller by Pakistan-based writer and neurosurgeon Saad Shafqat, who co-wrote cricketer Javed Miandad’s autobiography, will be published soon.

Bihar has perhaps spun its first homegrown thriller, a Western style potboiler, by son-of-the soil writer Hemant Kumar. A former journalist and corporate honcho, Kumar’s novel “Prey By The Ganges (Wisdom Tree)” was released by MP Shatrughan Sinha in the capital Thursday.

The book explores the darkest depths of human consciousness, a morass which engulfed post-independence Bihar where might was right.

“I lived in Bihar for 17 years of my life. Even after I left Bihar in 1976 and travelled all over the country and abroad, the story kept playing on my mind. I kept going back to the state as journalist to report elections and politics,” Hemant Kumar told IANS.

He said “the sexually attractive and handsome thakur with his magnetic evil aura was the face of feudal Bihar of the late 1940s, 50s and 60s when oppression and crime were widespread”.

“It is still there,” Kumar said.

The malevolent thakur Gajanan Singh echoes a character the writer had met several years ago. “I used to know a man … a feudal landlord in a place near Ranchi (now in Jharkhand, but then in Bihar). He was a very good looking and an evil man, who picked up women like snacks on the way,” Kumar recalled.

The action follows the trail of the meandering Ganges that sweeps past Patna city into dense jungles, sandflats and slides to form a strange arc — often called the badlands of the wild east.

“I used to stroll along and across the Ganges when I vacationed in Patna every year. The Ganges was full of stories because of the crime that thrived around its banks. Robbery, treachery, rape and wife-snatching, the river was a hive of dark acts. But the darkest of them was rape,” Kumar said.

In the book, rape becomes a symbol of caste and social status — used as a tool of oppression.

The writer is working on a sequel on a much broader canvas. “It will be pure fiction without caste, society or politics,” Kumar said. “Bihar has more intellect than it is given credit for.”

Sobhit Arya, founder and publisher of Wisdom Tree, said: “‘Prey By The Ganges’ is the second book in the Chlorophyll series that we have launched to promote contemporary Indian and sub-continental fiction.”

The third book in the series, “Breath of Death”, a thriller by Pakistan-based writer and neurosurgeon Saad Shafqat, who co-wrote cricketer Javed Miandad’s autobiography, will be published soon.

The MoU for the programme will be signed between the cultural ministries of India and France, the ministry said in a statement.

The two countries last week inked an arts understanding relating to expertise and capacity enhancement, exchange of professionals and collaborative exhibitions during Union Culture Minister Kumari Selja’s four-day visit to Paris Jan 26-29.

The arrangement involves the Paris-based Louvre Museum, the National Museum and the National Gallery of Modern Art.

A similar MoU was signed with the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and the British Library in June 2010 for cooperation in arts.

Selja held a high level meeting with the French Minister of Culture and Communications Frederic Mitterrand to discuss cultural cooperation.

In the joint statement issued by the two ministers after the meeting, they expressed satisfaction at the cultural relations between the two countries, particularly the festivals “Bon Jour India” and “Namaste France” held in the recent past.

The ministers agreed to work for further widening and deepening of the cultural relations and welcomed the Indian initiative of establishing a Cultural Centre in Paris.

In another meeting with Henri Loyerette, president-director of the Louvre Museum, Selja stressed the importance of collaboration at institution-to-institution level.

The minister also inaugurated an exhibition of Tagore Paintings at the Petit Palais Museum in Paris Jan 26, to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.

Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe graced the opening. Paris is one of the nine international venues where Tagore exhibitions are being held and it holds a special place as Tagore had held his first-ever international exhibition of paintings in Paris in May 1930. Expositions of Tagore paintings are currently on at various archives across the world including Victoria and Albert Museum, London and at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Speaking at the inauguration, Selja brought to light the multifarious talents of Tagore and his choice of non-verbal communication in the form of paintings in latter part of his life.

“We are ashamed for yesterday’s incident. What happened was shameful. We had also apologised to Imran Khan. He had said that it was a small incident and was not at all an issue for him,” general secretary of the Publishers’ and Booksellers’ Guild Tridib Chattopadhaya said.

However, he evaded numerous queries on whether the blackout was intentional or an electricity failure.

“I don’t want any controversy on what I said yesterday and what I am saying today. You can interpret anything… I will not say anything on the issue,” said Chattopadhaya.

He had Monday said power supply was “intentionally” switched off to stop the programme as it was continuing beyond the scheduled time.

The blackout lasted for some four-five minutes during the discussion programme ‘Captaining a nation’ where Imran Khan was the main speaker.

The site may lose its 5A class due to poor management, the China Daily reported.

The findings came to light during an undercover investigation by the National Tourism Administration. The local administration has been ordered to address the problems.

Zheng Shumin, director of the temple’s publicity department, said the management is cooperating with the government to rectify the problem.

The temple is located in Zhengzhou in Henan province.

“Now that we have put a government in place and working on a new Constitution, we have crossed the major hurdle. There is a new cultural language of the younger generation that Egypt is listening to,” ambassador Khaled El Bakly said here Monday evening.

The culture gala that set the mood for the week reflected the new spirit of the country that witnessed a revolution throughout 2011, leading to the ouster of the Hosni Mubarak government.

The culture festival opened at the Kamani theatre with a performance of modern Egyptian jazz followed by a contemporary dance choreography by a deaf and mute ensemble. It ended with an orchestra of Nubian drums, Egyptian tabla and a gypsy dance.

The genre of contemporary jazz music in Egypt has travelled an eclectic path to cobble together a fusion of the Arab, European, American, Indian and North African repertoire and sounds.

Cairo-based Amro Salah, who heads the Eftekasat jazz project – a world fusion music programme – describes his music as the new sound of Egypt.

“It is contemporary world jazz. We are trying to bring world cultures together through music. Our sounds are influenced by Indian culture, North African music, Balkan music and local Egyptian music,” said Salah, the director of the Cairo Jazz Festival.

His six-member troupe, however, does not forget the American roots of jazz. “I have been influenced by American jazz composer Joe Sample.”

“Egypt has a very vibrant jazz scene – especially in Cairo. One should keep in mind that the history of jazz in Egypt – a cultural melting pot – dates back to the 1930s with the evolution of modern cinema and the world wars,” Salah told IANS.

Several foreign communities like the Italian, Greek and Germans lived in cities like Cairo and Alexandria, he added.

“They brought with them the early jazz music. Jazz also featured in Egyptian cinema in the 1840s-1950s. And legends like Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie have performed in Cairo,” the musician said.

He said “a new wave of music was emerging in Egypt after the revolution”.

“The large number of artists who came out to join the Tahrir Square protest in 2011 are talking about issues like freedom, change and the beauty of revolution through their music,” Salah said.

The dance ensemble, “Egyptian Deaf Dance Theatre Company”, which presented an act on “Cleopatra: The Queen of Queens”, is planning a new choreography on Hosni Mubarak, the former president of Egypt.

The 12-member troupe from El-Mallaha-el-Qubra led by dancer Reda Abdel Aziz performs dance theatres sourced from historical narratives.

“It is difficult but we teach our mute dancers – all below 20 years of age – by tapping rhythms on to their bodies,” he said.

The traditional Nubian drummers presented a variety of Egyptian percussions including the tabla.

This is the first culture package to come out of Egypt to India after the political upheaval. “Egyptians like Indians respect old traditions – the new judgement comes from there. We (India and Egypt) have been friends and we will remain so,” the Egyptian envoy said.

The Egyptian Culture Week in India will end Feb 2.

“We all want to go with a big bang but you always don’t get it right. For Sachin the ultimate time to go was after that World Cup win. He had such a great World Cup. He is a great player,” said Imran, who has come here to attend a book fair.

The only world cup winning captain of Pakistan feels that Sachin himself has to decide the time of retiring and the timing must be right.

“He has to decide for himself and the timing must be right. You don’t want to go after losing to Australia for 4-0. If he had gone after that world cup, that would have been the ultimate high,” Imran said.

Imran feels whether Tendulkar gets his 100th ton or not won’t make much difference because statistics don’t matter for a great player.

“You should not be playing to break records. Records should be part of the win. Sachin is a great player…records are after all statistics and statistics do not matter to great players,” Imran said.

His auction “Creative India Series 2″, featuring Delhi and Punjab miniatures and Indian contemporary art in the capital Jan 27 fetched Rs.14.14 crore, signalling an upswing in the fortunes of the auction house hit by meltdown.

A total of 17 Pahari miniatures, valued at Rs.18,550,000 (US$ 356,730), were sold at the auction.

In the contemporary section, a painting by Tyeb Mehta was sold after it logged the highest bid of Rs.22,800,000 (Rs 2.28 crore).

“The results of the antiquities sale were especially encouraging and it underscores the huge potential of the domestic market for Indian antiquities. Hopefully, the government will facilitate this growth wherever possible,” Tuli said Monday releasing the auction figures.

The auction offered art from Kangra, Guler and Mandi schools on sale.

Two rare miniatures, a folio leaf from a Harivamsha Khil series of the Kangra School and a folio leaf from the Mahabharata series belonging to the Kangra or Guler School fetched Rs.5,280,000 each, Tuli said.

The lots in modern and the contemporary sections included works by artists like Sailoz Mookherjea, Satish Gujral, Ramkumar, Manjit Bawa, Biren De, Tyeb Mehta, J. Swaminathan, Vivan Sundaram, G.R. Santosh, Anjolie Ela Menon, Aparna Caur, V.T. Broota and Subodh Gupta, among others.

For Tuli, the Creative India auctions are key to staying afloat in the art market that is struggling to recover from the meltdown and over-inflated pricing of art.

Media reports say the auctioneer, who was in a financial crunch after the economic downturn, is trying to pay back his creditors with the Creative India series and revive the auction house.

In 2000, Tuli, one of the most flamboyant in Mumbai’s art world, launched the Osian’s Connoisseurs of Art Pvt Ltd (OCA), a unique corporate body that housed India’s first indigenous auction house, an archiving, research and documentation centre, a wealth management service, and a film house.

It had turned the perceptions about the art market in Mumbai by guiding art lovers and investors to a more holistic view of arts and its business.

In the last two years, the auctioneer had been criticised by the media for alleged “manhandling of his auction house”.

But last week’s auction, the second in the series of “Creative India” sales, appears to have brought him out of the red. The first Creative India auction in December 2011 had realised Rs.7.95 crore in sales.

The Creative India series broke a lull of 18 months since Tuli’s last auction in 2009.

Tuli said the last two Creative India auctions were a clear pointer to the ongoing consolidation of Osian’s and the art market after two very difficult years.

“With lessons imbibed from the past, the progress of Osian’s after consolidation will reveal many new institutional changes and innovations in the coming months,” he said.

“These processes will naturally contribute towards the stabilization and continued growth of the Indian art market and its infrastructure,” Tuli added.

Pointing to the trends in the market, Tuli said: “Good modern masters will remain strong as awareness of history deepens among buyers.”

He said the “collectors’ base needed to widen significantly for renewed growth in the art market along with shifts in new infrastructure projects”.

The Creative India series would be held in four editions. The next two auctions will be held in Mumbai March 23 focusing on art from Mumbai and Baroda.

On May 28, the last auction of the series in the capital will put art from Cholamandalam and South India under the hammer.

The society’s members filed documents necessary for re-registration, a standard bureaucratic procedure in Russia, in late 2011. The official response was straight out of Dante’s Divine Comedy itself.

“They proposed we change the society’s name or get permission from Dante or his relatives to use it,” the society’s head Marina Samarina said.

City officials did not explain how Dante, who died in 1321, might be contacted.

The possibility of finding the poet’s relatives is also minute, Samarina said. “It’s the same as trying to prove that one is a relative of Homer.”

“This is not a final ruling. We need to fill in the papers and file them once again,” Samarina said.

The Dante Alighieri Society promotes Italian culture and language worldwide. It was formed in Italy in July 1889.

The marginal slowdown in business compared to previous years was made up by the visitors’ enthusiasm at the five-day fair which closed Jan 29 at the NSIC Ground in Delhi.

Works ranging between Rs.55,000 and Rs.100,000 sold the maximum, which is less in terms of prices last year.

But gallery owners and art analysts expressed confidence in the market, comparing it favourably to Europe which was witnessing a fresh slump.

In a break from trend, institutions like Grosvenor Gallery (Britain) and Hauser & Wirth, (Zurich and London) exhibited Indian art.

“We saw a great demand for M.F. Husain’s art resulting in sharp rise in prices. We had brought three of his works and sold all at huge prices,” Grosvenor Gallery director Conor Macklin told IANS.

The gallery exhibited art by S.H. Raza, F.N. Souza, Husain and a painting by Olivia Fraser.

“We sold around six works by Souza but all of them were below $100,000. We could not sell much of Raza. Business was slow though it was a buyers’ market,” Macklin said.

The renewed interest in Husain’s art was a reversal of the 2011 ‘farce’ when his art was removed by the organisers after protests and then re-installed.

The international section of the fair, represented by galleries such as Hauser and Wirth, White Cube, Robert Bowman and Everard Read (South Africa), became a guided walk for visitors through modern and contemporary art by legendary names like Damien Hirst, Salvador Dali and Picasso.

As many as 26 museums, including the Tate, Guggenheim, New Museum and the Singapore Art Museum, visited the fair to make acquisitions, the organisers said.

“The response has been great, the Indian art market is more vibrant than Europe now,” Peter Femfert of Frankurt-based Die Galrie told IANS.

“Indians are looking at more and more European modern classics as investment options”.

“Indian art is priced very high. One can buy three Marc Chagall paintings for the price of one Raza work. So why should one choose Indian art,” Femfert added.

The modern European classics have always shown to be very good in the international market, he added.

The gallery presented a niche European collection by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Marc Chagall, Claudio Massini and several others.

It was a great opportunity to meet new people and expose them to our international programmes, said James Lavender, associate director of Hauser & Wirth Gallery.

The gallery presented works by 18 international artists, including Henry Moore, along with a high-end Indian contemporary collection.

“The Indian market is familiar with Indian artists, who sold more. India was a learning experience for us. We have not participated in any other fairs in Asia earlier, barring Art Hong Kong,” Lavender told IANS.

Sharan Apparao of Chennai-based Apparao Gallery said: “The art at the fair had started talking new language.”

“There has been a movement towards the new media and unusual art from classic and modern art. The buyers are also conscious about quality and price which is a post meltdown phenomenon,” Apparao told IANS.

Mumbai-based Sakshi Gallery, which brought an art work by Anish Kapoor to the fair, lamented the lack of new buyers.

“There was lot of intent, asking and looking, but we sold to our old buyers. The organisers have to be more exclusive about selecting the galleries…the standard of the fair is very high,” Usha Gawde, deputy director of the fair, told IANS. The gallery did not find any takers for Anish Kapoor.

Hosting over 90 galleries from over 20 countries, over 1,000 art works, back-to-back education programmes, 14 collateral projects, a video lounge, a sculpture court, an art book store, curated walks and a collectors’ circle, rough estimates say some 50,0000 people visited the fair.

It exhibited art worth nearly Rs.70 crore.

An interesting new trend was that many galleries reported sales and commissions to Indian corporate houses while one of the biggest buyers of the fair was the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in Delhi, the organsiers said in a statement.

At least 50 international level collectors, including Sheikh Hassan Bin Mohamed Al Thani from Qatar, attended the fair while some 400 journalists covered the fair.

(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)

The prophetic date (12.12.12), throwing doomsday predictions to the wind, was announced by the Kochi Biennale Foundation – a private non-profit organisation – here late Saturday. The art gala will continue for three months.

“The biennale is likely to host 80 artists with nearly 50 percent foreign artists, site-specific works and a sustained education programme in the three months,” said Michelangelo Bendandi, director of the communications of the biennale.

“It will be spread across Fort Kochi and Kochi town,” he added.

The biennale, styled on the Venice biennale, will reclaim several old Jewish, pre-colonial, colonial and native warehouses in the old Fort Kochi area lying in disuse to turn them into modern gallery spaces for display.

It will combine regeneration of old heritage for sustainbale use with art, the organisers said.

The warehouse was used by ancient Jewish traders and native merchants in Kochi and the historical port city of Muziris (modern day Kodangallur) as spice warehouses.

“The Kochi Biennale Foundation has renovated the 150-year-old Kochi Durbar Hall to a state-of-the art climate controlled international-level gallery with sophisticated lighting,” said Shwetal A. Patel, executive officer of the Kochi Biennale.

“In April, the Durbar Hall will host German modern artist Eberhard Havekost’s exhibition ‘Sightseeing Trip’ in collaboration with Dresden State Art Collections. The exhibition will be a test for the gallery space,” he added.

The biennale is in talks with international and Indian artists including Subodh Gupta, Kiran Subbaiah, Ranbir Kalekar, Shreyas Kale, Rohini Devasher, Surendran Nair, Pakistan’s Bani Abidi, Indonesia’s Fiona Tan, Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco, African artist Wangechi Mutu and Brazil’s Ernesto Neto, said its co-curator and co-founder Bose Krishnamachari.

Patel said pioneering performance art researcher Roselee Goldberg is expected to anchor a module on performance art.

The challenge for the organisers of the biennale will be to transport fragile art works to Kochi, Patel said. Kochi is not connected to the rest of the world by air barring a handful of flights to the Middle East, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

“The Biennale Foundation is working with international transport companies to sort the bottlenecks in transporation,” Bendandi said.

The Spanish artist has 1,147 paintings registered as stolen, missing or disputed, the Daily Mail reported Sunday.

His 1939 work “Woman’s Head” was recently stolen from the National Art Gallery in Athens.

The Art Loss Register, an international database, has compiled a list of artists who have had the highest number of works stolen.

It also lists the countries where art is mostly taken from. Britain is the most vulnerable place.

Next to Picasso is American artist Nick Lawrence, who has 557 works stolen in 2004, while in third place was Russian-French artist Marc Chagall, who has 516 works stolen.

Dutch painter-sculptor Karel Appel comes fourth (505 works stolen), just ahead of Salvador Dali (504).

Joan Miro, David Levine, Andy Warhol, Rembrandt and Peter Reinicke are the others in the top 10.

Other noted artists on the list include Henri Matisse with 205 missing works, Rubens (169), John Constable (155) and Thomas Gainsborough with 97.

The Art Loss Register said 40 percent of thefts occurred in Britain and 16 percent in the US.

“It was the right thing not to let him speak. And it’s a good thing he did not come,” Darul Uloom Deoband vice chancellor Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani told IANS when asked whether he felt vindicated after Rushdie’s video-conference was cancelled Jan 24 amid apprehensions of protests.

In the run-up to the literary festival, Nomani had protested against the proposed visit of Rushdie, the author of “The Satanic Verses” which takes a critical look at Islam, to India.

“If he visits it would be adding salt to the injuries of Muslims,” he had said when the guessing game was still on about Rushdie’s visit.

“This is their point of view. He has hurt the sentiments of Muslims,” he said when asked whether the blackout of Rushdie’s video-address and his visit has hurt the image of India as a secular, liberal country.

Shahid Siddiqui, the editor of Urdu daily Nai Duniya, contended that it was not undemocratic not to allow Rushdie to visit India as there was apprehension that it would become a major issue given the sensitivity of Muslims about his banned book “The Satanic Verses”.

Questioning the right to absolute freedom of speech, Siddiqui argued that hundreds of Muslims are stopped from entering Western countries and their right to freedom of speech and expression is curtailed as they are seen as a threat.

“But why nobody raises outcry against this discrimination in advanced Western democracies?” Siddiqui asked. “Every country has a right to decide whom to let in. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is not welcome in the US (due to his alleged role in the 2001 Gujarat riots), but China rolled out the red carpet for him,” Siddiqui told IANS.

According to Siddiqui, the whole issue was blown up by the electronic media and linked to the Uttar Pradesh elections. “It’s a fantasy of the English-speaking middle class that Rushdie is an election issue,” he said.

Mushirul Hasan, eminent historian and former vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, is anguished at all the hype around Rushdie. “Nobody talks about real substantial issues Muslims have to grapple with in their everyday life. Rushdie is a non-issue for most Muslims,” Hasan told IANS.

“Rushdie is not even an issue in Muslim countries. Even in Iran, where the fatwa was imposed by Ayatollah Khomeini, Rushdie is not an issue,” he said.

“This is a manufactured issue. The controversy reinforces a negative stereotype of Muslims. It makes the job of a liberal Muslim all the more difficult,” said Hasan.

The liberals are, however, convinced that while there may be any number of arguments, a writer’s right to freedom of expression was absolutely sacrosanct and by denying Rushdie the right to visit India, it harmed the image of a country as a democratic, secular and pluralistic society.

“You can object to the book, but not to the writer visiting,” said veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar. “It shows fanaticism. India is a secular country and not a theocratic society.”

The government played into the hands of fundamentalists and had elections on mind, said Nayar.

“It’s a great pity because it’s all right if a certain set of verses written by Rushdie were unacceptable but to react to the writer in this entirety shows tremendous immaturity,” said Aruna Roy, a Right to Information Activist and National Advisory Council member.

History was made Thursday when Flight Lt. Sneha Shekhawat, a woman Indian Air Force (IAF) transport pilot officer, led the 144-airmen contingent at the 63rd Republic Day parade down Rajpath.

This contingent was judged as the best by a defence ministry panel from among the army, navy and the air force teams.

Among the 23 tableaux, the first three places were won by the human resource development ministry, Goa and Karnataka states.

Among the best school children performances, Kodiyancha Karvan by Delhi’s Government Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalala from Hastsal and Gudum Baja by Allahabad-based North-Central Zone Cultural Centre were judged the best two.

Delhi’s Kendriya Vidyalaya School from R.K. Puram won a consolation prize.

In addition, the tableau presented by the Central Public Works Department was selected for a special prize.

The letters written to Professor Constantin Heger in 1844 by a 28-year-old Bronte were torn up by the man, who was married and had children.

But they were later found by his wife in a rubbish bin and put back together, possibly to preserve evidence of a relationship, the Daily Mail reported.

Three letters were written entirely in French. One of them said: “If my master withdraws his friendship from me entirely, I shall be absolutely without hope.”

One letter that had a postscript in English will now be published by the British Library in an anthology of love letters written by historical figures.

“I must say one word to you in English – I wish I would write to you more cheerful letters, for when I read this over, I find it to be somewhat gloomy – but forgive me my dear master – do not be irritated at my sadness – according to the words of the Bible: ‘Out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaketh’ and truly I find it difficult to be cheerful so long as I think I shall never see you more,” the letter reads.

The letter with English parts in it was written Nov 18, 1844, while Bronte was living in Haworth, Yorkshire, two years after she first met Heger.

She had stayed with the professor and his wife in Brussels while she studied languages.

He reportedly spotted her talent for writing and encouraged it, but it is believed she misinterpreted his attentions.

Bronte’s novel “Villette”, published in 1853, has a similar story of a young woman having an obsession for a Belgian teacher.

“Love Letters: 2000 Years of Romance” is the first ever anthology to reproduce original letters in each of the writers’ own handwriting.

“New art writing should be in a language that people understand. A good art writer has to be a storyteller to connect to the emerging audience and context articles in the social, historical and political perspectives. That is how society is now, it is political,” said Bina Sarkar-Ellias, art curator and founder of the Mumbai-based global art magazine, International Gallerie.

“I have a problem with intellectual writing. It does not reach outside,” Sarkar-Ellias said.

She was speaking at a discussion, “Art Writing and Indo-French Cultural Relations”, an academic session of the ongoing India Art Fair Jan 25-29 in the capital addressed by four speakers from India and France at Alliance Francaise late Thursday.

The role of art criticism is now strong in the Western world after a loss of clout in the years when the markets came to power, said Iranian-French art writer Roxana Azimi, the deputy editor of an arts daily, Quotidien de l’Art.

Azimi said: “The newspapers have realised the power of the internet as the future.” Consequently, bulk of art writing is on the web.

The contention that there is no audience for art writing, and that people want to see art to be able to live the beauty of it is at least four decades old.

It began in the 1960s when the mainline media decided that art was an experiential reality rather than an academic pursuit – coinciding with the age of increased international connectivity and foreign travel.

However, in the 1970s, Pritish Nandy, the then editor of the Illustrated Weekly, brought Indian art writing back to the mainstream.

The 1990s saw a fresh wave of media indifference to writing on core aesthetic, appreciation and criticism, when art came to be viewed as a lucrative investment option. And the corporates trooped in to buy topline Indian art, giving a new edge to the already booming business of art. The media became more business centric in their approach to art.

It was also around this time that the country witnessed press censorship in art, with M.F. Husain becoming a target of Hindu rightwing groups.

The challenge to contemporary art writing lies in the intelligent deconstruction of Eurocentric understanding of art and on the defence of freedom of critical discourse, hinging on significant experiences and geopolitical and social contexts that shaped art writing.

A second objective of the new art writing leans towards synergising research and a wide readership, the speakers said.

The early breed of Indian art writers were mostly World War refugees of European origin like Walter Langhammer, E. Shclesinger and Rudi von Leyden, who mostly worked out of Mumbai, encouraging the first generation of Indian progressive artists like Ara, S.H. Raza, F.M. Souza and M.F. Husain to paint in their own idiom, buying their work and helping them mount exhibitions.

“It was said that von Leyden would cycle to his office at the Times of India and would write his review of an exhibition that very day…The importance of art criticism in India did not come from the art colleges – but from the presence of Europeans in India during the 1940-1950,” noted art critic Yashodhara Dalmia said.

France had an important part to play in the growth of an Indian language in both art and critical art writing. Avant garde artists like Braque, Picasso and Leger had a profound but rather strange influence on the early Indian modernists.

The very artists and writers who looked to France and Europe for inspiration allowed their exposure to shape their nationalist sensibilities – voting for an indigenous idiom after independence.

Sarkar-Ellias said: “Indians can be quite hypocritical. We have (erotic) temple art which has no censorship, but at the same time we censored Husain and more recently Salman Rushdie (in literature). In India, we don’t really have criticisms anymore.”

“But India needs more art publications, more exchanges and more art education even at the primary school level. You need enlightened teachers who can enlighten children. We are still very blinkered in the way we look at art.”

“Goa was the birthplace of Indo-Western garments,” Rodricks told IANS in an interview. The book, “Moda Goa” (HarperCollins-India), which he describes as his tribute to his state, takes a look at the factors that shaped Goa’s distinct garment style.

“The Portuguese, who were the first colonisers in 1510, brought with them Western clothes. We took some 80 garments traditional to the Portuguese Malacca Strait – where the Portuguese had married the Chinese,” he said.

“The Mughals came after the Portuguese…The Tughlaq and the Khilji rulers visited Goa.”

Besides the Portuguese and the Mughal clothes, Goan fashion was influenced by Persian embroidery and Buddhist drapes, Rodricks said.

“They all came together to create the traditional garments of Goa at different points of time. However, many of these garments were found too revealing at the time of the Goa Inquisition when almost all Goans were forced to become Catholics,” Rodricks said, narrating the history of Goan fashion.

History says the Goa Inquisition set up in 1560 by the Portuguese brought to trial more than 16,000 new Christians – mostly Hindu and Islamic converts – roughly over a 300-year period. It also punished those who violated the ban on Hindu and Islamic religious rites or resisted attempts at conversion to Catholicism.

“They (Portuguese) began to impose a more modest way of dressing…the first major change was that they did not allow any Indian dress. People who wore loincloth and ‘dhoti’ were forced to wear suits and shoes,” Rodricks said.

Some of the older residents of Goa whom the designer-writer interviewed said “native visitors on their way to Panjim in their traditional carriages would stop by a small bridge – which was patrolled by Portuguese guards – and would change their clothes outside before they went to the capital city”, Rodricks said.

“Once they left the city for their villages, they would change back to their native clothes outside Panjim,” Rodricks said.

The crackdown on indigenous Goan dress went on till 1806 when the Inquisition was lifted, the designer said.

“However, it (the unofficial ban) continued well into the early part of the 20th century between 1850 to 1970. When we joined India in 1961, we had been a hybrid race for a good number of years…my mother still says it felt different after 450 years of Portuguese rule,” Rodricks said.

“I love my sherwanis…and all my Indian clothes,” the designer added with a touch of pride.

In the book, he starts off with the early Buddhist drapes that set the cut for later Hindu costumes and moves through opulent brocade coats of the Muslim Tughlaq rulers and Portuguese invaders, who had to improvise on their heavy Renaissance attires to suit the hot Konkan climate.

He documents the Western-style dresses of the newly converted Goan Catholics through illustrations by European travellers, photographs by lensman Mark Sequeira and leading fashion photographers.

“When I started my research 11 years ago, there was nothing on the history of clothes in Goa except some clothes in the Portuguese museum. Of the nine years I spent researching the book, I spent three years at the National Costume Museum at Lisbon in Portugal and at the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum in New York,” Rodricks said.

The years that Rodricks spent abroad strengthen his view that he was “on the right track and doing something for the state,” Rodricks said.

Rodricks said “putting together all that had been soul-searching to a point. I wanted to share all that I had learnt about clothes”.

“I had begun to collect garments and very old jewellery. I went to Lisbon and New York to learn how to store and display old garments. My collection covered many periods…,” Rodricks said.

“Fashion is the mirror of history,” the designer said.

Rodricks, who trained in New York and Paris, set up his label in 1990. In 1993, he moved to his ancestral village Colvale in Goa, creating collections inspired by Tibetan monasteries, tribal symbols of Shiva and Vishnu, a harem in Istanbul, tattoos of the Lambada tribe and the history of Goa.

His retail space, Wendell Rodricks Design Space in Panjim, is a niche fashion stop on the Goan map. “Moda Goa” is priced Rs.3,999.

Launched this week, the project aims to bolster a sense of community by installing small, open-air libraries known as “Paralibros” in public squares.

The idea is based on a similar program set up by Colombian non-governmental organization Fundalectura in Bogota in the late 1990s, when that city was recovering from a period of sky-high violent crime rates and looking to return public spaces to ordinary citizens.

The new Chihuahua libraries contain a range of titles that can be checked out, from classics of world literature to self-help guides, works to assist aspiring entrepreneurs, poetry collections and books geared for children and adolescents – the main target audience for an initiative that has thus far been launched in seven of Mexico’s 32 states.

One Paralibro was opened Tuesday in Chihuahua city’s Plaza Merino, just five blocks from the spot where Marisela Escobedo – an activist seeking justice for the 2008 murder of her daughter, Rubi Marisol – was killed Dec 16, 2010.

The National Council for Culture and the Arts’ deputy director general for reading promotion, Socorro Venegas, told EFE that the key to the project is the figure of the “reading mediator”.

These reading promoters are given a training course and paid a small stipend to manage the Paralibros, which are to serve as centres of cultural invigoration.

“(The mediators) are people who are looking to heal themselves and heal their surroundings. They come from civil society with very difficult pasts … people with hope who see books as a vehicle (for change),” Venegas said.

One such mediator is Isabel Batista, of the small Chihuahua highland town of Creel, where a group of armed assailants killed eight people March 15, 2010, in an attack that bore the hallmarks of organized crime.

A mother of two, she has been a librarian in the town for the past eight years, a period in which criminal gangs at various times have effectively replaced the state and imposed their own law.

She said her life was shattered 16 months ago when her son, 22-year-old Carlos Gibran, disappeared without a trace.

Batista said she harbours anger but also remains hopeful. Although she wants to know what happened, she said she can’t put herself at risk because she has a 16-year-old daughter who depends on her.

She said she wants things to change in Mexico and feels that can only happen if more work and opportunities are available for young people and they can dream of other worlds through reading and seek opportunities to transform a wounded society into something better.

“A book teaches you to see life in a different way, to know that for readers there’s the hope of other possibilities,” she said.

Venegas said it is regrettable that in several parts of Mexico some of the volunteers who were managing reading rooms, another project similar to the Paralibros initiative, had to abandon their communities.

“I know of the case of a family that fled the La Ladrillera neighborhood in Ciudad Juarez (Mexico’s murder capital) and went to Durango due to the violence. They didn’t close, they took the books to their new home,” she said.

Nearly 300 reading rooms exist in Chihuahua state, which now has taken its reading-promotion efforts a step further with the installment of 11 Paralibros in different cities and towns.

Chihuahua has accounted for around 30 percent of the roughly 50,000 drug-related killings reported in Mexico since December 2006, when newly inaugurated President Felipe Calderon militarized the struggle against heavily armed cartels by sending army soldiers and police to drug war flashpoints.

Book: “Amma’s Advice: Traditional Wisdom for Modern Times”;

Author: Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi;

Konark Publishers; Pages 209,

Price: Rs.3,500

The subtitles to the book are appropriate as are the 73 crisp articles that form this excellent collection of talks given at various times by one of India’s spiritual giants. Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, popularly known as Amma, represents everything that is good in Indian spirituality. She does not ask anyone to even believe in god or – if they do – to give up their faith. She merely asks people to believe in themselves! Whenever she is asked about her religion, her reply is love.

It had to be that way. Compassion for the suffering came naturally to one whose childhood was steeped in poverty and suffering. Born into a humble family in Kerala, Amma was just nine years of age when her mother fell seriously ill. The girl was promptly pulled out of school and made in charge of all household chores and her seven siblings.

“As she went door to door gathering food scraps from neighbours for her family’s goats and cows, she was confronted with the intense poverty and suffering that existed in her community, and in the world beyond.” It melted the girl’s heart. She pilfered food from her own family kitchen to feed the poor. On one occasion she sold her mother’s gold jewellery and gave the proceeds to a poor family. Needless to say, she was severely punished.

So goes the punchy and moving introduction to this glossy and well-produced publication packed with eye-catching photographs that often speak more than what a writer could say. And in that childhood struggle were sown the seeds of love that would eventually prod the young girl to embrace spirituality.

To embrace, then, became a part of her. In what is undoubtedly a unique style, Amma has so far hugged more than 31 million people who came up to her for solace. Why does she do that? “My only wish is that my hands should always be on someone’s shoulder, consoling and caressing them and wiping their tears, even while breathing my last.”

The headlines illuminate each chapter in the book and cover subjects that govern our day-to-day life. Be a Good Listener; Service in Real Success; Women and Men Should Complement One Another; Restoring Hope to India’s Farmers; Caring for Nature is Caring for Ourselves; Work for Mental Purity; Heaven and Hell Are Creations of Mind; Patience, the First Step in Real Life; Remove Difficulties Through Prayer; Conquering Anger; Infinite Bounty of Meditation; Alcohol Destroying Discrimination; Change Yourself to Change the World…Each chapter is no more than two pages long, written in the easy manner they were spoken, and appealing equally to all age groups.

Amma’s humanitarian activities have drawn praise from around the world, from Michael Bloomberg and Steven C. Rockefeller and Yolanda King (daughter of Martin Luther King) to our own former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Khushwant Singh paid her the ultimate homage: “In all my life I have not met a warmer personality than Amma. Even an agnostic like me had great difficulty in holding back my tears.” Yes, the book is not cheap, but it is worth every rupee.

“It is a real shame to know that complaints against those writers have been registered. Literature is something which is sacred and can never hurt anyone’s feelings. Of course, we have planned to protest against the administrative move,” Sahitya Akademi Award-winning author Sunil Gangopadhyay told IANS.

Gangopadhyay, who is president of the Sahitya Akademi, said though the mode of protest was yet to be decided, he was not averse to the idea which authors embraced earlier at the Jaipur literary meet.

“I am not against the idea but nothing has been decided as of yet. But one thing is sure that we will protest not only against the proposed action against writers, but also the circumstances which forced Rushdie to cancel his visit,” said Gangopadhyay.

The author also said the protests will also be against the treatment meted out to another controversial writer Taslima Nasreen.

“Such happenings go against the image of India which is known all over the world as a tolerant country. M.F. Hussain (painter) had to breathe his last in a foreign country while Taslima had to flee Kolkata. Such things should always be condemned,” added Gangopadhyay.

Nasrin had to leave Kolkata in 2007 following violent protests over renewal of her visa.

Asaduddin Owaisi, the president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and a parliamentarian from Hyderabad had been demanding the arrest of Hari Kunzru, Ruchir Joshi, Amitava Kumar and Jeet Thayil who had read extracts from “The Satanic Verses”.

Cases were filed in Jaipur against these writers for reading from the banned book.

Jnanpith awardee and celebrated author Mahasweta Devi said she too would join the protests.

“Whatever has been happening over Rushdie at the Jaipur meet is shameful and unacceptable. I feel it is my duty to protest. I do not know whether I will read from ‘The Satanic Verses’ because I will go to the meet only if my health permits. If I am unable to go I will protest using my pen,” she told IANS.

According to a message posted by Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyendra Garg on the Delhi Traffic Police’s Facebook page, the police did the best they could to avoid jams.

“DO PEOPLE READ THE ADVISORIES WE GIVE OR DO THEY JUST SIT IN THE VEHICLE, START DRIVING AND GET STUCK? My impression is people do not plan their journeys at all, get stuck and then blame the rehearsals and the police,” said Garg.

“Why should it be so? I cannot get it changed,” added Garg referring to the dress rehearsal.

The top official further said that the police could only help Delhiites if they were willing to listen to them.

“We delayed the diversions till the last moment. People knew the dislocation due to the parade is only from 9 a.m. to noon. I am sure many of those who got stuck despite our advisory could have avoided journeys during those hours,” said Garg.

Thousands of commuters in the capital were left stranded Monday due to traffic restrictions during peak hours for the full dress rehearsal while many Delhiites stood waiting for buses that ply via India Gate.

While Delhi Traffic Police had issued an advisory in the newspapers on the restricted routes, diversions were choc-a-bloc and led to chaos and confusion at major junctions that were clogged with vehicles.

The Republic Day Parade Jan 26 winds its way down an eight-km route from Vijay Chowk at the foot of the Raisina Hill where the Central Secretariat’s North and South Blocks tower, to the seventeenth century Red Fort, winding its way along Rajpath, India Gate and Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Netaji Subhash Marg.

“If you want to believe in god, don’t look to arguments from biologists and scientists. You won’t find answers to god in science,” Dawkins told hundreds of people who had gathered to hear him at the Front Lawns of Diggi Palace here Tuesday.

“We have different philosophies that don’t postulate the existence of god,” said Dawkins, the world’s most preeminent atheist known for questioning the existence of god and debunking theories about “the intelligent creator.”

“Religion is a form of wickedness, a corruption of the minds of children,” said Dawkins who has called for the death of organised religion.

“The belief in god is like a computer virus,” he said.

In his 1986 book “The Blind Watchmaker”, Dawkins had argued against the famous watchmaker analogy which justified the existence of a supernatural creator based upon the complexity of living organisms. The author likened the evolutionary processes to a blind watchmaker.

Critiquing the ethical systems based on the religions of the book – Judaism, Christianity and Islam — Dawkins, the author of “The God Delusion”, pressed for 21st century ethics based on secular values.

“We are the 21st century moralists and atheists. We don’t need to get morals from our religions. We are getting morals from secular moral philosophy, secular jurisprudence and dinner table conversation,” said Dawkins to much applause from the audience.

In historical time, humanity has been getting better and kind and it’s not because of religion, said Dawkins while citing how in the 21st century people have outgrown the racism and sexism of the last century.

“If you look at 20th century fiction, it’s shot through racism. Something is changing. And that has nothing to do with religion.”

“We don’t want to find morals from the holy books. We can have our own enlightened secular values,” said Dawkins. He called this new secular ethics “the humanist manifesto.”

“An idea whose time has come spreads like a wild viral, it goes viral,” he said.

Citing his book “The Selfish Gene”, which popularised the gene-centered view of evolution, Dawkins said mankind has a genetic propensity, a lust for altruism, to be nice and kind to other people.

The day marks the end of the winter in China. It is also celebrated as Spring Festival as it ushers in the spring season.

On this day, the Chinese, rich or poor, dine and celebrate together.

Villagers who were relocated to Zhengzhou, the capital of central Henan province due to a river water diversion project, had their festival feasts paid for by the government.

About 330,000 people were re-settled in different areas due to the project, which aims to bring water to drought-prone northern regions, including Beijing.

In Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, sanitation workers who chose to stay on duty rather than be with their families during the festival ended up dining with the mayor.

“I’d like to thank you for a year’s hard work that has kept the city beautiful,” said Tang Liangzhi, mayor of Wuhan, at a banquet for street cleaners, China Daily reported.

The Spring Festival is an important occasion for family reunions in China. This year the spring holidays started Jan 8 and is expected to continue till the mid-week of February.

On Sunday, people bid goodbye to the Year of the Rabbit, final day of the last lunar year.

Chinese President Hu Jintao joined groups of Beijing residents to celebrate the new year festivities. He visited the city’s Qianmen shopping street and waved at passersby who responded with jubilation, repots Xinhua.

The street was rebuilt for the 2008 Olympic Games as a sightseeing and shopping destination. Hu’s tour of the city also took him to a 270-year-old store famous for braised pork. He praised the quality of the products there.

The railways ministry said Monday that over 80 million people travelled by trains in the country between Jan 8 and 22 on account of the new year.

The figure was up by nearly 8 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.

The ministry added 289 more trains to accommodate passengers returning home for the festival.

“There is Africa in all of us. Africa is our dreamland and our spiritual motherland. We have to rediscover the true Africa of laughter, joy, creativity and playfulness,” said Okri Monday while reading out from his new book “A Time for New Dreams”, a string of poetic essays and epigrams on Africa, at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

“We have to discover the Africa of mysticism, divination, myths and mysticism,” intoned the novelist in his rich baritone, casting a spell over the audience in the Durbar Hall of Diggi Place that is hosting the literary carnival being attended by thousands of book-lovers.

Okri, who won a Booker for his much-acclaimed novel “The Famished Road” in 1991, eloquently argued for dismantling negative stereotypes that have Africa as the place of famine, disease, bloodshed and mindless cruelty and spoke about the need to create a new narrative of this vibrant continent and its people.

“Africa was seen for many decades through greed. This justified all kinds of violence. The world should begin to see light in Africa, its beauty and genius,” said the novelist amid applause from the audience.

“Africa is waiting for centuries to be discovered through the eyes of love and lover. We need to rediscover Africa in us for regeneration of society.”

“It is Africa’s turn to smile. That’s the loveliest gift the world can give to keep Africa smiling,” he said.

“It is easy to dismiss Africa. It is easy to patronise Africa. It is easy to profess to like Africa. It is easy to exploit Africa. And it is easy to insult Africa,” read the opening lines to “O, Ye Who Invest in Futures”, a series of poetic statements about Africa in “A Time for New Dreams”.

“I am not asking for a romantic view, just clear-seeing, to discover the full richness of people for who they are. To see afresh without romance, exaggeration and distortion,” said the poet-novelist.

“I am talking about transforming the perception of a people. It’s always famine in the heart of Africa. We must explode the stereotypes,” said the author. You must fight fire with fire, said Okri, while underlining the need for great African writers to counter the bleak but powerful vision of Joseph Conrad in “The Heart of Darkness”.

Teju Cole, the Nigerian-American writer whose debut book “Open City” has created a big splash, also participated in the discussion, moderated by Taiye Selasi, a London-born writer and photographer of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin.

“A writer has a gift to convert experience into language…and to bear testimony to the truths of the world,” said Cole.

“You’ll know us by our funny blend of London fashion, New York jargon, African ethics, and academic successes. Some of us are ethnic mixes, e.g. Ghanaian and Canadian, Nigerian and Swiss; others merely cultural mutts: American accent, European affect, African ethos,” she read from her essay

The organisers who had earlier announced the time and venue of the video interaction, — 3.30 p.m. Tuesday at the front lawns of the festival venue Diggi Palace — changed tack suddenly, and said Monday evening that they were yet to finalise the schedule.

Rushdie was to speak on his book “Midnight’s Children” and not about the controversial “Satanic Verses”, which is banned in India.

Several Muslim groups in the city have expressed displeasure at Rushdie’s proposed interaction.

The figure was up by nearly 8 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.

On Jan 21 alone, trains transported 5.7 million passengers, the biggest daily increase since the spring festival rush started Jan 8, China Daily reported.

The ministry added 289 more trains to accommodate passengers returning home for Chinese Lunar New Year or the spring festival. The spring holidays will end Feb 16.

Chinese Lunar New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It marks the end of the winter season.

“In the economic arena, China has invested massively, around $30-35 billion in Myanmar. But the Chinese influence is very small in decision-making process,” said Thant Sunday at a session on the future of Mynamar on day three of the Jaipur Literary Festival.

He is the author of much-acclaimed histories of Burma, including “The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma”.

“Myanmar’s rulers are now reaching out to the European Union, Russia and India. They don’t want to be overly dependent on China,” said Thant, also a former UN diplomat and the granddaughter of former UN Secretary General U. Thant.

There has been a lot of anti-China sentiment, said Thant, also the author of “Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia”, a seminal study of how Burma, wedged between the two aspiring superpowers, is negotiating its way to modernity and national renewal.

Alluding to India’s evolving ties with Myanmar, the author recalled that India supported elements of democratic uprising in 1988 and strong links remain which need to be revived.

“There is much India can do in sharing democratic practices,” he said on a day Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin began a five-day visit to India.

Amid scepticism in some quarters about the authenticity of reforms and the West’s thaw with the gas-rich southeast Asian country after credible elections last year, Thant said that this time round the reforms were for real.

“Burma is no longer isolated. More Burmese are having access to internet. Thousands of Burmese are travelling to other countries,” he said.

“Burma is genuinely trying to move to a democratic system. It’s experiencing a degree of political change, freedom of the media and liberal values,” he stressed.

Speaking about Myanmar’s democratically-elected president Thein Sein, Thant said: “He is also the senior general who has no allegations of corruption against him. He is thinking about his legacy as the man who presided over the democratic transformation of Burma.”

India has welcomed the reforms process initiated by the Thein Shein government over the last few months and intensified its diplomatic and economic initiatives with the country. Marking a new high in its relations, India announced $500 million for a host of development projects in Myanmar during the state visit by Thein Sein to New Delhi in October.

Pakistan-based writer Mohammed Hanif, the author of “The Case of Exploding Mangoes” and “The Lady of Alice Bhatti”, said the “controversy over the ‘The Satanic Verses’ has been blown out of proportion and it should not have happened”. Addressing the media, writer William Dalrymple said “the whole episode was the result of Chinese whispers.”

“At least 262 authors are here to enjoy. Salman is a writer of enormous depth. It is a great tragedy that he is not here,” Dalrymple said as writer Namita Gokhale said she was “personally very disappointed that Salman Rushdie was not coming”.

“I hope and believe that we will have him here another year,” Gokhale said.

Eminent poet and lyricist Gulzar, who was at the festival, said, “It is wrong to muzzle free speech”. “Whoever is responsible for this politics will pay. I regret that Rushdie could not come to the festival,” the lyricist said.

Novelist and playwright Kiran Nagarkar, who has also faced political gag for his play “The Bedtime Story”, lamented “the constraints on the freedom of speech in a democracy”. “I know the feeling,” the writer said.

Rushdie had kept the media and the organisers of the festival busy throughout the day.

Around noon, the writer in a statement called off his visit to the country citing threat to life. He said the intelligence agencies had warned him that “paid killers from the Mumbai underworld were on their way to kill him”.

A controversy erupted in one of the literary sessions, “Of Gods and Men”, when Kashmiri novelist Hari Kunzru and Amitav Kumar were caught reading passages from “The Satatnic Verses”, a controversial book by Rushdie which has been banned since 1989.

They were reading excerpts from Rushdie’s book to debate about man and spirituality. The organisers intervened and stopped them from reading the excerpts.

“It was wrong to stop them from reading the book. We understand that he was not allowed to come, but why can’t someone read from his book,” Fareeda Ali Khan, a Jaipur-based NGO activist, who had attended the session, hit out.

In a statement issued late in the night, the organisers of the festival said it had come to their attention that certain delegates “acted in a manner during their sessions today which were without the prior knowledge or consent of the organizers”.

“Any views expressed or actions taken by these delegates are in no manner endorsed by the Jaipur Literature Festival. Any comments made by the delegates reflect their personal, individual views and are not endorsed by the Festival or attributable to its organisers or anyone acting on their behalf. The Festival organizers are fully committed to ensuring compliance of all prevailing laws and will continue to offer their fullest cooperation to prevent any legal violation of any kind,” the organisers said.

Sources said that in a meeting suggested by the Rajasthan government, Muslim organisations made it clear that the invitation to the author by the organisers should be withdrawn.

However, organisers said it is up to Rushdie to decide whether he will attend the Jan 20-24 event.

“We will chalk out our strategy of protest tomorrow (Friday),” a representative of the minority community delegation told IANS.

A mystery literary session on the Jan 24 roster of the Jaipur Literature Festival called “Midnight’s Child”, without naming the participants, kept fuelling the speculation whether Rushdie would descend on the pink city.

“Our stand on Salman Rushdie continues to be the same. He will not attend the festival for the first two days…beyond which we are not sure of his schedule,” Sanjoy Roy, the managing director of Teamwork Production, the organisers of the Jaipur festival, told the press here.

Roy said the festival has not rescinded the invitation to the author of “The Satanic Verses”. Roy and his teammates, writer Namita Gokhale and Nand Bhardwaj, met representatives of several minority organisations and heard their views.

“We also presented our views,” Roy said, adding that the festival was a platform for freedom of expression – “to say, write and paint”. He refused to elaborate on the arguments put forth by the Muslim groups.

Roy clarified that “the festival has not received any request from the government to stop Salman Rushdie from coming to India”.

“The festival has 208 authors and 150 performers… Salman Rushdie is a non-story that has been made into a story,” Roy said.

The festival has a glittering line-up of writers and celebrities like television host Oprah Winfrey and writers Michael Ondaatje, Ben Okri and playwright Tom Stoppard.

However, fans refused to give up hope on Rushdie’s visit. “There is a session listed on the last day of the festival, Midnights’s Child, which gives no name. Who knows… he might come to the delight of his admirers here,” Raj Gupta, a Jaipur-based student of English, told IANS.

Rushdie’s proposed visit to the festival came under cloud after several Islamic groups demanded that he should not be allowed to come to India for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of the community in his book “The Satanic Verses” – published in 1988.

The book was banned in 1989 and a fatwa was issued against the author by Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran.

The clamour to stop his visit forced a rescheduling of Rushdie’s visit and his arrival to Jaipur Jan 20 was postponed. Rushdie’s name was also taken off the festival schedule.

Abul Qasim Nomani, vice chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband, the country’s most influential Islamic seminary, said not allowing Rushdie in India was a “welcome” step.

“He should apologise to the entire Muslim ummah (society) for his blasphemous remarks against Islam and the Prophet. Only then we can allow him to travel to India,” Nomani had told IANS from Deoband.

The media Thursday quoted intelligence bureau as saying, “Salman Rushdie could be a victim of a homegrown terror attack in case he decides to take part in the Jaipur Literary Festival”.

“There is clearly a heightened interest in Simone de Beauvoir and her contribution to the feminist movement and gender studies,” American writers-translators Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-Chevallier, whose second English translation of “The Second Sex” is soon to arrive in India, told IANS.

The translators believe the book, published by Knopf, US, in 2010 and which breaks feminine stereotypes, is relevant even in the 21st century when gender injustice has changed forms.

“The underpinnings of the work are philosophical and contain universal truths about equality, freedom, independence and morality. Thus, each person can understand and hopefully transcend these stereotypes by having seen and then analysed them. It is difficult but possible. Her book and her philosophy are not anecdotal. They enable us to understand structure and history,” Borde said.

Their critically-acclaimed translation is known for its refinement of language and a hard-hitting structure. It captures Beauvoir’s analysis of why women have been forced to contend with a secondary place in society.

“First of all (and this is the first chapter of ‘The Second Sex’) – the myth of biology had to be refuted. Freud’s ‘anatomy is destiny’ theory that women were biologically inferior had to be put to rest. This is what Beauvoir had set off to do,” Malovany-Chevallier said.

“We did nothing to update it. We put the philosophical language back into the work, and closely followed her syntax and grammar and her expository style of developing the ideas. We stayed close to her vocabulary and referred to etymological dictionaries to be sure that a word had the same meaning in 1949 as it does today,” Borde said.

The duo, who translated the seminal work in 2010, carried it over from writer H.M. Parshley, the first to translate the book in the 1950s.

The translators said the “previous translation of ‘The Second Sex’ was cut, simplified and generally dumbed down for many reasons, but principally at the request of the editors who thought the book was too much for the public”.

“But we were keenly aware of the absence of Simone de Beauvoir’s philosophy and so we were almost obsessed with the necessity of making sure that our translation fully restored the philosophical ideas and vocabulary in English,” Borde said.

“The book in French was difficult, particular and stylized. Those are the qualities that we hope are in our translation. We spoke to experts in many fields. (Philosopher) Margaret Simons is the main American Beauvoirian expert and she discussed our manuscript with her graduate students and gave us invaluable help,” Malovany-Chevallier said.

In modern societies, the traditional perceptions of superior-inferior sex has changed, the translators said.

“In the West at least, women control their own biological destinies in child bearing. Machines have replaced muscle power so that in most cases, women and men can perform the same amount of work. Sexual pleasure has come to have mutual meaning for men and women. Women who are sexually exploited or abused today are indeed slaves,” Borde said.

“For lack of equality, education and economic means, they find themselves in this role,” she analysed.

“The Second Sex” has a cult following among feminist groups in India. The translators, who were in the capital last week to discuss their work with Urvashi Butalia at Alliance Francaise and later at the Apeejay Kolkata Literature Festival Jan 13-15, met several women writers and readers, who had been inspired by the French feminist.

India’s coming of age as an international art destination and recovery of the art market post-meltdown will be the highlights of the event to be held at the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) Ground in Okhla.

The focus of the fair is foreign participation. It is likely to draw leading art houses like Hauser and Wirth (Switzerland), Galleria Continua (Italy), Lisson Gallery (UK) and White Cube (UK) and top-of-chain experts to address forums on business, aesthetics, art practices and awareness.

Neha Kirpal, the founding director of the fair, said “the 2012 edition of the fair presents the strongest and most diverse contingent of galleries seen at the fair to date”.

Nearly 60 percent of galleries are from Asia, including Indian galleries, which make up about half of the exhibitors overall, while 26 percent are from Europe. The remaining 14 percent are from North and South America, the Middle East, Africa and Australia, official statistics said.

Estimates say the India Art Fair, founded as the India Art Summit in 2008 as a pioneering platform of modern and contemporary art in India, has attracted more than 170,000 people in the last three years.

“The art fair has seen tremendous growth over a short period of time, and much of its success can be attributed to its focus on providing a relevant and transparent platform for the Indian art scene. It has received unprecedented interest from international museums and private collectors, and cultivated a whole breed of new collectors and art enthusiasts within India,” Kirpal said.

The fair, which has changed its venue from Pragati Maidan to the NSIC Ground this year, has made a new fashion statement with a new business model.

The fair this year will host its visual feasts in designer tents spread over 12,000 square metres designed by veteran set designer Sumanth Jaikishan.

Earlier this year, Kirpal had divested a 49 percent stake in the art fair to two stakeholders, Sandy Angus and Will Ramsey, co-founders of the Hong Kong Art Fair, to create a larger network. Angus is chairman of the global exhibitions company Montgomery Worldwide and Ramsay is the founder of the Affordable Art Fair and the Pulse Art Fair.

“The growing size of the fair, increasing footfall, the global interest generated by the fair and a booming trade drove the organisers to invite foreign partners,” the source said.

The Indian art market is estimated at a little over Rs.2,000 crore.

One of the immediate spin-offs of the new business model of the fair has been the formation of the Collectors’ Circle – an outreach programme to build an international chain of collectors and art experts – in the run-up to the fair.

A paid programme, the Collectors’ Circle, launched last year, has since been able to create a pool of buyers and art lovers with regular seminars, buyers interface and education modules. The members of the Collectors’ Circle have free access to the fair.

Besides the gallery presence and the seminars, the main attraction of the fair will be corollaries and collateral events like the video lounge, sculpture court, art book shop, site-specific public art events and live art shows in venues across the national capital.

One event stands out on the list. On Jan 27, the Khoj International Artists’ Association will present Khojlive 12 – an evening of 17 back-to-back performance art acts and a lecture by Roselee Goldberg, an art historian and curator, to challenge the notion of performance as mere spectatorship, said Pooja Sood, director of the Khoj International Artists’ Association.

“The ‘Rabindranath Tagore Award’ will be given to those who have made substantial contribution to Indo-German cultural relationship. Though it is not necessary for the awardee to deal exclusively with the works of Rabindranath Tagore, if the contribution to Indo-German cultural relationship is in context with the works of Tagore then it’s good,” said Jon Baumhauer, chairman, executive board, Merck KGaA.

“The award will be given by the Max-Muller Bhawan and it will be sponsored by the Merck,” he said.

The award is in celebration of Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary.

The Merck family was closely associated with Tagore and his works since early twentieth century. The family member, Elisabeth Wolff-Merck translated the play ‘Chitra’ (Chitrangada) by Tagore into German. Elisabeth’s husband started publishing Tagore’s works in 1914, making the writer known in Germany.

The award will be given every two years. This year the award will be given in the month of March. But from next year, it will be given on May 7 – the birthday of Tagore.

The jury for selecting the winner will consist of a member from Max-Muller Bhawan, a member from the Merck Company, and an officer from the foreign office of Germany.

Baumhauer added that if needed, a few more people can be included in the jury.

Deutsche Philharmonie Merck is named after the Merck family of pharmacists, who in 1668 laid the foundations for the world’s oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company – today known as Merck in Darmstadt.

The art fair will present a select roster of 74 galleries from 32 countries to exhibit works by over 500 artists, a statement by the Art Dubai said Tuesday.

The Indian galleries include Chemould Presscott Road (Mumbai), Experimenter (Kolkata), Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke (Mumbai) and Seven Art Limited (New Delhi).

The Grosvenor Vadehra gallery, a collaboration between the Vadehra Art Gallery here in the capital and the Grosvenor Gallery in London, will pay tribute to the modernist pioneer, the late Husain with a solo showcase.

The Aicon Gallery in London and New York will host a group exposition of top contemporary artists like Debanjan Roy, Anjolie Ela Menon, Raghu Rai and Ram Kumar.

The fair, which has been registering growing number of footfalls over the years, has expanded the activity of its Global Art Forum, a art education and interface platform, to include curators’ residencies and a year-round education programme. The fair, held in partnership with Abraaj Capital, will be sponsored by Cartier and hosted by Madinat Jumeirah.

“Over the past decade, Dubai has become known as an international art hub. This growth has been organic, with a scene characterised by enthusiastic audiences and dedicated local patrons. Art Dubai is both a catalyst in this development and illustrative of it,” said Antonia Carver, the director of Art Dubai.

She said the 2012 edition of the fair promised “to deliver an unrivalled collection of varied yet tailored programmes for everyone, from the world’s leading collectors and art professionals to students and families”.

Reflecting on the continued participation of Indian galleries, Carver said: “Global interest in Indian art is growing steadily, and the fair has featured some exceptional work by the likes of Subodh Gupta, Jitish Kallat, F.N. Souza, and Anju and Atul Dodiya, just to name a few.”

“The longstanding support of India’s top galleries and collectors is indicative of Dubai’s role as a foremost hub for the world to experience, discuss and buy artwork being produced by Indian artists,” she added.

The kite festival has given the kite industry of Gujarat a boost of a whopping Rs.175 crore, said an official.

This year enthusiasts came from 24 countries and nine Indian states. While it gives the participants a platform, the local kite flyers have emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the international festival.

“Gujarat is emerging as the hub of kite flying,” said Vipul Mitra, Principal Secretary in Tourism department.

According to the figures, the kite industry had a turnover of more than Rs.100 crore.

“A survey in 2007 showed the kite industry crossed the turnover of Rs.100 crore,” Gujarat Tourism Minister Jay Narayan Vyas said.

Based on the survey’s projection, the turn over of the kite industry, which is basically a cottage industry, is now around Rs.175 crore, said an official from the tourism department.

“Over 60 thousand people are employed in this industry,” said Mitra.

The local flyers have benefitted from this festival, Chairman of Ahmedabad Kite Foundation Ujal I. Shah said.

“When international artists come here, we learn from their models, and they are impressed with our kites as well, which are economic to make,” he said.

Indian kites are characterized with sharp thread, which is coated with glass powder to cut the thread of other kites, something unknown to people from abroad.

“We want our traditional kites to be promoted,” added Shah.

The international kite festival was started in Gujarat in 1989, it was publicised by Gujarat government since last few years.

Nearly 300 people, including 81 international participants from 24 countries, gathered in the city of Ahmedabad, displaying the best of their art. The kites in various shapes of a fish, serpent, bird, superheroes and even mythological figures enthralled the locals.

“The culture of flying kites is diminishing, of course because of things like television and computer games,” said V. K. Rao, a kite flyer participant from Karnataka.

International kite flyers however add that children need to be taught how to enjoy sport.

“We need to teach our children how to enjoy activities like flying kite. When the family goes out and does such activities together, children learn,” said Irene Wysoudil, a kite flyer from Vienna.

“It is always great to come to India for this festival,” added Emn Boxby of Turkey, whose giant red fish dots was one of the major attractions.

The kite festival has given the kite industry of Gujarat a boost of a whopping Rs.175 crore, said an official.

This year enthusiasts came from 24 countries and nine Indian states. While it gives the participants a platform, the local kite flyers have emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the international festival.

“Gujarat is emerging as the hub of kite flying,” said Vipul Mitra, Principal Secretary in Tourism department.

According to the figures, the kite industry had a turnover of more than Rs.100 crore.

“A survey in 2007 showed the kite industry crossed the turnover of Rs.100 crore,” Gujarat Tourism Minister Jay Narayan Vyas said.

Based on the survey’s projection, the turn over of the kite industry, which is basically a cottage industry, is now around Rs.175 crore, said an official from the tourism department.

“Over 60 thousand people are employed in this industry,” said Mitra.

The local flyers have benefitted from this festival, Chairman of Ahmedabad Kite Foundation Ujal I. Shah said.

“When international artists come here, we learn from their models, and they are impressed with our kites as well, which are economic to make,” he said.

Indian kites are characterized with sharp thread, which is coated with glass powder to cut the thread of other kites, something unknown to people from abroad.

“We want our traditional kites to be promoted,” added Shah.

The international kite festival was started in Gujarat in 1989, it was publicised by Gujarat government since last few years.

Nearly 300 people, including 81 international participants from 24 countries, gathered in the city of Ahmedabad, displaying the best of their art. The kites in various shapes of a fish, serpent, bird, superheroes and even mythological figures enthralled the locals.

“The culture of flying kites is diminishing, of course because of things like television and computer games,” said V. K. Rao, a kite flyer participant from Karnataka.

International kite flyers however add that children need to be taught how to enjoy sport.

“We need to teach our children how to enjoy activities like flying kite. When the family goes out and does such activities together, children learn,” said Irene Wysoudil, a kite flyer from Vienna.

“It is always great to come to India for this festival,” added Emn Boxby of Turkey, whose giant red fish dots was one of the major attractions.

The number of migrants abroad in 2011 was estimated at 2.28 million, up from 2.19 million in 2008, 1.84 million in 2003 and 1.36 million in 1998.

These are among the findings of the Centre for Development Studies here. It has come out with a fifth comprehensive study on international and internal migration from Kerala since 1998.

Remittances from migrants form more than 60 percent of Kerala’s revenue.
The report said this stood in 2011 at Rs.49,695 crore, from Rs.43,288 crore in 2008.

The proportion of Hindus among the non-resident Keralites has shot up. It was 37.5 percent in 2011, and 29.9 percent in 1998.

The vast majority of the migrants in 2011 were Muslims (about 45 percent), although the community’s share in Kerala’s population was 26 percent.

While Hindus formed about 56 percent of the population, their share among the migrants was only 37.5 percent.

The gain among the Hindus was mostly at the expense of Christians, whose share shrank from 25.1 percent in 2003 to 17.9 percent in 2011.

The 2011 study is based on primary data collected from 15,000 households selected through random sampling covering all 63 taluks or sub-districts.

According to study researchers K.C. Zachariah and S. Irudayarajan, the main countries of destination for Keralites have remained unchanged over these years – 90 percent go to Gulf countries.

Nearly 40 percent of Kerala’s migrants live in the United Arab Emirates and 25 percent in Saudi Arabia.

The State Department of Archaeology & Museums, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh has issued the Notification No.G.O.Ms.No.64, YAT &C (PMU) Deptt., dated 16th June, 2011 for protecting the said ancient monument.

The salient features of clay pack treatment are that it is non-abrasive, non-corrosive and very effective in removal of adherent accretionary deposits from marble surfaces.

The clay pack treatment is less labour intensive as compared to traditional methods.  The details of expenditure incurred for preservation of monuments by use of clay pack treatment during the last three years are as under:

                                                                                              Amount in Rs.

FOR MORE READING. . .

Acclaimed director Ratan Thiyam’s new production that premiered on the opening day of the 14th Bharat Rang Mahotsav this week is a strange reinterpretation of Tagore’s classic play about his search for the divine within his inner cell of darkness.

It pushes the ongoing experiment of mainstream Indian theatre with the vernacular idiom and the viewer’s natural instinct for drama to the farthest frontier – where the divides blur on stage.

“Language is important in theatre… it differs according to space because the space itself has no language. Subtitles have become a ticklish problem we are facing around the world. If we put subtitles and if you read the text, it takes away from the drama because the audience concentrates on the text. Sub-titles should be done carefully
scene-wise,” Thiyam told IANS.

“One can put a few lines to convey the mood but should never reveal the idea of a drama in a subtitle,” Thiyam said.

Thiyam’s production, adapted and pruned to fit the 1 hour and 30 minute slot, comes as the story of a woman’s battle with darkness and her redemption into inner light when she gives in to the joy of surrendering to the “ugly” – and finds solace in its inherent horror.

At the centre of Thiyam’s play are four major characters – queen Sudarshana, her maid Surangama, the king and his chief courtier. A motley cast of smaller characters adds to the layers which is played out in three primary tiers – that of the queen and her maid, the king and his men and a posse of Manipuri folk dancers and musicians who alternate the scenes in a set sequence.

The king in Thiyam’s adaptation can be accessed in the dark chamber because he spurns light. The performance begins with Queen Sudarshana’s anguished search for light in the chamber of darkness that the king has created for her in the subterranean depths.

The king – a personification of darkness – promises that the queen should be able to identify him on the spring full moon when he will knock on her dark chamber. And only then will they meet as one.

The narrative from here on twists and turns through paths of blood, treachery and conflicts till the queen and her dark lord unite. In the final act, the queen cries for the sun as the king embraces her in his inky folds. In that overriding darkness, she shines like a deity bathed in her inner golden light – a diva of the underworld.

What probably lifts the play from the mundane is its use of the Manipuri language that is at once folksy, harsh on the uninitiated ear, anguished and yet appealing in its earthy lyricism. The absence of English or Hindi subtitles keeps the viewer hooked to the action on stage with twice the amount of concentration simply to decipher the narrative.
At the end of 90 minutes, the play inspires in the viewer a desire to learn the unknown – in this case the colourful “bhasa or vernacular” arts of India.

The use of Manipuri classical dance movements, folk traditions, contemporary dance and local attires – in a screaming palette of saffron, red, yellow, golden and black – create a gala on stage.

“This is a complex psychological play and yet very contemporary. When we look at the concept of globalisation and the technological development, there has to be a spiritual balance between what we do technologically and our meaningful endeavours,” Thiyam said.

Tagore had tried to address this divide for many years till his death. His plays are very meaningful and relevant to all ages, the director said.

“The King of Dark Chambers” – first published in English in 1914 – was one of the few of Tagore’s plays to corner global space because of its spiritual universality, potential for visual drama and nuanced plot.

In 1961, American music veteran Harold Leventhal co-produced it as a dramatic theatrical work for Broadway. It played for eight months to favourable reviews for its innovative blend of traditional and the modern.

Researchers found the ceramic stamp dating back to the 6th century B.C. in Acre, northern Israel, during the excavations at Horbat Uza, Xinhua reported.

Israel Antiquities Authority is digging in the area, prior to the construction of the Acre-Carmiel railroad track by the Israel National Roads company.

The seal belongs to a group of stamps referred to as “bread stamps”. Archaeologists placed great importance to the find, since it proves the presence of a Jewish community in the area during the Byzantine era.

“The stamp is important because it proves that a Jewish community existed in the settlement of Uza in the Christian- Byzantine period,” Danny Syon, director of the excavation, said in a press release Tuesday.

“The presence of a Jewish settlement so close to Akko — a region that was definitely Christian at this time — constitutes an innovation in archaeological research,” he said.

The stamp is engraved with a seven-branch menorah and Greek letters that spell out what the researchers believe to be the name of the baker, Launtius.

Stamping the bread with the “Kashrut” symbol and the baker’s name was common among Jewish communities during the Byzantine period.

“In this way the dough could be stamped twice before baking: once with the menorah — the general symbol of the Jewish identity of Jewish bakeries, and the private name of the baker in each of these bakeries, which also guaranteed the bakery’s kashrut,” Syon said.

The district authorities Monday evening decided to postpone the cultural extravaganza in view of the elections as all the agencies and officials would be busy with the conduct of the polls.

It is the first time since the festival started in 1993 that the extravaganza is being postponed, inviting the wrath of the people.

“Why postpone, cancel it,” was the angry retort of a hotelier of the Taj city.

“Elections in our country are definitely the biggest festival and the festivities will continue for a good one month,” was the tongue-in-cheek comment of senior tourism industry leader Surendra Sharma.

Divisional Commissioner Amrit Abhijat, who heads the Taj Festival organising committee, said security forces are needed for the conduct of elections.

“Handicrafts and artisans will have difficulties in coming to the venue with their wares and cash. The tendering procedures too would be restricted by the code of conduct,” said a release, quoting officials.

Activist Shravan Kumar Singh opined: “An election is not a war or a disaster that normal activities should be interrupted like this.”

Asks university student Rakesh: “The Election Commission has not asked to change the dates, so why is there such a discomfort with holding the festival on the scheduled dates?”

“There will be examinations in March and the youths will not be able to enjoy the Mahotsav,” he added.

The modern corporate runs with uncertainty and asymmetrical rewards. Here, mind is bound to be in fear and counted on top from the bottom-line positions. In such unnatural scenarios, Marx again appears as wisest man with his immortal quote, “Material position determines ones being and not vice-versa”… that he referred for the peak of capitalism, there he could figure out the self destructing elements within this very unfair system. No doubt, we are living in a high time of capitalist supremacy where moral justification of any act considered as awkward tuning of moralistic running commentary.

This book is written by a person, who as insider of top shot banking knows the maligning corporate culture from close angles. His writing is shaped through realistic understanding and a self imposed ethical that makes his fictional debut a complete success. The Suicide Banker is endowed with the quality of flowing narratives and without subscribing any extra-curricular hitches of lingual over display. As the book has more closer affiliation to the realities rather with the aesthetics of puritan literature, so it seems good that both targeted and general readers will read this book with high proportional delight.

Fortunately, Puneet never went to any of Ivy League institutions, not even to IIMs itself though he burnt his midnight oil for a mythical MBA at less hyped academic place like Jammu, which made him a tough man rather a virulently mechanized manager with all greed and no senses. To an extent, his protagonist, Sumit resembles him with modest beginning but remarkable achievements ahead despite remaining at odd with fraudulent mass culture in his organisation. Within organisational limits, he follows the much essential conservatism with maintaining a righteous virtue that gathers a plethora of impulses finally destined to expose the fraudulent practices of banking sector and counter action in terms of empty policy follow-up. The inside gamut of frugal innovation that promotes the half-measured “Microfinance& Agribusiness banking” among the reckless private sector banks leaves nothing but horrific end for genuine stakeholders. Moreover, a stint with multilateral organisations often considered perfect for leadership position, which is simply a dangerous and unsustainable trend. For the nonsense flashes of power point slides, ambiguous model of Muhammad Yunus may be an easy available choice but lastly results imperfect in a not so wretched economy like India. Except Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and few Co-operative/Public Sector banks, Indian banks have to still learn the basic rural banking and compliance of constitutionally mandated Priority Sector Lending as very humane welfare gesture.

This novel also unconsciously carries the sociological investigations on family which is passing under the consistent stress amidst very unhygienic imbalance of work and family life. A short interlude of distraction and its ramification over protagonist’s familiar life shows the sinful lure of extended professional engagements and here finally ousting toward normalcy juxtaposes the prevailing practices but not totally uncalled off.

Lot of inferences could be drawn from The Suicide Banker, which will be of immense help for the aspiring and established finance professionals to find proper ground beneath their feet. This will be best out of this book, if few baseless macro policies too will be corrected out of sentimental overtures, though it sounds not less than hyperbole as the shackles of misdeeds are globally integrated and induce its all participant for a homogenous puppet living, without even a tint of remorse for their ethical winding up. Spirits of reform must be channelizing an atmosphere of sustainable business; unfortunately regulations are not properly addressing the challenges which are indeed very compelling and needed cure. Until that will happen, bad guys with altered professional dreams will be continuing with wining, dining and marrying Mary’s…only for few, it will be unbankable proposition!

                                                                                                                 Atul Kumar Thakur

                                                                                                                           Email: summertickets@gmail.com

                                     Name changing of cities, institutions or edifices can be hardly correlated with any sort of positive sense in Indian contexts. Transition of a dialectic city, called Bombay into Mumbai was less resilient and opposite of its long preserved character. We can accept or refute Mumbai as maxim city, the way Suketu Mehta has conceived but it will be seemingly tough writing an adverse note on Mumbai Fables of Gyan Prakash. This Princeton Guru of politics has lived up his limited time in this city with keeping his eyes open on the events that matters. If Salman Rushdie with his Midnight Childrens and Imaginary Homeland or Amit Chaudhuri through his memorable piece-From the Malabar Hills could established their personal belongingness to this city even with an outsider tag. Gyan Prakash too found the similar way with originally hailing from the distant Hazaribagh. This it marks, Bombay is still not a closed urban jargon.

Spread over the nice parts, Mumbai Fables recall and streamline the characteristics of the city with amazing vigour. The defining fundamentals, like-myths, colonial legacies and relative losses, scenic beauties, cosmopolitanism, iconic tales of Tabloid {Blitz}, political changes, urban planning, streets and most importantly the city’s dreams have presented in a order that gives the book a long-lasting impressive stature. The detailed portrayal of Nanavati case and the journalistic charisma of Mr.Karanzia as Editor, Blitz vividly reminding the Bombay of late fifties and sixties that was bustling with plethora of high profile activities.

Besides cinema and commerce, once this city was the centrepoint of progressive movement and then red flags of CPI and trade union movement was as much prevalent as today is the saffron flags with hate-mongering premium of million tridents. Mumbai Fables delves deep into search how Bombay lost its progressive space by maligning hate driven politics of narrow identities. The presence and affluence of crime was always consistent in this city but nevertheless the spoiled form of “Son of soil movement” led by fireband of Shivsena infused extra awkwardness in its social scène-that was ofcourse the one among of big causalities. In the course of time, incessant malfunctioning of governance has been giving substantial edge to the newly formed communal forces a safe passage to spread their virulent practices. Collective psyche was degenerated by its influence and city keep turning from cosmic to parochial. Now the badness of city was much worse from the immortals messages of cult cinema “Jaane bhi do Yaron”, where protagonists {Nasiruddin Shah and Ravi Baswani} atleast could heard their heartfelt “Hum honge kamyab ek din” even in the peak of distress.

Book have succeeded well to notice the changing class hierarchy of city…though the city always had elitecentric orientation but the new divide among classes are being strongly felt and that scale was hitherto unknown to the memory. Overgrown maturity of the city have eclipsed with the phases of unending uncertainty. Once the hub of entrepreneurial dreams, now Bombay witnesses the letting down of its position to an uncomfortable level.

Mumbai Fables also devote few pages for unleashing the distinctness of Bombay’s lifestyle which is still liberal and open but running under the huge distress by influence of bad nexus from politics, business and unrestricted ambitions of close clicks. To the core, this amazing city is in distress and that’s not hidden from anyone having vision to see that decline. Somehow, the dreams of Mumbai are still not distinct and separated from what Bombay once used to have. But in the meantime, this matured city is standing on the threshold of unique adverseness that is much acute and painful than even before. Timing and depth of this book is apt and that makes it as essential read on lost dreaming city, Bombay..!

                                                                                  Atul Kumar Thakur

                                                                                              Email: summertickets@gmail.com

“Rushdie should not be allowed to visit India. If he visits India, it would be adding salt to the injuries of Muslims. He has hurt our religious sentiments,” Vice Chancellor of Deoband, India’s most influential Islamic seminary, Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani told IANS over phone from Deoband.

Nomani said the Darul Uloom was yet to formally write to the government on the issue.

“We will write to the external affairs ministry, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi if the government doesn’t cancel his visa,” Nomani said.

Rushdie has been invited to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival Jan 20-24.

However, one of the organisers of the festival said Rushdie’s visit was on as scheduled.

“A literature festival is a place for free speech in the best democratic tradition without being insulting to anybody, without causing any harm to the sentiments of any section or group of people. If there are people who feel any particular angst about the presence of Salman Rushdie, perhaps they should revisit his work… and debate its merit or other issues at a platform which is mutually acceptable,” Sanjoy Roy, managing director of Teamworks Productions, which produces the Jaipur Literature Festival, told IANS.

“As far as the festival is concerned, Rushdie’s visit was on as scheduled,” he added.

Rushdie is expected to take part in literary sessions on “Inglish, Amlish, Hinglish: The Chutneyfication of English” and “Shehar aur Sapna: The City as a Dream.”

The 65-year-old author had been under attack by Islamic hardliners for his controversial book “The Satanic Verses”, published in 1988, for “allegedly blasphemy” against Prophet Mohammed. India was among the first countries to ban the book.

Rushdie has been in India twice since the controversy. His first visit in 2000 to the country of his birth 12 years after “Satanic Verses” was banned created a flutter in the media. The writer was escorted around with unprecedented security.

In 2007, Rushdie attended the festival at Jaipur. The visit came despite protests by some Muslim groups.

Last year, speculative media reports that he had been invited to attend a Kashmiri literary festival, Harud, had whipped up a controversy in Jammu and Kashmir. The festival was eventually called off.

The novel triggered controversy soon after it was published. Muslims world over protested, some of which turned violent. It also invited a fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini, the late supreme leader of Iran. Khomeini in February 1989 called for the death of Rushdie and his publishers.

The fatwa was later revoked Sep 24, 1998.

The MoU, valid for four years (2012-2016) was signed by NSD chairperson Amal Allana and the Polish varsity’s vice-chancellor Andrzej Strzelecki in the presence of the Polish ambassador.

Poland is also the international country of focus at the ongoing 14th Bharat Rang Mahotsav of the National School of Drama.

Announcing the MoU, Allana said that the “exchange programme is designed to explore teachers, experts, students as well as traditional, folk, contemporary theatre, performances and related exhibitions in each other’s country on a reciprocal basis”.

The MoU has been designed around seven major exchanges, Allana said.

Under the agreement, Polish experts will hold workshops in direction and puppetry with final year students of the drama school for two weeks while teachers of Kalaripayattu, Thang Ta, Chau and Parsi theatre from India will visit Poland for three weeks of intense training.

A team of three teachers, who are experts in Indian performing traditions, will visit Poland for six weeks and a teacher of acting from the Warsaw Academy will come to India for six weeks.

The school of drama will send students fellowship productions to theatre festivals in Poland and the academy will respond by sending Polish productions to NSD festivals.

Both institutes will send a director and designer to India and Poland respectively for a month to hone their skills and learn new methodologies, Allana said.

“I think the first point is mutual cultural exchange. We believe that that such contacts enlarge your horizon and helps us understand cultures. In the National School of Drama, they teach different things and in our academy, they teach different things. We can expand the range of our skills with this education exchange,” Strzelecki told IANS.

“It is not only about human exchange but also people-to-people contact,” he said.

The dean of Polish Theatre Academy’s faculty of direction, Jaroslaw Kilian, said his institution was looking to learn “vocal techniques, special kind of singing and puppetry from India”.

“We have a department of theatre science and puppetry which will benefit from contact with the National School of Drama. We cannot say whether traditional Indian culture can influence Polish artists, but they would love to know,” Killian told IANS.

“The MoU is the most important bilateral agreement that the National School of Drama signed. I have been visiting the Polish Theatre Academy for the past couple of years and have watched it. The academy has a strong basic foundation in teaching of acting and direction – which are our main subjects at NSD,” Allana told IANS.

Allana said the National School of Drama was keen to have Polish experts who would conduct classroom activity “so that people at the drama school can learn”.

“They want Indian theatre from us, which is our strength. They want us to send a team for Indian classical theatre.”

Apart from works by Tagore, literary criticism and other works on Tagore published in India or abroad have been included in the bibliography, the culture ministry said in a statement.

Speaking on the occasion, Mukherjee said: “The National Implementation Committee and the ministry of culture have undertaken several projects to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore.”

Mukherjee heads the committee set up to implement the programmes on the poet’s 150th birth anniversary.

“The projects focus on the multi-faceted genius of Tagore, through cultural programmes, films, publications, workshops, research works, digitization programmes and seminars,” Mukherjee said.

The compilation of the bibliography, a continuous process, has been taken up by the Raja Rammohun Roy Library in Kolkata.

“The work is a result of the compilation work supervised by Tagore experts and scholars, involving as many as 20 libraries across the country for titles. The result is that more than 9,000 books in 42 languages, both Indian and foreign, have been located so far. This is, indeed, the most comprehensive attempt undertaken for compiling the works by, and on Tagore, or, for that matter, any literary figure. The bibliography is an endeavour to bring a ready reckoner to scholars and readers of Rabindranath Tagore,” he said.

Mukherjee said accessing a book on this web-bibliography has been made easy.

“A book can be located by its ‘Title’, ‘Author’, ‘Editor’ or ‘Genre’. A unique feature of the web-portal is its interactive character. Scholars and readers can interact with the site and provide supplementary information about respective publications. More titles will be added in the coming months and the portal is expected to become the most comprehensive web-portal on Tagore, attracting viewers from both India and abroad,” the finance minister said.

The Minister of Culture Kumari Selja was present on the occasion.

“Museum visits as an integral part of school life were important events which shaped our understanding of the growth of human life on earth,” she said.

“The Leadership Training Programme, being organised by the ministry in collaboration with the British Museum, is a unique programme especially designed for Indian museum professionals,” said Selja.

“There are over 1,000 museums in India. Over 90 percent of these are funded and maintained by the central and state governments and few renowned museums have also been set up through private efforts,” she said.

Twenty professionals from 12 national level museums will participate in the programme here.

The Archaeological Survey of India manages 44 museums located near important historical sites, some of them in the remotest parts of the country like Dholavira and Lothal in Gujarat and others at well-known World Heritage Sites such as Agra, she said.

“Some of the oldest museums have been established by the British and their collections are a combination of natural history and antiquarian remains like the Indian Museum in Kolkata, which will be celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2014, Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly Prince of Wales Museum, in Mumbai,” she said.

She said her “ministry has made efforts to organise suitable training for our museum professionals to open up their imagination and improve the working so that we are able to replicate the best practices being followed by international museums”.

J.D. Bevan, British high commissioner-designate to India, and Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, also spoke on the occasion.

Jawhar Sircar, secretary of the department of culture, was presented with the first-ever British Museum medal for his “extraordinary contributions” in piloting museum reforms in the country. The medal was presented to Sircar by Bevan.

“Rushdie should not be allowed to visit India. If he visits it would be adding salt to the injuries of Muslims. He has hurt our religious sentiments,” vice chancellor of the seminary Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani told IANS over phone from Deoband.

Nomani said the Darul Uloom was yet to formally write to the government over the issue.

“We will write to the external affairs ministry, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi if the government doesn’t cancel his visa,” Nomani said.

The 65-year-old author has come under attack for his controversial book “The Satanic Verses”, published in 1988, in which he allegedly wrote blasphemous remarks against Prophet Mohammed. The book has been banned in India.

Rushdie has been invited to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival this month end.

Stoppard will team up with leading playwrights Girish Karnad, David Hare and Annie Proulx at the Jaipur Literature Festival Jan 23 to address a session, Adaptation.

“It is extraordinary that we have on our panel Oscar-winning playwright Tom Stoppard known for his screenplay, ‘Shakespeare in Love’. It is among the most complex and intelligent screenplays and one of my favourites,” William Dalrymple, co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, told IANS.

“Normally, we have one adaptation slot every year. Screenplay writing and and the art of playwriting has always been a separate genre of literature. It is very different from the novel,” Dalrymple said.

Dalrymple said “what was striking about Indian screenplays was that it had always been very India centric…Indian cinema has not been able to conquer the world in a way China has conquered”.

“Bollywood (in terms of screenplays) is very different from the western world.”

The writer said the Jaipur Literature Festival was lucky to have Girish Karnad too on same panel. “Girish Karnad is to India what Stoppard is to the West,” Dalrymple said.

Noted theatre personality, Nissar Allana, who expressed pleasure at Stoppard’s impending visit said, “Adaptations have been happening for a long time in Indian theatre since the 1950s and 1960s”.

“There is no lack of subjects – but all problems in Indian theatre- including scripts and experimentation – come from lack of insfrastructure,” Allana told IANS.

“Tom Stoppard is one of the world’s biggest living playwrights,” said theatre activist and culture promoter Sanjoy Roy.

“The way he has been able to adapt Shakespeare’s plays and life in ‘Shakespeare in Love’ may find an echo in Vishal Bharadwaj’s ‘Omkara’. We wanted to get John Berger, the famous playwright and story-teller, for the Jaipur Literature Festival, but we could not,” Roy, whose company Teamworks Production produces the festival, told IANS.

Stoppard has adapted some powerful books like “Three Men In a Boat” by Jerome K. Jerome for a BBC television series, “The Russia House” for a movie based on John Le Carre’s novel in 1990 and “Poodle Springs”, a novel by Robert B. Parker and Raymond Chandler for a television series.

However, “Shakespeare in Love”, a comedy, which Stoppard co-authored with Marc Norman in 1998 remains his creative and commercial milestone. It was influenced by Shakespeare’s life, several of his plays and the literary landscape of 15th century England and its neighbouring countries.

Stoppard has an India connect – he spent his early life in the country as a student of Mount Hermon American Multi-Racial School in Darjeeling after his family fled the Nazi occupation of Europe.

He later renewed his ties with India through the “Shakespeare Wallah” – following his romantic liaison with Felicity Kendal, sister of Jennifer Kendal.

Knighted in 1997, the 74-year-old playwright, winner of one Academy award and four Tony Award, shot to limelight with plays like “Arcadia”, “The Coast of Utopia”, “Every Good Boy Deserves Favour”, “Professional Foul” and “Guilderstern and “Rosencrantz are Dead” about political change, state repression, human rights and freedom.

“We need to do a lot more to encourage stage productions. We will be releasing a lot more money for theatre in the coming year under the 12th Plan,” the minister said at the inauguration the 14th Bharat Rang Mahotsav of the National School of Drama at the Kamani Theatre here.

“We want to see more and more productions in the coming years from all over the country,” Selja said.

“The National School of Drama has made its presence felt not only in the capital but in the far corners of the country — and in parts of the world. I have been told that 16 countries are participating at the Bharat Rang Mahotsav,” the minister said.

The 15-day theatre festival opened with a Manipuri adapation of Rabindranath Tagore’s “King of the Dark Chamber”. The Bharat Rang Mahotsav will host 97 plays across 11 venues in the capital and a package in Amritsar in Punjab.

Addressing the gathering, veteran actress Sharmila Tagore said that she had early on discovered the exhilaration of performing in front of an audience.

“But the exhilaration was missing when I faced the camera. My career in films has been influenced and nurtured by co-stars who had robust links with theatre,” she said.

“At this point of life I am doing a number of stage performances. The connection with the audience in theatre is so immediate…our best takes never make it to the final print in films,” Tagore said.

The Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, falls Jan 23. It is the most important traditional Chinese festival for family reunions.

Millions of Chinese travel to their homes during the 40-day rush, known as “chunyun” in China.

The railways alone will carry 235 million passengers during the period this year, the railways ministry said.

“After a whole year of hard work away from home, I can finally go back home to see my child,” said Luo Lirong, a migrant worker, who arrived at the railway station in Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, one hour ahead.

“I cannot pretend that I am not in a hurry,” she told Xinhua.

To cope with the traffic, railway authorities, bus companies and airlines are increasing their capacity.

The railways began allowing customers to book tickets online last year. During major holidays in the past, people would wait for hours in long queues before getting to the ticket sales windows, only to find that tickets were sold out.

A majority of rural migrants take trains to travel to their home, as they are cheaper than other mode transport. The homecoming is treasured as many go home once a year, while some only return once every several years.

“Even though we have such a wide range of olive oils in our market, people don’t seem to use them because of their mental block that the flavor of olive oil doesn’t gel with Indian flavors,” Mehta said at the launch here Satuday her latest book, “Indian Cooking With Olive Oil”.

“This is, in fact, a misconception because there is a grade known as olive pomace oil which is neutral in taste and so does not affect the spices and flavouring that Indian cooking is all about,” she added.

“Moreover, olive pomace oil is resistant to heat for long periods of time, so this is the grade to use when we need to cook masalas for long as the other olive grades do not have a very high smoking point and so ‘break’ and ruin the taste of food. Olive pomace oil gels well with tandoori dishes as well as curries. Paranthas and biryanis cooked in olive oil are mouth watering. Even frying in olive pomace oil gives crisp, non-oily food,” Mehta noted.

The book was jointly released by V.N. Dalmia, chairman of Dalmia Continental, which owns Leonardo Olive Oil, the No.1 brand of olive oil in India in the edible segment and Ugo Astuto, the Italian embassy’s deputy chief of mission.

Published by SNAB Publishers, the cookbook features many exciting recipes, from innovative Broccoli Peanut Kebabs to traditional Bhagaare Baingan, from healthy Zucchini Oat Crunches to the decadent Gulab Jamun, all made healthier with olive oil.

“Most recipes in this book use pomace but since contemporary Indian cooking has so many varied flavours and aromas, we can also use the intermediate grade of olive oil, called “pure olive oil”, for light sauteing. This gives a different dimension to the food,” Mehta said.

Olive oil is universally acknowledged as the healthiest cooking medium and, increasingly, Indian kitchens too are switching over completely to this medium.

“It’s high time this happened, since lifestyle disease in India is fast becoming a national emergency. India ranks No.1 in the world for number of cardiac patients. Thirty-one percent of urban Indians are either overweight or obese. One hundred million people in India have high blood pressure. Over 40 percent of urban Indians have high lipid levels. India is the diabetic capital of the world,” Dalmia noted.

“The greatest benefit of olive oil is that it fights coronary heart disease. Olive oil has the highest content of monounsaturated “good” fats (no less than 80 percent) amongst all edible oils, which reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides.

“At only 10 percent, it has amongst the lowest percentage of saturated ‘bad’ fats, which increase bad cholesterol. High MUFA content in olive oil has been found to prevent high cholesterol, fight heart disease, and help in the prevention of diabetes as well as cancer,” he added.

Mehta has published over 400 cookbooks and sold over 6 million copies, making her one of the largest selling cookbook authors in Asia. Her books have been bestsellers in countries all over the world and she has won several international awards, including the Best Asian Cookbook Award at the World Cookbook Fair in Paris in 1999 for her book Flavours of Indian Cooking.

Her chain of cooking institutes has now been running successfully for over 25 years and she will soon be unveiling a chain of restaurants under her banner.

Launched in 2003, Leonardo Olive Oil pioneered the use of olive oil for Indian cooking.

The Kenyan craftswomen are in an open air classroom experiencing the centuries-old heritage of Indian embroidery and textiles at a crafts exchange programme, “Handcrafting Promises”, between Africa and India.

The programme hosting 18 craftspeople from Africa is a cultural diplomatic initiative supported by the ministry of external affairs at the 25th annual Dastkari Haat Samiti.

Jennifer Mulli, director of Katchy Kollections (under a Kenyan crafts label, Jiamini), bead weavers by tradition, says she is looking at different types of beading from India.

“India has a wide variety of beading traditions and we want to find out how bead crafts from the two countries can complement each other,” Mulli told IANS.

Mulli is also taking part in the dyeing workshops at the crafts fair. “I am learning the use of natural dye because we still use chemical dye in our country. Most of our weavers and craftspeople do not know the process of extracting natural dyes but we have all the spices and natural spices and flowers that are used for colours in Kenya,” Mulli
said.

Mulli and her mate Millicent are keen to tie up with Indian artisans to develop their range of brassware.

“We also craft in brass, but India has richer brassware. We want trade partners in the brass sectors as well as in silver carvings,” Mulli said.

Horn carving is common to both India and Kenya. Indian craftsmen have been sculpting in ivory, buffalo, deer and rhinoceros horns for centuries like African craftspeople, who craft a bigger spread of horn artefacts and jewellery culled from many more animal species, the crafts resource person from Kenya said.

“But in India, horns are carved differently. This is a craft we want to look at… how it is done in India. We also want to learn Indian weaving,” Mulli said.

Mulli has adapted many traditional jewellery into contemporary accessories to make for comfortable wear. “We have culturally changed our indigenous beaded chokers crafted with wires to leather and bead designer wear which does not hurt the skin. Our traditional wire and bead necklaces are stiff and uncomfortable.

“We loom our beads on leather so that they resemble fabrics. The colours of our beadware are more subtle and Western unlike the earthy African shades so that the market can identify with the jewellery,” Mulli said.

Necklaces in Africa traditionally had no pendants, the craftsperson said, explaining the process of design transformation. “But we have introduced pendants in our bead necklaces to suit modern fashion tastes,” she said.

Mulli has a large clientele in Holland, Britain and the US.

“Most of the craftspeople are women in Kenya, but craft is not taken seriously despite the fact that it is a potential income generating business. We are looking for government recognition,” Mulli said.

Mulli and Millicent work with the disadvantaged youth and women in the villages of Kenya, helping them find self-employment. “We develop our products with them. And we have taught many of them how to make beads as well as mix and match designs,” Mulli said.

The city hosted 22nd International Kite Festival that was organized by the state tourism department, district administration and Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) at Navlakhi Compound. Kite enthusiasts from 11 countries participated in the event that attracted lot of spectators.

Over 27 international kite flyers and 16 local award winning kite flyers flew kites in the chilly morning winds. “Uttarayan is celebrated with fervour in the city and this kite festival gave opportunity to citizens to view beautifully designed kites of all sizes,” said mayor Jyoti Pandya. Among the dozens of huge kites, a kite flown by a group from Belgium by remote control remained an attraction.

FOR MORE READING. . . .

The panel is planning to reprint popular books by Malaviya, translate them into different languages and organise lectures on him in universities across the country.

A National Implementation Committee (NIC) led by MP Karan Singh has been constituted to consider the proposals, the culture ministry said in a statement.

The committee comprises Minister for Culture Kumari Selja, Law Minister Salman Khurshid, MP Satish Chandra Mishra and several academic heavyweights.

One of the highlights of the programmes is an interfaith seminar involving Benaras Hindu University (BHU), which Malaviya founded, Aligarh Muslim University, Central University of Tibetan Studies, Osmania University and Ambedkar University.

An exhibition on the contribution of Malaviya to education will tour the country.

The committee is also considering a Malaviya Bhavan at BHU and the establishment of a Malaviya Memorial Library at Malaviya Smriti Bhawan in the capital.

Malaviya, born Dec 25, 1861, in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, is known for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was also the president of the Indian National Congress on four occasions.

With kites shaped as dragons, butterflies, birds and even a parachute, the fliers participated in the curtain raiser to the International Kite Festival to be held in Ahmedabad Jan 10-14.

An awestruck 15-year-old Tushar Baizal, though passionate about kites, was not sure if he could fly one. Until the team from Indonesia handed him their kite.

“This feels so amazing. It is for the first time that I am flying such a huge kite,” said the resident of the Old City, his eyes gleaming and his arms trying bravely to control the huge, red kite — by far the biggest among the lot.

To ensure that the kite was not blown away by the wind, it was tied to a tree with a thick rope.

Indonesian flier Lily flew the parachute-shaped kite. With a slight tug, it billowed, turning into a kaleidoscope of colours.

First-time visitor to India, Belgian Bert Maetens told IANS that he was excited about his upcoming Ahmedabad trip.

“I would love to see the traditional kite flying in the Indian villages, where the young and old alike engage in very competitive kite-fights and try to outdo each other,” he said.

Among his repertoire was a huge black Rokkaku, a traditional Japanese fighting kite and a pair of Delta-wings which he claimed could “fly in no-air conditions”.

His friend Bob Cruikshanks of Britain said kite-making had become an art in itself, with new materials being developed specially for the purpose.

“Our kites are crafted from Icarex, a special type of nylon, created in ripstop fashion which prevents tearing due to fast winds,” he said.

A retired aeronautics engineer and a long-time kite enthusiast, he has been coming to India for six years now.

1. “The Habit of Love”; Written by Namita Gokhale; Published by Penguin-India; Priced at Rs.250

This book of short stories is about women and the strange workings of their heart written over a period of two decades. It brings out the threads that have bound women throughout history – exploring emotions as contrasting as loneliness, love minus riders, motherhood and a woman’s need to find her words and voice in a society that has overlooked the mindspace of the other sex for centuries.

The stories are both everyday and exotic like that of journalist Madhu Sinha, who strikes a quaint kinship with a man as young as her son, a swan which acts as the narrator of the tale of Nala and Damayanti and pert young miss Vatsala Vidyarthi, who suspects her one night stand of stealing her money.

2. “When Loss is Gain”; Written by Pavan K. Varma; Published by Rupa & Co; Priced at Rs.395

Anand, a budding lawyer, quits his job when he is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and is told that he has a few months to live. Life hits rock bottom when his wife leaves him for his best friend Adi. But life grants him a second chance when the doctor says the diagnosis was wrong and he is cancer-free.

Anand goes to the remote Bhutanese retreat of Wangsisina to enjoy the simple joys of life. Life takes a twist in the mountains when he meets Tara, an enigmatic woman who is fleeing her own tragic past. The book is a maiden shot at fiction by diplomat Pavan K. Varma, a noted non-fiction writer, translator and cultural ideologue.

3. “Confessions of a Serial Dieter”; Written by Kalli Purie; Published by Harper Collins; Priced at Rs.250

Kalli Purie has struggled with her weight since childhood and has finally found a weight she is happy with. Mostly. The diets featured in her book are structured rather like episodes in her life, full of characters, anecdotes and juicy nuggets of weight wisdom – from ‘surya namaskars’ to Bollywood beats to drastic coconut water diets.

In this candid tell-all, Kalli, a fitness honcho, looks at weight-related complexes, myths and dilemmas and tells us not just what to do but how to do it. Kilo by kilo.

4. “Deep Focus: Reflections on Cinema”; Anthology of Satyajit Ray’s articles; Published by Harper Collins India; Priced at Rs.450

Satyajit Ray is acknowledged as one of the world’s finest filmmakers. His films changed the way the world looked at Indian cinema. But he was also a bestselling writer of novels and short stories, and possibly the only Indian filmmaker who wrote prolifically on cinema.

This book brings together, for the first time in one volume, some of his most cerebral writings on films. With the economy and precision that marked his films, Ray writes on the art and craft of cinema, pens an ode to silent cinema, discusses the problems in adapting literary works to film and pays tribute to contemporaries like Jean-Luc Godard and Uttam Kumar.

5. “From Red Fort to Raisena”; Written by J.P. Losty, Salman Khurshid, Ratish Nanda and Malvika Singh; Published by Roli Books; Priced at Rs.2,975

The book traces the journey of Shahjahan’s new capital of the Mughal Empire, Shahjahanabad, built on the banks of the river Yamuna in 1638 AD, to New Delhi, the new capital of British-ruled India in 1911.

From Red Fort to Jama Masjid and from Jahanara Bagh to Hayat Bakhsh Bagh, every palace, mosque, bazaar and bagh in the Mughal city was planned to perfection. The new city too was a blend of Mughal architecture and modern aesthetics. This book celebrates the centenary with four essays on different aspects of Delhi’s history.

Non-Fiction

1. “Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography”
Author: Walter Isaacson
Publisher: Hachette
Price: Rs.799

2. “Lucknow Boy”
Author: Vinod Mehta
Publisher: Penguin
Price: Rs.499

3. “Non-stop India”
Author: Mark Tully
Publisher: Penguin
Price: Rs 499

4 “Get To The Top”
Author: Suhel Seth
Publisher:Random House
Price: Rs 250

5 “Confessions Of A Serial Dieter”
Author: Kalli Purie
Publisher: Harper Collins
Price:Rs 250

Fiction

1. “Can Love Happen Twice”
Author: Ravinder Singh
Publisher: Penguin
Price:125

2. “Revolution 2020″
Author: Chetan Bhagat
Publisher: Rupa
Price: Rs.140

3. “The Secret of the Nagas”
Author: Amish Tripathi
Publisher: Westland
Price: Rs.295

4. “The Sense Of An Ending”
Author: Julian Barnes
Publisher: Jonathan Cape Books
Price:499

5. “Inheritance”
Author: Christopher Paolini
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Price: Rs.699

(This bestseller list has been compiled by the Indian Authors Promotion Association on the basis of data provided by Bahrisons, Delhi; Capital Book Depot, Chandigarh; Sapna Book Store, Bangalore)

1. “The Habit of Love”; Written by Namita Gokhale; Published by Penguin-India; Priced at Rs.250

This book of short stories is about women and the strange workings of their heart written over a period of two decades. It brings out the threads that have bound women throughout history – exploring emotions as contrasting as loneliness, love minus riders, motherhood and a woman’s need to find her words and voice in a society that has overlooked the mindspace of the other sex for centuries.

The stories are both everyday and exotic like that of journalist Madhu Sinha, who strikes a quaint kinship with a man as young as her son, a swan which acts as the narrator of the tale of Nala and Damayanti and pert young miss Vatsala Vidyarthi, who suspects her one night stand of stealing her money.

2. “When Loss is Gain”; Written by Pavan K. Varma; Published by Rupa & Co; Priced at Rs.395

Anand, a budding lawyer, quits his job when he is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and is told that he has a few months to live. Life hits rock bottom when his wife leaves him for his best friend Adi. But life grants him a second chance when the doctor says the diagnosis was wrong and he is cancer-free.

Anand goes to the remote Bhutanese retreat of Wangsisina to enjoy the simple joys of life. Life takes a twist in the mountains when he meets Tara, an enigmatic woman who is fleeing her own tragic past. The book is a maiden shot at fiction by diplomat Pavan K. Varma, a noted non-fiction writer, translator and cultural ideologue.

3. “Confessions of a Serial Dieter”; Written by Kalli Purie; Published by Harper Collins; Priced at Rs.250

Kalli Purie has struggled with her weight since childhood and has finally found a weight she is happy with. Mostly. The diets featured in her book are structured rather like episodes in her life, full of characters, anecdotes and juicy nuggets of weight wisdom – from ‘surya namaskars’ to Bollywood beats to drastic coconut water diets.

In this candid tell-all, Kalli, a fitness honcho, looks at weight-related complexes, myths and dilemmas and tells us not just what to do but how to do it. Kilo by kilo.

4. “Deep Focus: Reflections on Cinema”; Anthology of Satyajit Ray’s articles; Published by Harper Collins India; Priced at Rs.450

Satyajit Ray is acknowledged as one of the world’s finest filmmakers. His films changed the way the world looked at Indian cinema. But he was also a bestselling writer of novels and short stories, and possibly the only Indian filmmaker who wrote prolifically on cinema.

This book brings together, for the first time in one volume, some of his most cerebral writings on films. With the economy and precision that marked his films, Ray writes on the art and craft of cinema, pens an ode to silent cinema, discusses the problems in adapting literary works to film and pays tribute to contemporaries like Jean-Luc Godard and Uttam Kumar.

5. “From Red Fort to Raisena”; Written by J.P. Losty, Salman Khurshid, Ratish Nanda and Malvika Singh; Published by Roli Books; Priced at Rs.2,975

The book traces the journey of Shahjahan’s new capital of the Mughal Empire, Shahjahanabad, built on the banks of the river Yamuna in 1638 AD, to New Delhi, the new capital of British-ruled India in 1911.

From Red Fort to Jama Masjid and from Jahanara Bagh to Hayat Bakhsh Bagh, every palace, mosque, bazaar and bagh in the Mughal city was planned to perfection. The new city too was a blend of Mughal architecture and modern aesthetics. This book celebrates the centenary with four essays on different aspects of Delhi’s history.

Santosh was one of the earliest pioneers to put religious sensibilities aside for artistic inspiration — a trend later emulated by S.H. Raza and Sohan Qadri, Muslim artists who were also inspired by Hindu spirituality.

“Santosh had a mystical experience at the Amarnath caves in 1964 after which he began to research Kashmiri Shaivism and tantra mysticism. The Shiva-Shakti symbol dominated his work,” art critic and writer Kishor Singh, the head of the publication and exhibition wing of the Delhi Art Gallery, told IANS.

Santosh’s art is known for its precision shapes, religious symbols, tantrik icons and a colourful palette. The artist was influenced by cubism, impressionism and later by the Vadodara-painter N.S. Bendre under whom he trained in art.

The exhibition of his works was inaugurated at the Delhi Art Gallery by president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations Karan Singh Wednesday. Singh said this was the first exhibition of Santosh in the capital.

A book on the artist, who died of a heart attack in 1977, was also released as a tribute. The book contains scholarly essays, photographs of his paintings, rare archival material and his poetry.

Santosh’s personal life reflected his open outlook to religion. “He married a Hindu amid family opposition and later took his wife’s name Santosh to negate the concept of conflicting faiths,” Singh said.

The works, which are rare, have been acquired from Santosh’s family and from a collection in New York, Singh said.

“We have covered his entire life – from 1950 to 1977 till his death. He is one of the earliest pioneers of the tantrik art who began painting spiritual themes in the late 1960s before Raza began to draw “bindu” in the 1970s. He gave the traditional Shaivite icons contemporary interpretations on his canvas. Islam or Hinduism was not a part of his thinking,” Singh said.

His early life was chequered. After completing his matriculation in 1945, Santosh took up several odd jobs like signboard painting, silk weaving and white washing walls to support himself. Gradually, he honed his skill as a papier mache artist.

In 1950, Santosh joined the Progressive Arts Association in Kashmir, an attempt by S.H. Raza to mobilise Kashmiri painters. Four years later, he went to Vadodara on a scholarship to study art.

In his early years, Santosh was influenced by the mysticism of the Kashmir valley which was manifested in semi-abstract and cubist forms on his canvas. A visit to the Amarnath cave in 1964 changed Santosh’s life after which he began to combine the male and female forms to draw a pure image of the human form, leaving out the face, hands and feet.

Sanskrit has not only some of the greatest classics of world literature, but also a treasure of knowledge in Mathematics, Medicine, Botany, Chemistry, Arts and Humanities. If we provide the missing links and establish the required inter-disciplinary approaches, the wisdom of Sanskrit has the potential of enriching the present day knowledge systems and Indian languages immensely.

The Sanskrit language has also been the source of values and ideals that have sustained India through the ages. Like the great civilization of India, Sanskrit does not belong to any particular race, sect or religion. It represents a culture that is not narrow and sectarian but open, tolerant and all-embracing. The open-minded seers and thinkers who spelt out their vision and philosophy in the sacred Vedas and the Upanishads were able to balance the opposites in their life and in philosophy. It is this spirit of liberalism and tolerance imbedded in Sanskrit that we must inculcate in our present-day life. The message of the ancient sages of India, who gave us the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the world as one family, continues to be of great significance to the world even today.

promotion of Sanskrit.

The Government of India is committed to the promotion and development of Sanskrit. Three institutions established by the government – Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth and Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth – are actively engaged in this task. These institutions offer flexible and non-formal Sanskrit courses in order to popularize the language. They also facilitate the conduct of vocational courses for the students of traditional Sanskrit pathshalas, so that their employability is increased. The Maharishi Sandipani Rashtriya Ved Vidya Pratishthan is engaged in the task of preserving, developing and propagating the oral tradition of Vedic studies.

There are a number of other measures that are being taken to encourage the study of Sanskrit. These include financial assistance to modern schools offering Sanskrit as a subject and traditional Sanskrit schools offering modern subjects, and to voluntary organizations that are maintaining traditional Sanskrit institutions. In addition, Sanskrit departments of the universities are funded by the University Grants Commission under its various schemes. Financial assistance is also provided for the production of Sanskrit literature including newspapers and journals, and reprinting of rare books. Scholars who have excelled in the study of Sanskrit are honoured every year.

In the course of time, we will further strengthen our efforts for the promotion, development and enrichment of Sanskrit.

Many of the modern Indian languages depend upon Sanskrit for their vocabulary. The Commission for Technical and Scientific Terms established by the Government of India has also depended on Sanskrit sources for developing the technical terms in science and technology for Indian languages.

Source : The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s address as the World Sanskrit Conference , New Delhi .

The assailants said that his art was provocative and went against the religious sentiments of people.

They also threatened that just as late painter M.F. Husain was hounded out of the country for his explicit art, Krishan will also not be allowed to display his art again, the painter said.

Krishan, who has two artificial limbs, said he was assaulted from behind because of which he was unable to identify the attackers.

The CCTV at the exhibition venue was not working and thus could not capture the incident, sources said.

The three-month celebrations, “Passage to the Next Generation”, will bring to the capital Yoko Ono’s “Our Beautiful Daughters”, an art project to spread the message of gender empowerment.

The core of the project will be two gallery displays, “Our Beautiful Daughters” and “The Seeds” — and a performance art show, “To India With Love”.

The exhibitions will be accompanied by three public art projects, including the famous “Wish Trees”, a performance-installation art project that Oko Yono created in 1996.

The Yoko Ono art project which will open Jan 13 is a collaboration between the Vadehra Art Gallery and the Japan Foundation, the foundation announced in the capital Thursday.

The Japan Foundation will present a bouquet of more than 15 cultural events like the Water Station (drama), Looking IN & Out (drama), Journey to the West (an exhibition), an Origami workshop, Japanese Design Today 100 (exhibition), Kizuna Festival, Wallart Festival, Light Up Nippon (a social art project 2011 Tsunami victims), an amination workshop and several movies.

The theme of the friendship celebrations is a song that cultural and press attache Masahiro Nagira has composed for the occasion.

“The song is in four parts. The first section, ‘Flying to See You’ in Japanese is about a flight over the sea to see a long-time friend. It uses Japanese musical instruments like talko and koto. The second part , ‘Welcome’, is in Hindi and sung by school children from the capital. It is about welcoming a friend from a distant place. It features the sitar, sarod, dholak and tabla,” Nagira said.

The third segment of the friendship jingle, is “Life”, fusion of traditional Indian and Japanese instruments and the last part is “Dawn” – a English song, Nagira said.

Japanese ambassador Akitaka Saiki said in a statement: “Japan and India share long-standing historical ties and have maintained a close bond of friendship since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1952… In commemorating the 60th anniversary, we hope to share with our Indian friends the various cultural aspects of Japan — both traditional and cultural — especially more of contemporary Japanese culture.”

One of highlights of the cultural carnival is the Japanese Design Today 100 Feb 6-15 by the Japan Foundation. It will present 90 designs of household items that were produced during the 1990s and 13 iconic designs which were the roots of several contemporary design movements.

Four artists — two Japanese and two Indians — will paint on the walls of classrooms in Sujata village in Bodh Gaya at a Wall Art Festival. The paintings will later be exhibited in the capital.

The Japan Foundation will also present a retrospective of the new wave auteur Yasuzo Masumura for the first time in the capital.

Commenting on Yoko Ono’s art project, Yusuke Matsuoka, director of arts and cultural events at the Japan Foundation, told IANS, “We were looking for a contemporary art museum which could support the project but we did not come across one. We wanted it to be a non-commercial project to spread a message to the society. It is a very meaningful project. We selected Vadehra Gallery because it promoted meaningful projects.”

“The Japan Foundation was also reaching out to other venues like the Lakit Kala Akademi and the India International Centre with cultural projects,” he added.

Matsuoka said the “Wish Tree” public art project was very popular in Japan. “Two of the other projects are site-specific,” he said.

Recalling the history of “Wish Tree”, Parul Vadehra of Vadehra Art Gallery told IANS: “Yoko Ono first created the project in 1996 inspired by her childhood experience of visiting a temple in Japan”.

Yoko would jot down a wish on a scrap of paper and tie it to a branch of a tree. Since then, the artist-musician and filmmaker has travelled around the globe asking “people to write their own hopes and prayers on paper tags”.

In India too, Yoko will appeal to viewers to write their wishes for her installation.

The wishes, currently totalling over a million, will be sent to the Imagine Peace Tower, a memorial Yoko Ono had created for her slain husband John Lennon in 2007 in the Isle of Videy in Iceland.

“With over 140 international exhibits from 16 countries, Techfest is all about the opportunity to explore and experience the state of art technology in the world. Over the years we are having the world award winning exhibits including two-time RoboSoccer champion, World’s Best Humanoid and The Last Supper Interactive,” said the festival’s media coordinator Sumant Deshmukh.

Also on the platter are lecture series by eminent personalities like Nobel Laureate and Padma Bhushan Venkataraman Ramakrishnan and MP3 inventor Karlheinz Brandenburg, among others.

“A major attraction will also be the Japan Media Art Festival, an annual contest for media art works which include arts, entertainment, animation and Japanese comics. One of the most unique point of Japan Media Arts Festival is these four different fields are presenting as an one field of Media Arts,” Deshmukh said.

Competitions like Robowars – the inter collegiate event of combat robotics – and Full Throttle – IC (internal combustion) modelled cars vying to finish fastest in a race – with additions of more obstacles and the dirt terrain promise to keep the tempo going at the fest.

“We have also planned an initiative called Ummeed-e-Milaap, by the core team of Techfest- IIT Bombay to unite the students of India and Pakistan, brushing aside all their differences and voice their opinion for a peaceful tomorrow,” Deshmukh said.

A part of this initiative is the Indo-Pak Diary Campaign. A diary will be circulated among 30 colleges of Mumbai and 20 colleges in Pakistan, in which students will pen down their comments, the best of 20 comments from each college will be posted in the diary.

“The diary will be unveiled to the public in India Friday and in Pakistan on January 18,” Deshmukh said.

“Sanskrit is the spirit of India. The government is committed to the promotion and development of Sanskrit,” Manmohan Singh said, addressing the 15th World Sanskrit Conference here.

He said the Sanskrit, recognized as one of the oldest living languages of the world, “is often misunderstood as only a language of religious hymns and rituals”.

This, he said, “does injustice to the great genius of this language and betrays ignorance of the work of great writers, thinkers, sages and scientists like Kautilya, Charaka, Sushruta, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Brahmagupta, Bhaskaracharya”.

He said that the ancient language has a treasure of knowledge of mathematics, medicines, botany, chemistry, arts and humanities

“If we provide the missing links and establish the required inter-disciplinary approaches, the wisdom of Sanskrit has the potential of enriching the present day knowledge systems and Indian languages immensely.”

He said three government institutions — Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth and Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth — were actively engaged in promoting Sanskrit.

“Financial assistance is also provided for the production of Sanskrit literature including newspapers and journals, and reprinting of rare books. In the course of time, we will further strengthen our efforts for the promotion, development and enrichment of Sanskrit.”

The prime minister said the language has been the source of values and ideals that have sustained India through the ages.

Voctronica, which debuts by the end of the month, will be assembled after a series of workshops in India and Britain with aspirants being auditioned for their vocal range, feel for rhythm and pitch.

Ten of the best beatboxers will be chosen to assemble the band.

Voctronica is a collaboration between Sony Music, the British Council and Zomba, a Sony Music Independent initiative which is a comprehensive digital platform to promote and develop emerging hip hop culture in India.

The orchestra will be overseen by Shlomo, a Guinness World Record holder and Human Beatboxing champion, who will choose the band members. The project will be led in India by popular voiceover artist and vocalist Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy.

“Beatboxing is all about rhythm and how well you combine sounds to produce a unique tune. It crosses genres as it borrows from every culture. It is relevant in India because of Indian percussion which is mostly played on the tabla. We’re exploring similar sounds and beat with beatboxing,” Shlomo told IANS.

Explaining the genesis of beatboxing, Shlomo said beatboxing “had its roots in the beginning of modern hip-hop, on street corners in places like Chicago, the Bronx, and Los Angeles”.

“However, vocal percussion – the art form from which beatboxing was born – has been part of the music and urban scene for a lot longer than people think,” the beatboxer said.

Shlomo, who toured India in 2010 and enthralled audiences with his hyper-intensive vocal skills and supernatural swiftness on stage, is known to produce a wide range of music like rhythms, songs, melody and harmony using only his voice and a microphone.

The term beatboxing is derived from the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes, Shlomo said.

“Human beatboxing in hip-hop originated in the 1980s. Its early pioneers include Doug E. Fresh, a self-proclaimed first ‘human beatbox’, Swifty, who was the first to implement the inhale sound technique, Buffy, who helped perfect many beatboxing techniques and Wise, who contributed significantly to the proliferation of beatboxing,” the musician said.

Shlomo said he had been instinctively making noises with his mouth since he was a toddler.

“I didn’t know it was called beatboxing until much later,” Shlomo said. The musician said the “Voctronica orchestra hopefully will be full of surprises”.

“We cannot say the kind of music we plan to make. Once the group is formed, we will work on each other’s strengths and come up with something original and maybe with a twist of fusion. I can’t really say right now, but we are sure it will be a unique experience,” he said.

The top 10 finalists of the beatboxing auditions will be part of an eight-day training workshop in Mumbai in January 2012, he said.

The training will be conducted by Testament, a human beatboxer, MC and a member of the Lip Factory – Shlomo’s vocal project in Britain.

Voctronica will continue to be trained by Shlomo via Skype and will perform as the country’s first ever locally bred beatboxing troupe across India and in Britain in the first half of 2012.

The awards, given for playwriting, set design, costume and light design, performance and lifetime’s contribution to theatre, will be hosted by Kabir Bedi. The hosts, Mahindra & Mahindra, will Jan 10 close submissions for the award.

The best play carries a purse of Rs.100,000 while the cash prize for the other categories varies between Rs.45,000 and Rs.75,000. A lifetime achievement award carries a Rs.500,000 kitty.

The entries, sent on DVDs, will be judged by a sex-member jury which will shortlist 10 for the awards in various categories after a period of intensive screening at the end of January 2012. The 10 best productions will be staged in the capital March 1-6.

“We are looking at plays by groups of Indian origin in any regional languages of the country. Last year, we received more than 240 entries in 30 different languages from Assam to Kerala. The entries have to come along with a DVD — and should a theatre group not have funds to make a DVD, then we, as the founding committee, will fund them,” META creative director Ravi Dubey told IANS from Mumbai.

The plays have to be new productions staged in 2011, said Dubey, a senior stage actor, theatre activist and a former corporate honcho.

Highlighting the importance of language theatre in META, Dubey said: “Last year, only three of the 10 productions were in English and Hindi.”

“The rest were in regional languages,” Dubey added.

“The jury has been planned in a way that it includes representatives from across the country,” Dubey said.

This year, the jury, which is yet to be announced, is likely to include National School of Drama chief Amal Allana and filmmaker Shyam Benegal, Dubey said. Last year, the jury had brought on board Arundhati Nag, Mahesh Ekluncher, Anuradha Kapur, Utkarsh Mazumdar and Neelam Mansingh.

Theatre awards, which are a few compared to the exploding cinema awards across the country, help smaller groups to set goals for themselves, Dubey said.

“For example, META has become an aspiration for theatre companies even from the tribal areas — they all want to qualify for it,” Dubey said.

“META, when it was constituted, had tried to create two segments, emerging theatre and established theatre, to recognise young theatre as a separate category. But we had to drop the idea.”

The principal problem in theatre was finance, Dubey said. “People who want to be in theatre say they cannot sustain themselves. A very senior theatre personality who was once a member of our jury said he did not have money to make a DVD of his production that he wanted to submit as an entry to META. There is no lack of talent or ability,” Dubey added.

“We have no original scripts because we are constantly re-adapting. The crying need of theatre continues to be the original script,” he said.

Jay Shah of sponsor Mahindra & Mahindra, who manages the company’s cultural initiatives, said the biggest incentive that awards like META can provide to Indian theatre is a “platform to stage plays from the remote corners of the country”.

“The whole idea of supporting theatre rests on the fact that we give it the right platform,” Shah told IANS from Mumbai.

The novelty of META this year will be its “quality and expanse of the entries”.

“The word gets carried around the country through the diverse group of participants, jury, enthusiasts and the media,” Shah said.

Last year, an 80-minute reality play in English, “The Interview”, directed by Akarsh Khurana won the best lead actor, best supporting actor and best stage design awards. Badal Sircar, known for his radical Bengali plays, was awarded for his lifetime contribution to theatre.

Baima Temple, or the White Horse Temple, will be expanded into a cultural park of 87 hectares in eight years, the religious affairs authorities said.

According to the People’s Daily, the temple, located in Luoyang city, was the first Buddhist shrine in China and is considered “the cradle of Chinese Buddhism” by most believers.

The expanded complex will include an area for 10 exotic shrines that will come from foreign countries, the official said.

An Indian shrine and a Thai shrine have already risen in the courtyard.
Construction is expected to start in April.

“India is a sensory overload. We don’t have so many textiles, not to this extent, in Africa as one finds in India. The tonalities of colours are wider and the textures are so different,” Eugenie Drake, a leading South African handicrafts promoter and designer, who is in India with a crafts showcase from her country, told IANS.

Drake is exhibiting her wares — a quaint medley of bead necklaces, Zulu love girdles, ethnic love letter pendants, leg-ring bangles, embroidered fabrics and ethnic silverware — at the 25th Dastkari Haat Samiti in the capital’s Dilli Haat Jan 1-14 as part of the “Handcrafted Promises” India-Africa cultural initiative.

Drake manages “Piece”, a 10-year-old niche crafts boutique, in Johannesburg that combines traditional crafts from the ethnic Zulu, Ndebele and Venda communities of South Africa with contemporary western motifs to create wearable accessories.

“The big thing about our creations is to make as many young people wear what we make because they are contemporary… and yet at the same time the grandmother of a girl who wears our products feels proud because she sees her culture reflected in the child,” Drake said.

Citing examples, she said: “I make woven grass-fabric and bead bangles inspired by the traditional leg-rings (chunky anklets) which no one wears now. I have designed necklaces by improvising on the traditional Zulu betrothal necklace and coloured love letter pendants.”

The colours of her beads convey different messages, the crafts protagonist said.

“Zulu couples earlier conducted their courtships with love letter bead pendants — small square multi-coloured charms that dangle from neck-pieces,” Drake said.

The size of the African beads vary from tribe to tribe, she said.

Drake’s inspirations are not confined to South Africa alone; she often crosses the border to “Swaziland, Namibia and Botswana to collect old designs”.

Her list of buyers include the likes of Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, Elton John and Oprah Winfrey.

The lanky crafts activist dresses in styles reflecting the funky fashion of her country — a bowl-shaped Zulu married woman’s hat, grass bangles and colourful bead necklaces contrasting with a black skirt and black stockings.

“The first thing one notices in India is the quality of dedication of the crafts artists. They work incredibly hard and I would imagine that they do not work for a huge amount of money… There is a certain pride in them in their traditions. The cultures in India are different and yet they complement each other. Yet, they remain unique to an area. In Africa, we have not been able to work so closely together…,” Drake said.

“I want craftspeople, who take pride in their work, to generate an income from what they do,” the crafts activist said.

Drake plans to carry home a consignment of Gujarati shawls with a DVD of the life story of the Indian weaver, whom she first met in Addis Ababa in 2011, to tell buyers about her “Indian experience”.

Drake, who descends from Scottish and French stock, identifies more with the culture of her country than of her ancestors.

“More and more white Africans are learning about their ethnic cultures and would wear something traditional (jewelry) out of respect for the local culture to parties…For me, South Africa has been an amazing journey to know my identity and culture. It has redefined who I am,” she said, pointing to an elaborate South African Flag necklace which is sought after as a “culture mascots” by non-ethnic South Africans.

Drake said the “ethnic communities with whom I have worked have taught me more than I could teach them”.

“They have taught me courage, strength, respect for humanity and sharing,” the activist said.

Drake is looking to learn “natural dyeing techniques” from India.

“We use chemical dyes and we cannot afford to pollute our continent any more. I want to see if we can do an exchange programme — take some Indian craftspeople to South Africa and take some South African crafts to India… Exchange has to be a two-way process,” Drake said.

(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)

“Children these days are more attracted towards Bollywood music and other forms of popular western music. But classical music is like a banyan tree which keeps on growing while the rest are small plants which grow flowers for some days and then die out,” vocalist Girija Devi told IANS on the sidelines of the programme.

“Classical music demands complete dedication and a lot of hard work and determination. This is the reason children and youngsters are more into other forms of popular music because they find it easy, lucrative and a way to achieve quick fame,” added the singer who has been honoured with Padma Bhushan.

Eminent sarod player Ashish Khan blamed the “garbage of Bollywood music” for destroying culture and society and advocated that music be taught as a compulsory subject in schools.

“Bollywood music these days is all garbage. Calling it ‘music’ is an insult to the word. It has nothing to do with music. They are ruining our culture and society,” Khan told IANS.

“Classical music should be made a compulsory subject in schools. Unless that is done, our children will continue drifting away from classical and folk music,” added Khan.

Famed singer Ajay Chakraborty too lamented the lack of popularity of classical music and called for measures to make it more popular.

“Newspapers have dedicated pages for sports, films and celebrities but they hardly have space for classical music. I do not blame them because you only sell things which are attractive,” said Chakrabarty.

“I think there is a need to package classical music more colourfully. We need to market it more aggressively,” he added.

The musical masters were in the city to announce the 60th edition of the Dover Lane Annual Music Conference Jan 22-25, at the Nazrul Mancha auditorium in South Kolkata.

The festival derives its name from the fact that it originally took place at a location on Dover Lane, an important street in the Ballygunge area of the city. Stalwarts from the world of music including Girija Devi, Ustad Rashid Khan, Ajay Chakrabarty and Ashish Khan, among others, will perform at the festival.

“India is a sensory overload. We don’t have so many textiles, not to this extent, in Africa as one finds in India. The tonalities of colours are wider and the textures are so different,” Eugenie Drake, a leading South African handicrafts promoter and designer, who is in India with a crafts showcase from her country, told IANS.

Drake is exhibiting her wares — a quaint medley of bead necklaces, Zulu love girdles, ethnic love letter pendants, leg-ring bangles, embroidered fabrics and ethnic silverware — at the 25th Dastkari Haat Samiti in the capital’s Dilli Haat Jan 1-14 as part of the “Handcrafted Promises” India-Africa cultural initiative.

Drake manages “Piece”, a 10-year-old niche crafts boutique, in Johannesburg that combines traditional crafts from the ethnic Zulu, Ndebele and Venda communities of South Africa with contemporary western motifs to create wearable accessories.

“The big thing about our creations is to make as many young people wear what we make because they are contemporary… and yet at the same time the grandmother of a girl who wears our products feels proud because she sees her culture reflected in the child,” Drake said.

Citing examples, she said: “I make woven grass-fabric and bead bangles inspired by the traditional leg-rings (chunky anklets) which no one wears now. I have designed necklaces by improvising on the traditional Zulu betrothal necklace and coloured love letter pendants.”

The colours of her beads convey different messages, the crafts protagonist said.

“Zulu couples earlier conducted their courtships with love letter bead pendants — small square multi-coloured charms that dangle from neck-pieces,” Drake said.

The size of the African beads vary from tribe to tribe, she said.

Drake’s inspirations are not confined to South Africa alone; she often crosses the border to “Swaziland, Namibia and Botswana to collect old designs”.

Her list of buyers include the likes of Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, Elton John and Oprah Winfrey.

The lanky crafts activist dresses in styles reflecting the funky fashion of her country — a bowl-shaped Zulu married woman’s hat, grass bangles and colourful bead necklaces contrasting with a black skirt and black stockings.

“The first thing one notices in India is the quality of dedication of the crafts artists. They work incredibly hard and I would imagine that they do not work for a huge amount of money… There is a certain pride in them in their traditions. The cultures in India are different and yet they complement each other. Yet, they remain unique to an area. In Africa, we have not been able to work so closely together…,” Drake said.

“I want craftspeople, who take pride in their work, to generate an income from what they do,” the crafts activist said.

Drake plans to carry home a consignment of Gujarati shawls with a DVD of the life story of the Indian weaver, whom she first met in Addis Ababa in 2011, to tell buyers about her “Indian experience”.

Drake, who descends from Scottish and French stock, identifies more with the culture of her country than of her ancestors.

“More and more white Africans are learning about their ethnic cultures and would wear something traditional (jewelry) out of respect for the local culture to parties…For me, South Africa has been an amazing journey to know my identity and culture. It has redefined who I am,” she said, pointing to an elaborate South African Flag necklace which is sought after as a “culture mascots” by non-ethnic South Africans.

Drake said the “ethnic communities with whom I have worked have taught me more than I could teach them”.

“They have taught me courage, strength, respect for humanity and sharing,” the activist said.

Drake is looking to learn “natural dyeing techniques” from India.

“We use chemical dyes and we cannot afford to pollute our continent any more. I want to see if we can do an exchange programme — take some Indian craftspeople to South Africa and take some South African crafts to India… Exchange has to be a two-way process,” Drake said.

(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)

The carnival will open with an open-air free concert at
Central Park in Connaught Place followed by two concerts at Siri Fort.

“This is the first time the ICCR is promoting western music in an open space. The concert is also scheduled on the bank of Brahmaputra in Guwahati in Assam,” Indian Council for Cultural Relations director general Suresh Goel said in a statement Monday.

An ensemble of international musicians and instructors from France,
India, the US, Russia, Austria and New Zealand will present “Mozart
Magic in India”, a selection of arias, choruses and orchestra pieces from the vast repertoire of Mozart’s famous operas — “The Magic Flute”, “Idomeneo”, “Cosi Fan Tutte” and “The Marriage of Figaro”, the ICCR statement said.

The concert will feature 40 musicians, 40 choristers and 12 soloists — including Indian performers who have been trained in France and at the the Bombay Chamber Orchestra Society set up in 1962 to coach young musicians.

The show will have wind musicians from the Rouen Haute-Normandie Opera House, especially trained to play Mozart’s music.

The concert will be a collaboration between ICCR and the Neemrana Music Foundation. It will be supported by the Embassy of France and the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre.

The Mozart concert will be conducted in two parts. The first segment will feature music from “The Magic Flute” for 45 minutes and the rest of the performance will comprise seven acts from “Idomeneo”, “Cosi Fan Tutte” and “The Marriage of Figaro”.

The concert will be led by Singapore-born Indian conductor George
Mathew, an alumnus of Manhattan School of Music. In 2010, he was named artistic director and conductor of the New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

The concert is an evidence of the growing popularity of Mozart’s music in India with several choral groups in metropolitan cities
carrying his music to the masses.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born January 27 in Salzburg, composed over
600 works which many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concert, chamber, piano, operatic and choral music.

The only thing agreed upon is that the place, situated in the queen of hills where the Ridge and the Mall (road) converge, got its name in the 19th century.

The story goes that the then Maharaja (ruler) of Patiala had eloped with the daughter of the British Viceroy. This had led to the Maharaja being banished from entering Shimla by the British authorities. He countered the move by setting himself a new summer capital – now famous hill resort of Chail, 45 km from Shimla.

But with the real sequence of events still a suspense, Chandigarh based author Manju Jaidka, a professor at Panjab University’s Department of English, has tried to unveil the history behind it.

In her historical fiction “Scandal Point” (Publisher: Rupa, Price: Rs.195), Jaidka has tried to get to the bottom of the mystery.

“It’s a place with which everyone has an associated memory. Since my childhood, I have grown listening to stories about how the Scandal Point came into being and how it got its name. But they were usually vague memories that passed on through ages. So I decided to go on researching about it. I might be wrong in my assumption of the story but this is what I could make out after looking into the facts of the matter,” Manju Jaidka told IANS here.

“The most common story told about the Scandal Point was that of the Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh, eloping with the British Viceroy’s daughter in 1892. He was banned by the British from entering Shimla. So, he constructed a summer capital for himself at a small village called Chail. And the place of intersection of the Ridge and the Mall, where he eloped with her, came to be called as Scandal Point,” Jaidka said.

But according to the author, the story about Maharaja Bhupinder Singh cannot be true. While going through the archives at the Patiala palace and other places, she came across some facts which suggested otherwise.

“How could he (Bhupinder Singh) have eloped with a British lady and constructed a palace at Chail after being banished when he was just one year old at that time? Probably because of his colourful nature and many wives, he is mistaken by the people,” Jaidka said.

The author believes that the Maharaja in question has to be Bhupinder’s father, Rajindra Singh.

“It is on record that Maharaja Rajindra Singh had an English wife. According to the facts that I have gone through, she also had a son. But no one ever knew where the mother and son disappeared. In my book, I have kept them alive and the story is woven around their lives. I may not be correct in my assumption, but when I thought that this might have happened in my head over and over again, I felt as if it was all true,” she explains.

In the book, the author has tried to come up with what might have happened.

She leaves the reader saying: “The mysterious ambience the (Viceregal) Lodge has, it seemed the best to end there as even I am not aware what the real truth behind the Scandal Point is.”

The mystery behind the true story of Scandal Point continues.

(Japjeet Duggal can be contacted at japjeetd@gmail.com)

In “Dehli ki Aakhri Shama”, Urdu essayist Mirza Farhatullah Beg describes an imaginary mushaira, featuring all the prominent poets of the time like Ghalib, Zauq and Momin, in 1850s Delhi, beginning after the evening prayers and continuing till dawn with the “shayars” (poets) reciting when the “shama” (lamp) was placed before them.

The tradition of Urdu ‘shayari’ in the capital dates back the 17th century, and got a fillip in the mid-18th century during the reign of Bahadur Shah II, himself a noted poet writing under the name of ‘Zafar’.

The Ghalib Memorial Movement, which is trying to revive the literary legacy of Delhi’s most celebrated poet, Dec 26 held ‘Yaadgaar-e-Ghalib’ with the same ambience at the India Islamic Centre to mark his 214th birth anniversary.

“The venue was packed with youngsters,” danseuse Uma Sharma, who has been leading the Ghalib Memorial Movement for the last 14 years, told IANS.

Sharma said the mushaira was very much alive but it was more “of a public literary soiree enjoyed by the middle class” rather than private gatherings in elite homes, as happened in late 19th and early 20th centuries.

She said that the DCM Shriram Industries organises the popular Shankar Shad mushaira every year and the government hosts one before Republic Day.

This year, the 47th Shankar Shad mushaira brought together renowned poets like Javed Akhtar, Shahryaar, Zahira Nigah, Waseem Barelvi and Zakia Waseem Ghazal.

“In the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, mushaira was the only avenue of entertainment and creativity in the upper classes. But over the years it has come out of homes to public spaces. We are trying to revive the culture as more people want to understand and appreciate the culture of old Delhi,” Suresh Goel, the director-general of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, told IANS.

“Every year, a mushaira is an integral part of Ghalib’s anniversary celebrations, which are promoted by ICCR with voluntary platforms,” he said.

The rise of a new crop of young poets has given a new lease of life to the tradition.

“At least seven young poets from east Delhi have been writing good poetry. One of them is Sharf Nanparvi, who not only writes, but also organises mushairas to encourage young poets,” Safdar Hussain Khan, vice president of India Islamic Centre, told IANS.

Older generation of poets like Gulzar Delhvi, whose forefathers taught Urdu to emperor Shah Jahan, also encourage young poets.

“The India Islamic Centre offers free space for mushairas to promote the culture. The tradition has seen a new revival in the last two decades, finding new segments of takers among the non-Muslims too, many of whom are studying Urdu,” Khan said.

Others call for the mushaira to be re-fashioned with the times.

“Mushaira has to be tied up with the language of Urdu and its revival. What is stopping us from reading Urdu?” Urdu writer Rakhshanda Jalil, who manages the blog Hindustani Awaaz, told IANS.

She claimed mushairas were deliberately perpetuated as a Islamic tradition by hosting them in venues like Chandni Chowk and Urdu Academy.

“Let us get out of it by hosting mushairas at public spaces where it can be accessible to all,” she said.

Jodhpur-based Urdu poet Sheen Kaaf Nizam blames television and the culture of sponsorship for the decline in the popularity of mushairas.

“Anyone can sponsor a mushaira and invite poets of their choice, promoting coteries. Add to it television, which takes the young audience away from poetry with instant entertainment,” Nizam told IANS.

At a recent discourse titled ‘The Death of the Mushaira’, writers and poets tied the fall in popularity with declining language standards.

“The quality of ‘shayari’ in Urdu has declined because very few people understand the language and shayars can get away with anything. The standard of mushaira, as a result, has fallen,” said M. Sadiq, a former professor of Urdu at Delhi University and a poet himself.

However, he said that institutions Urdu Academy, the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, the Ghalib Academy and Anjuman-e-Taraqqi-e-Urdu were promoting Urdu poetry with language classes and reading sessions.

A sizeable crowd assembled at the Marina and the Besant Nagar beaches here and flew balloons to celebrate the new year. People greeted strangers on roads and in some localities crackers were burst.

Police had an eye on the revellers to avoid any untoward incidents. Hotels and other joints staged New Year programmes, attracting party animals while the pious ones went to temples that conducted special prayers starting midnight.

Governor K. Rosaiah, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and former chief minister M. Karunanidhi greeted the people on the occasion.

In Cuddalore, several trees, street lamp posts and electric poles were uprooted by the cyclone that packed a wind speed of 140 kmph when it crossed the coast Friday.

There has been no power supply in Cuddalore and Chidambaram for the past two days.

“There is no power, water supply is hit. We are not able to draw water from the wells,” a housewife in Cuddalore told IANS.

Water is being supplied to people in tankers, according to a district administration official.

Officials said it would take at least two more days to restore power supply in the district as most of the electric poles have been uprooted.

In Puducherry, efforts were on to clear trees, electric poles and lamp posts. Power supply is expected to be restored in a couple of days.

At least 35 people have died in Tamil Nadu, four in Kerala and seven in Puducherry – mainly due to electrocution, falling of trees and collapse of roofs or walls.

Like every year-eve the popular youth hangouts of M.G. Road and Brigade Road were swarming with hundreds of youngsters from 8 p.m. itself and cheering and whistling reached a crescendo as 2011 faded into history.

Scores of foreign tourists also joined the crowd and tried to match the dancing steps to a cocktail of Kannada and Hindi movie songs played on hundreds of cell phones.

Fortunately for the young crowd Cyclone Thane which had threatened to rain out the celebrations spared the city Saturday. Though it was cloudy throughout the day, there was not a drop of rain, unlike Friday when it drizzled the whole day and well into the night as well.

The exuberance of entering the New Year was visible at posh hotels and private parties as well as scores of high rise apartments that are dotting the city after it became the nation’s IT hub in late 1990s.

Pubs, that otherwise down shutters at 11 p.m., were crowded as government allowed them to remain open till 1 a.m. to facilitate revelers to usher in the New Year in high spirits.

Over 16,000 policemen, a few hundred of them in civvies, were deployed in central business district, where M. G. Road and Brigade Road are located, and in Jayanagar in south and Malleshwaram in north, the two other localities that saw hundreds of youths on the streets to greet the New Year.

Far away from the crowd were 1,300 youngsters from various parts of the country who welcomed the 2012 in silence.

The programme to greet the New Year in silence and in meditation was organised by spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at his ashram (complex) about 25 km south of city centre.

“Amrika Chalo”, a production by Ajoka Theatre and directed by Madeeha Gohar, was a satirical response to the love-hate relationship between Pakistan and the US, Dawn News reported. The play, littered with satirical songs, reflected on how Pakistan had serious reservations about US policies towards the Muslim world, the “do more” demands and the drone attacks.

Writer Shahid Nadeem questioned the American values of liberty, freedom and morality that are too often contradicted by its “high-handed imperialist policies”, the daily said.

The backdrop of the stage was a huge canvas with images of skyscrapers and American icons like Michael Jackson and Angelina Jolie to mention a few. The scene was set in the visa section of the US embassy in Islamabad, where a number of applicants intending to visit the US had gathered for interviews.

A businessman, a possible illegal migrant pretending to be a tourist, a politician, a cleric, a student, a puppeteer, and an aged couple are all shown as suffering humiliation at the visa section.

Each one of the visa seekers had a completely different reason for visiting the “land of opportunities”.

A group of young audience, however, described the script, dialogues and the storyline as a “disaster”.

“This was the worst of Ajoka’s production compared to the wonderful dramas we have seen before,” Teepu Mali was quoted as saying.

Some said the play depicted people from all walks of life but did not portray the Pakistan Army that they believed was the most important part of the relationship between Pakistan and the US.

Yet some others said it was a “timely dose” to make Pakistanis realise that they could not go on being humiliated and ruled by people who were champions of human rights and at the same time the “biggest violators of values and principles”.

The daily termed the cast “excellent”. Most people in the audience said Furqan Majeed as a homosexual security personnel was splendid.

1. “Two Fates: The Story of My Divorce”; Written by Judy Balan; Published by Westland; Priced at Rs.150

It is a classic tale of Punjabi boy-meets-Tamilian girl, they fall in love, the families oppose it, but love conquers all and they get married to live happily ever after. Or do they? There’s a twist in this hilarious tale when, four years down the line, Rishab and Deepika fall out of love.

But if getting married was hard, getting divorced is much, much harder because, by now, their families have fallen in love – with each other – and will leave no stone unturned to make sure that what the fates have joined together, no couple shall put asunder, even if it means staying together themselves as one big, inter-community family.

He’s just another IITian who wants to end his lucrative corporate career to become a best-selling novelist.

2. “The Other Country: Dispatches from the Mofussil”; Written by Mrinal Pande; Published by Penguin-India; Priced at Rs.350

An essential reading for anyone trying to understand and find answers to some of the most vexing issues troubling Indian society today, “The Other Country” brings together a wide-ranging selection of essays by a veteran journalist. Through chronicles, anecdotes and hard-hitting reportage, Pande traces the many, ever-widening fault lines between Bharat and shining India, the small town and the metropolis.

Pande describes the Great Language Divide between Hindi and English, traces its origin, the role globalisation has had in its spread and the effect of this divide on contemporary literature and media. She vividly describes the anti-outsider movement in Mumbai and analyses the role that inequitable development and the lack of opportunities in villages and small towns has played in it.

3. “Let Me Tell You About Quinta”; Written by Savia Viegas; Published by Penguin Books India; Priced at Rs.299

“Houses are like people, you live in them and they look beautiful; you neglect them and they wither and slump.” When Queirozito wins the protracted litigation against relatives who had laid claim to his 200-year-old ancestral home “Quinta” he gets a new lease of life.

He invites his grandson Suraj from the US to take a look at the half-slumping villa for possible repairs. When Suraj’s Russian-American wife California arrives instead, Queirozito faces yet another invasion on his beloved home and decides to fight back once again only to stumble upon some bitter, dark family secrets.

4. “Mapmaking: Partition Stories from Two Bengals”; Written by Debjani Sengupta and Ashish Nandy; Published by Amaryllis; Priced at Rs.295

The book brings together renowned writers from Bangladesh and West Bengal including Ritwik Ghatak, Hasan Azizul Haq and Manik Bandopadhyay. It is a unique attempt to see how Partition has shaped the narrative of the regions that share a common language, culture and heritage. Many of these stories appear in English for the first time and carry the evocative tone exclusive to Partition stories from the east.

An infidel sinks to the bottom of a shallow river, looking for oysters and his lost wife. A man takes three years to bring himself to make a 45-minute journey, only to find his love has flown the nest. Two heavily pregnant women are forced to flee their country – one gives birth on a train and the other is silenced forever. These haunting narratives question the finality and resolution of Partition, the insufficiency of memories and the instability of borders.

5. “Bali And the Ocean of Milk”; Written by Nilanjan P. Choudhury; Published by Harper Collins India; Priced at Rs.199

A mysterious ailment afflicts Indrah, reducing the omnipotent king of the gods to, well, not quite the man he used to be. To add to his woes, the Holy Trinity threaten to fire him for dereliction of duty. But Indrah’s troubles wilt in comparison to those of his ‘asura’ (demon) counterpart, Bali, ruler of Tripura. Even as Indrah sits fretting over his delicate health, an assassination attempt on Bali leaves the ‘asura’ on the brink of death.

There is only one thing that can save both these men from certain doom: ‘amrit’, the mythical nectar. But to secure it, the gods and the ‘asuras’ will have to cooperate and churn the Ocean of Milk together… Will Indrah and Bali be able to put aside their ancient enmity, or will old rivalries keep them from pulling off this epic feat?

“Bali and the Ocean of Milk” reimagines the eternal conflict between the gods and the ‘asuras’ in a whacky thriller littered with bad jokes and corpses.

An official in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s office said that Persad-Bissessar will visit Bhelupur in Itarhi block of Buxar district, about 125 km from here, Jan 11.

Her ancestors are said to have migrated as Girmitiya labourers to Trinidad and Tobago, then a British colony in the Caribbean islands.

According to officials, Persad-Bissessar, the first woman prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, will also meet her relatives during her visit.

“The district authorities have been making full preparations to welcome her and provide all possible comfort,” Buxar sub divisional magistrate Nishitha Verma told IANS over phone.

Verma said a team of district officials visited Bhelupur Wednesday to take stock of the road conditions and work on a helipad for landing of her chopper.

Four years ago, Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam had visited his ancestral village in the state’s Bhojpur district, about 60 km from here, in search of his roots.

A large number of people from Bihar migrated to Mauritius, Fiji, Trinidad, Suriname, South Africa and other places in the 19th century to serve as indentured labourers on sugarcane and rubber plantations.

The doors of the haveli at Gali Qasim Jaan near Ballimaran, one of the alleys in the Chandni Chowk area, were thrown open Tuesday by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who also inaugurated an exhibition of memorabilia connected to the celebrated poet.

“The haveli has an area of 400 sq. metres and only some part of it has been acquired by the government. It has only 130 sq. metres under its acquisition,” Mohammad Tahir, a local resident, told IANS.

“Displaying replicas and works of Ghalib to show that the government cares is a mere eyewash,” he added.

Agreed another local, Sameer Bhat, who alleged that the beautification was done only to please the chief minister and that the government was not serious about preserving an important part of the capital’s heritage.

“The five-day renovation work was undertaken because the chief minister was coming. Otherwise, the haveli was left in shambles for years,” said Bhat.

According to several locals, over the years Ghalib’s haveli has been neglected to the extent that it was rented out for marriage ceremonies. In 2005, it even housed a heater factory.

It was then that the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), along with the Delhi government, filmmaker and poet Gulzar and Kathak danseuse Uma Sharma, made efforts to preserve the 18th century structure and started the Ghalib Memorial Movement.

Visitors also accused the government of fooling them by exhibiting Ghalib’s fake memorabilia.

“Ghalib is an inspiration for thousands of young writers and poets. The fact that replicas have been put up on display shows the government’s seriousness in preserving his rich literary heritage,” said 42-year-old Delhi resident Debi Dasgupta.

Rebuffing the accusations, ICCR director Suresh K. Goel said there was no question of cheating people.

“Tags are there on replicas for informing visitors that they are not real, so how come are we cheating people?” he said.

The 200-year-old Peking Opera, which combines instrumental music, vocal performances, mime, dance and acrobatics, is regarded as a cultural treasure of China.

Top legislator Wu Bangguo and political advisor Jia Qinglin were among nearly 1,000 visitors who attended the program at the National Centre for the Performing Arts Thursday, reports Xinhua.

The show included excerpts from the classical Peking Opera “The Fourth Son Visits His Mother” and other traditional works.

The Unesco has listed Peking Opera as an intangible cultural heritage.

Multi-media company Pow! Entertainment’s Lee, will develop the new superhero with a team of Indian artists working at Liquid Comics, a leading creator of Indian character franchises, the two firms announced Thursday.

It will initially launch as a series of downloadable web & mobile comics distributed throughout India on Liquid’s recently announced ‘Graphic India’ platform and www.graphicindia.com website.

Created by Lee, “Chakra – The Invincible”, will be the first Indian superhero created by Lee in collaboration with local Indian artists and writers.

Chakra tells the story of the young Indian teenager, Raju Rai, a technology genius living in Mumbai. Determined to use science to unlock the secrets of human potential, Raju develops a technically-enhanced suit that activates the mystical Chakras of the body, unleashing newfound abilities and powers.

“Wow! I’m incredibly excited to be collaborating with my friends at Liquid Comics and their best-in-class team of artists as we launch a great new, thrill-a-minute superhero saga named Chakra – The Invincible,” said Stan Lee.

“Against the spectacular backdrop of the great Indian metropolis of Mumbai, we tell the incredible saga of Chakra, our daring and dangerous teenage hero.”

“What better way to conceive of a new generation of Indian superheroes than in collaboration with the Godfather of the genre?” said Liquid Co-Founder, Gotham Chopra.

Lee’s first digital comic book story on Chakra will be released for free in April 2012, exclusively on GraphicIndia.com.

Munis Faruqui, assistant professor at the South and Southeast Asian Studies Department of the University of California, Berkeley, has presented a unique side to the brothers, in a discourse titled “New perspectives on the Mughals: The case of Dara Shikoh”.

Faruqui discussed at length the two brothers’ relationship, religious views and their bitter struggle over political control of the culturally and economically rich empire, Dawn News reported.

Focusing on the fact that neither of the brothers were “saints” or “devils”, Faruqui said Dara had a deep interest in Sufism, and also attempted to find common language between Islam and Hinduism.

Not able to find the answers he was looking for, Dara went on to study the Upanishads, the philosophical texts considered an early source of Hindu religion, he said.

The Mughal prince came to the conclusion that the “hidden book” mentioned in the Quran was none other than the Upanishads and believed that in order to understand the Quran, one needed to study the Hindu text.

Dara even drew an equation between Adam and Brahma — a view which, according to historians, branded him as a heretic and ultimately led to his execution.

Faruqui explored the relationship the “misunderstood” brothers shared and their struggle for the throne.

He said that while Dara almost never left the safety of the Mughal court, Aurangzeb was a skilled warrior — a fact evident in the battleground where Aurangzeb triumphed over his brother.

Faruqui said that contrary to general perception, Aurangzeb cultivated even those who disagreed with him.

He was tolerant of other faiths and enjoyed strong military and political support from Muslims as well as non-Muslims, the professor said.

“Ultimately, it was nothing more or less than Dara’s ability to antagonise friend and foe alike, compared to Aurangzeb’s unequalled ability to paper over differences that enabled one prince to ascend the throne, while consigning the other to the grave,” Faruqui said.

Its symptoms include excessive washing or cleaning, repeated checking, preoccupation with sexual, violent or religious thoughts and nervous rituals such as opening and closing a door a certain number of times before entering or leaving a room.

Reuven Dar, professor of psychology at the Tel Aviv University who led the study, first suspected the link while working with OCD patients who reported sensitivity to touch and taste as children, the Journal of Behaviour Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry reports.

“If you see that a child is very rigid with rituals, becoming anxious if unable to engage in this behaviour, it is more alarming,” he explained.

Also, age is a factor. A habit exhibited by a five or six-year-old is not necessarily a predictor of OCD, according to a Tel Aviv statement.

If the same behaviour continues to the ages of eight and above, it could be a warning sign, especially if accompanied by anxiety or distress.

The study suggests that when children experience heightened levels of sensitivity, they develop ritualistic behaviours to better cope with their environment and later OCD.

Two studies were devised to map the connection between sensory processing, rituals, and OCD. Results from both studies indicated a strong connection between compulsive tendencies and hypersensitivity.

In children, hypersensitivity was an indicator of ritualism, whereas in adults it was related to OCD symptoms.