No matter how urbanites we become, there’s something about the pastoral countryside, which never fails to charm our souls and win our hearts. Though all of us may either not be able to afford the rustic charms of farmhouses or even spend enough time in our primary residence itself due to work pressures. Nevertheless, we all can certainly try to bring in a little bit of the countryside inside and around our homes.

Countryside travels beyond the bullock cart ride in narrow dusty lanes in of India to England known for its quintessential hamlets of rose-hedged cottages complete with delightfully characteristic thatched low-roof pubs and a captivating church set alongside idyllic narrow rivulet with villagers merrily feeding the ducks. Can you visualise a cross or another statue forming a central feature in a small water body filled with multi-coloured sandstone pebbles alongside your main gate?

Would you like to invite a little bit of French village-square into your own garden with wooden benches under stone paragolas weighing down with grape vines? A little windmill standing tall amidst blooming tulips brings in refreshing Dutch winds whilst boulder walls secretly whisper Cornish secrets to the Durham cobbled flooring. Stimulate souring Russian spirits with vibrantly coloured courtyard probably in handmade replica tiles or a Moroccan delight with intricate mosaics or an Afghani style seating with bolsters on low platforms in your semi exposed verandah. Have you discounted a Mughal hallway complete with high glass chip-work ceiling, varied height ceiling hung or floor standing glass lighting with a hukka and rabab to warmly invite everyone inside your abode?

A country motif has a feeling of mother nature. Colors and textures are borrowed from natural surroundings, furnishings are kept simple which echo the outdoors and accessories have a handmade feel. A country touch gives a room the feeling of warmth and serenity. Keeping the colors soft in warm tones adds an airy appeal and helps a smaller room seem less confining.

Start small with a patio having wooden planks flooring slightly elevated from the garden in front with slanted ceiling above painted in light blues, pastel greens or simply white is reminisecent of an American country home. Hang a bird feed from one corner, a hat/brolley stand with abundance of potted plants/flowers to keep you company. Have your defense regiment soldiers carved as wooden railing to protect your patio if you wish. Create a ‘chopal’ buzzing with activity for both young and old, if you have a large tree in your home or in communal garden overlooking your set of flats.

Inside the house you may test waters with a bedroom. Finding something you love is the key. It might be a favorite picture, a rug, or even an accessory. For most the bedding set is usually what first catches their eye. Choose soft muted tones work well and paisley or Victorian floral motifs. Forgo any geometric patterns and flamboyant colors, which suggest a contemporary touch. The perfect window treatment would be tab curtains in soft solid color. A simple country chair placed beside the bed makes an adorable night table to put treasured books, a lamp and a clock. 

Have natural stone flooring and bare wooden planks holding your light coloured ceiling of your personal corner, whilst you enjoy reading in your rocking chair in front of the fireplace. Nothing says country like the quintessential white picket fence style or rustic bamboo furniture. Lots of cushions on white cane furniture go well, as does using jute or coloured cotton balls for upholstering your chairs.

Remember, country is simple and understated. Mix and matching pieces gives will give the room a more natural feel. The central point of a country theme is that it should give a relaxed rather than structured feel. However, remember, rustic goes beyond ethnic and relaxed atmosphere gives you no stamp of approval to create a clutter.

Courtsey: A.P. Singh Besten & Co.

Jat Puttar Abhay Deol’s debut film Socha Na Tha came over a year ago and his next Ahista Ahista will be released today at Batra Chandigarh, Fun Republic, Manimajra and Suraj, Panchkula. So, he is back on the silver screen after hiatus. Ahista Ahista stars Soha Ali Khan as the female lead with Shyaman Munshi being the important part of the star cast. Soha Ali Khan is excited about this film because she is the solo heroine in the movie. She finds her role challenging.

Ahista Ahista is a Delhi-based film. It is a simple love story produced by Anjum Rizvi and is special for debutant director Shivam Nair. The movie is about two people from different walks of life and how their relationship develops slowly.

Irshad Kamil pens the lyrics for composer Himesh Reshammiya. D.J. Akbar Sami comes up with stylish remix songs. The presence of Abhay Deol and Soha Ali Khan in this film has generated a lot of interest among the youth.

The technology of computers, telecommunication, and other devices integrate data, equipment, personnel and problem-solving methods in planning and controlling business activities. Information technology provides the means for collecting, storing, encoding, processing, analysing, transmitting, receiving and printing text, audio or video information and its latest component is broadband.

The real broadband can potentially transform India into a knowledge-based economy. The movement towards a paperless office would be a reality. E-governance would soon happen. The connectivity can do wonders for self-employment. With falling prices for computers and laptops, working at home is not a distant possibility.

Employment through setting up of cyber cafes has revolutionized the way Indians access electronic resources. Health care remains one area that could potentially benefit from broadband. E-health care can help doctors sitting in gar flung areas to have a second opinion in case of complicated management. Business tends to benefit the most. Trading online in stock markets and up to minute news and tracking becomes a reality, broadband remains imperative. With so many benefits that can be reaped with it, broadband can be called the next big revolutionary force of India.

— Sumit Narula

Move over Tulsi (Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi) and Parvati (Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani), prime time is all set to pass the baton of the archetypal, simple yet strong, likeable yet firm, holding-the-family-together mantle of womanhood to Gauri!

Sounds confusing? Well, the diva of small screen productions, Ekta Kapoor and her Balaji Television is all set with their new serial, Karam Apnaa Apnaa, which starts on August 29 replacing yet another Balaji production, Kavyanjali.

Dead beat and weary of same old boogie-woogie parties bursting at the seams with customary throbbing music and dancing dames in micro-minis, city youngsters busted into an all new concept of a bubble party Thursday afternoon!

As the thumping beats of reverberating music filled the air with ecstasy during the bubbly party organised at Rendezvous in Sector 26, it was time for so many revelers to blow apart the bubbles of excitement glued all over the ceiling and the walls.

It was all very usual for the youngsters, eager to trip the light fantastic. Right, till the time light dawned upon them in the darkness of the discotheque. Illuminated by scores of dancing and blinking bulbs, the bubbles on the wall changed shades in sync with altering hues of light and excitement.

Adding to the enthusiasm of the afternoon were pretty girls in skirts with twin slits on either side, or in backless halter-neck tops, cutting foot loose on the polished dance floor of life, merrily and gorgeously.

As the fever caught the revelers in its exciting high-temp’ grip, their exhilarated figures, illuminated by nice little psychedelic lights, swayed breathlessly in sync with the rhythmic throbs of high-wattage music.

Oh, yes! The beats of kajrare-kajrare and Dus bahane got the crowd grooving in no time with the in-house and the guest disc jockeys (DJs) spinning tracks to produce some cool funky music. No matter what your party style was, the place had something to offer. You could actually gyrate to some of the best tunes dished out by the DJs fervently the minute you set your foot into the joint.

Among the dancers twirling all around the floor were not just teenyboppers, but also young professionals from call centres eager to lose their blues amidst the melodious tunes. Well, the couples had to pay for the pleasure, but “single” girls were let in free. Discrimination on the basis of gender, but guys you just can’t do anything about it!

Screaming over the din of music, one of the organizers Nittin said their basic aim was to unite cream of city’s youth every now and then. “Youngsters want change, and that’s exactly what we offer through new concepts”, he asserted. Swell, isn’t it!

— Saurabh Malik

Companionship does not brew in saucepans placed over kerosene stoves of roadside vendors sitting under the rejuvenating shade of blossoming trees along the geri route. No, not anymore! It thickens every time the younglings add cream to mugs of steaming-hot coffee in the air-conditioned cool of plush fast food joints and coffee bars across the city.

If you are having doubts about the change in ingredients of a perfect relationship, just hop on your vehicle. Trudge down the route passing through the city’s history for studying the new recipe oh-so-hot amidst so many city students here-a-days!

With a serene smile that lightens up his face, he speaks highly of Sai Baba. With the magic of his hands, he turns a simple calendar of any god or goddess into a beautiful canvas. Since a period of four years, Parveen Kumar, a Senior Assistant in Punjab and Haryana High Court, is working on Tanjor Paintings. “ It is my hobby to decorate the photos of gods”, informs Parveen Kumar.

The beautifully decorated canvases created by this Sai Baba devotee are sold free of cost to the disciples of the god. His inspiration is his wife who skilled him with this talent. He decorates them with his hands and it takes five days to one week to accomplish a canvas. Designs are adorned with golden dust, clay chalk, Plaster of Paris and Fevicol.

He devotes a canvas of god whenever he goes to any temple. “I find a peace of mind when I bequest a canvas to any follower of god and my work gives me full satisfaction”, he says. He also gifts a free canvas to the kirtan mandli or on the birthdays of kids. Till now, he has sold about two thousand canvases on order. His skill has made him quite famous with the followers. No wonder, his deep love for god is reflected from his skill.

A sneering look of a young art college student that she gave while watching me paint a rather lousy picture, during a painting workshop that a local art Akademi had organised recently there in the campus, sent a chill through my spine.

It made me think of the purpose these generally non-seriously held workshops or camps serve.

These days almost all art organisations in particular have them as one of their chief functions in their annual ceremonial curriculum.

Started perhaps in early ‘70s, these camps used to be held by big commercial houses to acquire free publicity and paintings by renowned painters, and that too by spending just peanuts.

Though big sounding phrases like “interaction of ideas, artists and public” have always been freely used to promote them, one hardly confronts any of such things in these camps. Particularly in these days when art has been reduced to a selling commodity like any other thing, the relevance of such functions must be questioned.

A visual artist, known earlier for his or her reclusive nature, is never trained as a performer. So how the creative process, of which one often talks loudly during such art workshops, could ever be performed by them publicly? And as far as creativity is concerned it is not bound to descend upon an artist during a particularly planned period of time. As far as one’s craftsmanship is concerned it always remains a well-guarded secret as ever, even during such futile exercises in these so called interactive sessions.

For, I remember of a few artists who always would work late in the nights to keep their techniques as shielded as ever!

I can recall nostalgically, of such art camps that Kamal Tiwari used to hold for Haryana State’s Cultural Department in seventies. With serious artists like late Kaushik around they really used to be interactive sessions even if they never produced any masterpieces of art.

With no cameras, no lights, no pompous media glare and no money when Kamal, even as an official organiser, would keep singing with a mesmerising mystic glow on his face throughout the chilling nights, the camp could be described only as a success, rather roaring one!

Today things have changed drastically. In terms of interaction, you ask any so called senior participant of any such ‘mela’ the names of his or her co-participants, you will get the real feel of the non-interaction!

What disturbed me the most was the question that an outside gallery owner asked me recently if I were a regular artist or a camp-artist?

He was right as most of us today have been reduced to mere camp-artists and surface only during them. A petty (dis)honorarium, food for a few days and at times the leftover paints, topped by a mention in the media reports perhaps remain our sole attraction to these ceremonial camps these days.

And youngsters today have every right to sneer at us. Rather they should ask candid questions to all such organisations, many of whom spend from the public exchequer, about the usefulness of such events.

Art is a highly individualistic activity and the coming together of artists is never without its hazards. Rather, it would be not out of place to say that it is nearly impossible. At any time and in any age it has been difficult even for two artists to come together. Remember the classic case of European masters like Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, two great painters who appreciated each other’s work. But when it came to living together and painting, it was pure disaster with many tragic consequences. So when the effort is made to bring together hundreds of artists on one platform it is disaster multiplied by a hundred.

Boys will be boys

Boys will always be boys. Remember the time when one six-year-old would tell another that his father was stronger or that his bat was better or that his trousers were longer. This charming boyhood rivalry never leaves even when the boys become big bearded boys. And this is more than evident at the events that Kala Maitri, the association of the alumni of the local College of Art. Of course, it includes the old girls too but this college was male dominated for too long so it is the men who are most visible and vocal even if the event is as ordinary as an old college fellows’ meet. Most comical is the fact that the greatest bickering is within the office-bearers on who should be at the helm of affairs and who should not be. Art and artistry are relegated to the background and capturing the organisation seems to be the prime concern. Pathetic for most of these folks are artists or teachers of art.

Spirit is lost

The spirit with which Kala Maitri was formed is quite lost. It had been inspired by two very old students meeting and sharing reminiscences of the good old times. The bad new times are different for now it is an institution to be captured. This makes one think of the pitfalls in institutionalising an idea or an emotion. Anything from religion to politics to camaraderie just loses its sheen when it is institutionalised. Even calling a person an institution is an affront and this writer learnt it the hard way. Once a long time ago while praising Baba Laali, the Patiala savant who was a source of inspiration to many painters and writers, I wrote that he was an institution. A few days later when I came across Laali again, he called me aside and said: “All our lives the likes of me have fought institutionalisation so it doesn’t feel good to be called an institution.” It is a lesson that was never forgotten.

Kanjoos makhi choos

That is the best way to describe my dear painter friend Balvinder for he beats a Shylock when it comes to being miserly. He refused to pay a token entry fee of Rs 200 for the gala exhibition planned by Kala Maitri. The organisation was magnanimous enough to give a waiver to all senior artists who did not wish to pay. And a little bird that’s going around town humming says that there were quite a few of the kanjoos makhi choos variety.

No public, please

The idea behind painting a mammoth work of art in the Sector 17 plaza on Tuesday, that happened to be the foundation day of Kala Maitri, was that those among the public should also join in. But expecting artists or assumed artists to share an inch of canvas is asking for too much. So many a hidden talent had to remain hidden. A welcome intrusion came from Panjab University Vice Chancellor R.C. Sobti who came and painted an eye on the canvas with his signature. Artists did not take to it very kindly. Painter Malkit Singh was heard saying that the VC should be signing his piles of files. And UT Administration’s HOD S.K. Sethia who is Head of the Department for the College went a step forward to put his shoes on VC’s eye as he squatted on the canvas.

For art’s sake

I once recall the famed news editor, late D.N. Singh, saying that of all the underworlds the underworld of art was the pettiest. One feels like nodding and crying out for an end to pettiness for art’s as well as heart’s sake.

The recent Karan Johar release shot extensively in New York City left the viewers painfully baffled. Contrary to Rani Mukherjee’s dialogue in the film that, saying alvida kills the hope of meeting again, the audience walking out of the movie theater in NYC hoped exactly for that - never to see such a movie again! Painfully long, with a poor script that completely lost its direction and meaning, bad dialogue, weakly crafted characters, and very poor acting by Shahrukh Khan, who insists on repeating in all his movies the only three expressions he knows.

Many desi New Yorkers were looking forward to seeing this movie because it was shot in our city. During the latter half of last year the crew was shooting the movie at various locations in the city and the buzz everywhere was that the movie was about the lives of Indians living in New York. But actually the movie was far removed from that. It could have been shot anywhere else in the world and could have been about any community. Infidelity, the movie’s main theme, is not an integral part of the lives of Indians in New York. The movie certainly had New York’s beautiful locations but it had nothing to do with desi New Yorkers. None of the characters appeared to even belong to New York. Also, soccer is not a popular sport in America. Only kids play soccer here. 

We don’t associate the words ‘believable’ and ‘realistic’ with Karan Johar’s movies, because as per the director’s own admission he only makes entertaining movies, they are not meant to be realistic. But KANK failed to be entertaining. For those viewers who watch Hindi movies only to escape their mundane concerns, this movie provided nothing. They in turn wanted to escape from the movie! Marriage is a complicated subject and how much research and understanding Karan Johar has of this subject is clearly apparent from this movie. The viewer tries very hard throughout the movie to figure out the reason why Shahrukh and Rani have an extra-marital affair when they each have a perfectly decent and loving spouse who is ready to find ways to make their marriage work.  

The only relief in this painful saga was Abhishek Bachchan. He performed very well, displaying a wide range of emotions and expressions. His character was the only one that anyone could relate to and his performance surpassed the entire cast. 

For Bollywood directors today, North American and UK based Indian audiences are almost as important as the cinegoers in India. An overseas success certainly pushes a director’s climb to the higher club. Lavish sets and beautiful locations are not the only components required for an overseas hit. It’s the subject matter and its execution. That’s why when a director like Vishal Bhardwaj releases Omkara, it makes Indians living abroad proud of Indian cinema. The success of Omkara is solely due to its six key components - script, dialogue, acting, music, lyrics and cinematography, which are both powerful and brilliant.

 Mr.Vishal Bhardwaj, you are the man! Karan Johar, wake up and smell the Koffee!

George Emmanual’s kitschy exhibition on this year’s zany superhero ‘cape’r off the Bollywood block, Krrish, is irreverent, clever, crafty and fun.

For this second-year student of Applied Arts at the Government College of Art, Sector 10, Krrish has proved the perfect platform in terms of eyeballs!

After all, it is this year’s biggest blockbuster and features, as George puts it, “hot chocolate” Hrithik Roshan in a delicious macho avatar, so naturally the curiosity to see this exhibition gets peaked!

George’s aspirations are, however, much wider. “I want to show off my abilities to people and want to convey a message that all this creative energy needs helping hands to put up. I also hope to get some illustration work through this,” he says seriously.

The subject matter, parodied and sassy, is his brainchild completely. Apart from the caricatures which are great, the script (read imperfections in the film!) are highlighted in a comic book format where the storyboard and the dialogues have all been created by him over a two month period. “I did all this in my summer holidays in June and July, so really it was no holiday,” he laughs.

The dialogues, albeit grammatically incorrect, have their witty moments but it is George’s obvious skill in ‘translating’ the gist of the movie through the funny caricatures that carries the exhibition through. He is talented, no doubt (take a look at the Yoko Ono caricature for certification!) and cartoons are definitely his defining moment.

For George who loves watching them and making them, he is working on him very own Indian superhero. So what does he look like? “Every person is a hero of his own life. My creation is the common person. That is why I like Batman the most, because he is real, he does not have a gift. Also my superhero never smokes,” he smiles.

His inspiration is the evergreen MAD magazine while the creative ideas come from Pogo Channel’s Mr Beans and Just Full of Gags.

Apart from Krrish, some of the other actors have also been lampooned in. Shahrukh Khan’s caricature with a cigarette in hand attached to his wrist by a chain gently pokes hilarious fun at the actor’s penchant for chain-smoking, while Priyanka Chopra’s drawing depicts her face as full lips owing to her rather generously shaped mouth!

Since a cartoonist has to find the sunny-side-up to life, George has drawn himself as a “nose-man” poking fun at his own ‘nosey-parker’ attitude to life!

Mounting this exhibition has not been easy, but with the librarians helping him out and the college lending the frames for his cartoons, he hopes to continue this little ‘tradition’ he has begun. Watch out for his next work which he hopes to get ready by November this year. Until then take a peek at Krrish, on for the next two days at the Government College of Art, Sector 10.