M magazine August 2011

ISSUE

VOL

AUGUST 2011 `100

Hello,

LIFE Farhan Akhtar on living it up

+

Indulge: The best perfumes for men Feature: Religion, opium for the masses Athletics: Running aground Hot wheels: Racing the bar

6 8

August 2011 > contributors > mail call > from the editor

[contents]

030 FOOD Home delivery Exclusive shoot with Tarun Kapoor, executive chef, The Metropolitan Hotel

> Features

086

062 Running aground What ails athletics in India? Doping is certainly one of the biggest problems 064 The original jumping jack Legendary long-jumper, Mike Powell on Carl Lewis, his unbeaten world record and athletics in India 100

078

078 Photo-feature Cups on the go...

086 That sinking feeling Gasping for breath and survival in Kiribati

> REGULARS

094 Affordable luxury in Philippines Three indulgences, each equally exhilarating yet inexpensive

016 Style Observer: Fashionwise 019 First bite: Asia 7, Mumbai

100

040 M Girl: Mandana Karimi 044 What she says: Style files 045 India 2020: Bhawana Somaaya 048 Flick Show: Martial arts films 050 Bookends: New arrivals 054 Breaking views: Current affairs 122 Last laugh: Hair and now

On the cover

Farhan Akhtar Photograph by Abheet Gidwani Styling by Carlton Desouza and Sania Momin Interview by Nivedita Jayaram Pawar Make-up: Swapnil Pathare Hair: Walter Raju At B:blunt Salonment Location: Trident, Bandra-Kurla Mumbai. (022) 66727777

Racing the bar Audi RS 5 and A7 in fifth gear

[fashion]

110

Strange stirrings Talk ofan offan unlikely unllikely match and we have the the best ofa stranger in a strange land. Initial trepidations aside,it makes perfect sense to be fashionable... anytime... anywhere 020

SCENTS AND SENSIBILITIES The best in perfumes for men 026

MASSAGE IN A BOTTLE A primer on spa therapies 120

STOCKISTS

[featurres]

068

is FARHAN AKHTAR

Is there life beyond films?

To me, my independence away from ďŹ lms is very important. I have tried very hard to maintain this balance, and say no to many things. Yes, that comes at the risk of being called a snob. But then, life cannot just be about ďŹ lms.

Contributors 1

1. Miriam Mathew // president-Spa division, Sohum Spas [Message in a bottle; page 026]

7 10 4

2. Tarun Kapoor // executive chef, The Metropolitan Hotel [Home delivery; page 030] 3. Ashish Shah // fashion photographer [M Girl; page 040] 4. Sanjiv Nair // ďŹ lm enthusiast [Film icks; page 048]

2

5. Sudha G. Tilak // journalist / blogger [Bookends; page 050]

8 11

5

6. Alam Srinivas // senior journalist [Breaking Views / Opium for the masses; page 054 / 058] 7. Rahul Mehra // senior lawyer [Running aground; page 062 ] 8. Sriparna Ghosh // trekker / blogger / photographer [Cups on the go; page 078]

9

9. Rupali Dean // travel writer [Luxury in the Philippines; page 094]

3 6

12

10. Ishan Raghava // auto enthusiast [Racing the bar; page 100] 11. Shivangi Kulkarni // photographer [Strange stirrings; page 110 ] 12. Bijoy Venugopal // writer / blogger [Last Laugh; page 122 ]

Mail Call To be very frank, I was not expecting a Jacquelin Fernandez cover for M’s July issue.

ISSUE

VOL

JULY 2011 `100

6 7

Simply because she was everywhere on the television and newspapers and other magazines last month thanks to her new raunchy avatar in Murder 2. I am one of your most dedicated readers, so I did pick up the issue but with a slight hesitation thinking here is another glam doll on the cover just for her sex appeal with practically no substance.

But M, you certainly took me by surprise and that too a pleasant one. One generally doesn’t expect a beauty queen to have such depth and at the same time focus which is very impressive. It gives a whole new deďŹ nition to the way she looks. She is indeed a sexy woman but the kind of brains working there certainly takes her oomph quotient to another level altogether.

Jacquelin would have never impressed me had I not read her interview in your magazine. I had seen and read about her in other magazines but none of the articles were as rich and stylish as M’s.

Sunil Parasher, New Delhi

Velvet Assassin

To read about Beatle’s sons in your July issue was quite intriguing. It was interesting to read about their tryst with destiny which was sometimes fruitful but many a times disappointing. As a third person, we easily praise or ridicule their career choices and its consequences but rarely do we empathise with them. Sure they were born with a silver spoon in their mouth but also with huge level of expectations to outperform their parents. It is not possible always.

Jaqueline J lii F Fernandez d has Murder on her mind. The former Miss Sri Lanka in a rare tell-all mood

+

Books: Science, engineering and radical Islam Music: The rise of John Lennon’s sons Travel: Of blistering cold, wrathful lust Hot wheels: Tricks to tame your SUV

COVER_M#50.indd 62

7/1/2011 5:30:55 PM

You rightly mentioned, they indeed have gone through hardships while coming out of their fathers’ long shadows. From instant success to years of loneliness, drug abuse and depression. Reading about them does evoke compassion. It would be hard to go through the whole journey of being a star kid where each and every move of yours is up for media scrutiny. Everybody in their lives go through ups and down but when he/she is a celebrity, it turns out to be dirty. But the good happy ending of the article was heartening to read as it showed that they stuck to their passion for music and are indeed rising like a phoenix.

Somnath Sen, Kolkata

Her He H ere er com cco om o me the tth he h e So Son S on o n nss

An adrenalin rush followed with a immediate request of leaves to my boss was my

by Bijoy Venugopal

instant reaction when I read your travel feature last month. I just wanted to pack my bags and leave for both Libya and Badha Banghal. But considering the present crisis in the middle-east, and of course my limited leaves, it wasn’t to be. Better sense soon prevailed when I took out my leave application from the client’s ďŹ le before giving it to my boss. But hats off to M for giving me those moments of euphoria. Not only that but also for giving some new places to look out for when I plan my next vacation.

I have always been the adventurous kinds and look forward to your travel feature which never fail to amaze me. Same was the case with skiing on the sand dunes of Libya. It seemed so much fun and at the same time a great ďŹ tness workout as well.

And I wonder from where did you ďŹ nd this exotic place called Badha Banghal. The place looks astoundingly beautiful and unexplored. It was surprising to read about a place so remote that it only has some government provided satellite phones for communication and voters were airlifted to a safe place so that they could vote. But it is true that in such remote places you tend to ďŹ nd people with such open hearts.

Vikrant Malhotra, New Delhi

Photograph: Robb D. Cohen/ Retna ltd./Corbis

Of blistering

cold

lustful

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Text and photographs

by Sankar Sridhar

090 | JULY 11

Thanks M for a stylish, informative and imaginative July issue. It was a delight to get INTERVIEW

Gir Gi G irl irl rl

Himarsha Venkatsamy Photographs by Vinod Wakkchare Interview by Nivedita Jayaram Pawar Styling by Carlton Desouza & Sania Momin Hair and make-up: Anjali Naronha Model Courtesy: & ' * + /

Snow falling!

Intelligence, charisma, style, wit, deďŹ nitely a swagger... a sexy man has an underlying conďŹ dence and, most important, kindness.

DeďŹ nitely no remarks about potential weight gain after holidays spent drinking, dancing, eating and general moments of loving life. !

Be naked and stalk random people who I think are interesting. "

A pill that nulliďŹ es the effects of sugar and chocolates!

# Skousers!! Trouser skirts... Why? How? It’s like wearing full-length trousers with a mini skirt over them! "

The South of France!

"

I have accepted that I have weak ankles and will probably trip and ash someone at some point... Note to self... always wear pretty panties! "

Oooh... Once I didn’t tell my parents I was coming home so that I could stay at my boyfriend’s place for the weekend! I had to lie about my whereabouts as my mum would phone me constantly. She knew I was up to something! And I had to hide because my mum came by to drop my sister for a stay over... She was very suspicious about the situation and tried to get to the bottom of it but it was an incredible web of deceit! I still feel awful! $

A vintage Alexander McQueen denim panelled corset jacket... amazing! %

A little bit of both. I can totally get down and dirty in a pair of stilettos! !

Did you ever watch Freakazoid? The girl version!

ORANGE T-SHIRT; STILETTOS BOTH BY ZARA // SHORTS FROM A SELECTION

028 | JULY 11

a perfect mix of beauty (Jacquelin Fernandez, Himarsha Venkatsammy), gumption (travel features) style, and information. I always look forward to M for its all-round approach to satisfy its readers and not only be ďŹ xated on showing skimpily-clad women like other magazines. And for that reason, an article about Kiran Rao in between the interviews of Himarsha and Jacquelin was a good surprise. Also, I like the fact that the July issue was both nostalgic and newsy in its feel. While on one hand, you had people in news featured for their foot-in-the-mouth remarks, on the other, the reference of Lagaan and the feature on Beatle kids reminded me of old days. It is always a pleasure to pick up M every month Suhel Alvi, Mumbai We want more mail, please. Bouquets, brickbats, an article/interview you’d like to see featured, a burning topic or two you’d like to comment on: Direct it all to feedback@imagesfashion.com

editor-In-Chief amitabh taneja editorial advisor r s roy

executive Editor bobby john varkey director (planning) anjali sondhi sr. associate editor / bureau head nivedita jayaram pawar (mumbai) sr. fashion stylist carlton desouza fashion stylists rakhi biswas, sania momin (mumbai) creatives art director azad mohan layout designer kaustubh fuloriya sr. photographer vipin kardam Asst. photographer deepak malik photo coordinator kamal kumar publisher s p taneja business development vice president harjot singh luthra assoc. vice president - circulation anil nagar general manager - advertising bindu pillai (mumbai) assoc. vice presidents & regional heads waseem ahmad (mumbai), piyali roy (kolkata) sr. manager - advertising tushar verma (delhi) sr. manager - circulation rp singh (mumbai) managers - advertising nayan shetty (mumbai), anirban sarkar (kolkata) manager - circulation r parthasarathy (bangalore) deputy managers - circulation ranjeet yadav (delhi); operations rajesh kumar (delhi) executive - advertising sneha sinha (bangalore) production general manager manish kadam manager manoj soni services general manager - logistics rajeev mehandru general manager - customer relations hemant wadhawan subscriptions rajesh kumar sr. executive - logistics shambhu nath images consumer media pvt ltd delhi: s-21, okhla industrial area phase II, new delhi - 110 020 t: +91-11-40525000, f: +91-11-40525001, email: info@imagesgroup.in mumbai: 1st oor, bharat tin works compound, off marol military road, opp. borosil glass works, andheri (e), mumbai - 400 059 t: +91-22-42567000, 29200043/46, f: +91-22-42567022 email: waseemahmad@imagesgroup.in bangalore: no. 523, 7th cross, 10th main, (jeevanbhima nagar main road), h.a.l. 3rd stage, bangalore - 560075; t: +91-080-41255172 41750595/96, f: +91-080-41255182 email: bangalore@imagesgroup.in kolkata: 30-b anil roy road, ground oor, kolkata - 700 029 t: + 91- 33-40080480, email: piyalioberoi@imagesgroup.in All material printed in this publication is the sole property of Images Consumer Media Pvt. Ltd. All printed matter contained in the magazine is based on information from those featured in it. The views, ideas, comments and opinions expressed are solely of those featured and the Editor and Publisher do not necessarily subscribe to the same.

Printed & Published by SP Taneja on behalf of Images Consumer Media Pvt Ltd; printed at International Print-O-Pac Limited, C/4-11 Phase II, Hosiery Complex, Noida 201301, and published by SP Taneja from S-21, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase II, New Delhi 110020. Editor: Amitabh Taneja In relation to any advertisements appearing in this publication, readers are recommended to make appropriate enquiries before entering into any commitments. Images Consumer Media Pvt. Ltd. does not vouch for any claims made by the advertisers of products and services.

The Printer, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the publication shall not be held for any consequences in the event of such claims not being honoured by the advertisers.

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For subscription related queries, email: subscription@imagesfashion.com. Visit us at www.m-magazine.in.

/from the editor I’ve never met Farhan Akhtar. Yet my ears instantly pricked up when he confirmed an exclusive shoot with us last month in Mumbai. Gentlemen, Farhan graces our cover a second time, and I promise, you will find a different him this time.

Yes, he has grown in stature in Bollywood since November 2008 when we first shot with him. But more than all the hats he wears, successfully at that, Farhan is the perfect M cover. Here is one man who does not gallivant across the stage of success. His presence at industry events is rare and his refusal to be a part of the bandwagon bespeaks a humility that is genuine, and confidence that’s sure-footed. Sample this from his exclusive interview with our senior associate editor Nivedita Jayaram Pawar: “To me, my independence away from films is very important... to have a completely different life with friends who have nothing to do with the movies, to talk about things other than films, to travel with friends who are not from the industry, to not be always at film events… I have tried very hard to maintain this balance, and in the bargain I say ‘no’ to many things. Yes, that comes at the risk of being called a snob. But then, at the end of the day, life can’t just be about films. .”

This is one interview you don’t want to miss: Farhan talks of his life, loves, films and everything else he holds close to his heart. And somewhere you’d realise that he is so us.

Flip through the rest of the magazine and you will find the best of all that you demand from us every month. Watch out for our ‘strange’ fashion feature: It’s about opposites that complement each other. We call it ‘Strange Stirrings’. From the best perfumes out there for us men to everything you need to know about your next spa session, we have it here inside. And yes, like always, its a wide canvas of features: from our take on spiritual gurus in the country to affordable luxury in the Philippines to Audi’s coupe conquest in India, and much more.

Enjoy the issue.

amitabh Taneja Photograph by Shivangi Kulkarni PRINTED JACKET BY LECOANET HEMANT >> PRICE ON REQUEST // WATCH BY DIESEL >> PRICE ON REQUEST

| informed. in STYLE |

The Style

WORK WISE

Fossil has introduced its new range of laptop bags and sleeves, incorporating quaint vintage prints and sleek contemporary silhouettes. The bags are crafted with coated canvas and are available in bold abstract prints and unconventional motifs.

Price: `2750 (sleeves); `3995 (bags)

Strike force I

t’s touted as the lightest, strongest and the most advanced material that delivers with exceptional precision. Callaway Golf Company has launched its most premium offering in India: The new RAZR platform of products. Made of Forged Composite™, these revolutionary golf sticks, with more than 500,000 intertwined turbostratic fibers per square inch, extend an incredibly high threshold for withstanding pressure. This material is one-third the density of titanium, yet features a greater load carrying capacity per unit mass in bending. RAZR products include RAZR Hawk Driver, RAZR Hawk Tour Driver, and RAZR X™ line of irons, RAZR Hawk Fairway Woods and RAZR X Hybrids. The Hawk drivers mark the debut of proprietary innovation in aerodynamics called Streamlined Surface Technology that drastically reduces the drag during the downswing.

Callaway engineers reduced the energy loss due to drag by 43 per cent in the drivers. This achievement is a direct result of the aerodynamic shaping provided by the clubhead’s precise Forged Composite construction, which can be forged to within onethousandth of an inch.

Price: `21,990 (RAZR Hawk drivers); `42,990 (RAZR X Irons with steel shafts; `49,990 with graphite shafts); The iron set is available in two combinations: 3-Pitching and 4-Sand.

PERFECT TRIM What’s the nub: The new India Styling Kit from Philips.

What’s on offer: The 5-in-1 grooming kit offers multiple attachments that let you create and carry different facial hair styles. The kit includes: Precision trimmer: A 21 mm precision trimmer that helps create angles, edges and sharp styles.

Mini foil shaver: It helps finish edges with ultra-close results. The attachment is specially customised to help shave in the small areas around a facial style so that no matter what your facial cut, you can create any style.

Beard and moustache comb: Helps keep your moustache and beard in perfect shape.

Full-size trimmer: It helps you trim and maintain your shadow or stubble to give that perfect stubble beard look.

Price: `1995

Observer

SHELF SPACE NEWS AUGUST 2011

Tattoo time After tattoos on the body, tees and bags, its time to sport one on your watch too. Brandzstorm, the distributors of premium fashion labels, has introduced the ‘Ed Hardy’ by Christian Audigier watches in India. These combine both vintage tattoo art and urban styling with a strong hint of bling and the true glam factor.

The range includes:

Fast feet P

uma has introduced a new range of shoes designed exclusively for runners. The New Faas collection of trainers come with a BioRide™ technology that give runners a naturally responsive ride: helping them get into their own rhythm for increased speed and performance. The shoes have a continuous, rocker-shape outsole which provides smooth touchdown and effortless transition. 360 degree flex grooves are placed in key areas throughout the Faas shoes; these respond specifically to how the runner’s foot moves. They have a horizontal groove that runs the lateral side of the shoe: Regardless of how a runner’s foot hits the ground, this groove will provide them with natural stability.

Love child white Geisha: Crafted in 1.5” leather cuff adorned with SS flat circular studs, the watches have classic tattoo print and 4 10 mm Swarovski crystals. It has a Sunray dial, 3-hand Quartz movement and has a dainty tattoo artwork on the face with a simple printed logo. Price: `10,000 Lynx Blue Bird: Has a 45 mm polished rounded square SS case and has a circular chain link bracelet. Price: `11,350 Gladiator Tiger: Comes in a 45 mm SS case, a rugged 2-inch leather guff and a sunray dial with classic artwork. The Dial also features SS 3 Swarovski crystals at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 mounted on chrome dots. Price: `9,995 Hot Shot: It has a round black case made of surgical grade 316L stainless steel and 46 Swarovski® crystals on its round black bezel. A black coin edged push and pull crown completes the case design. Price: `9,750

Home truths What’s the nub: L’Oreal Professionnel HOMME. What’s on offer: An exclusive men’s only range of professional hair grooming products across hair care and hair styling with textures and fragrances.

The range includes: Vitality shampoo for normal hair: With antioxidant polyphenols that protect hair against free radicals such as pollution and sunlight, this daily use shampoo restores vitality and shine to normal hair.

Price: `495

Densifying shampoo for thinning hair: With magnesium and polyform+, Densite gives thinning hair tone, body and texture from the very root.

Price: `495

Shampoo for controlling unruly hair:Get easy styling and control with this shampoo. Magnesium fortifies the hair where as softening polymers give the hair manageability and control. Price: `495 Anti-dandruff shampoo: Enriched with magnésium + Zn pyrithione, this shampoo helps in the long term elimination of dandruff while being gentle on the scalp. Price: `495 Strong hold gel: This strong hold gel structures and sculpts your hair cut. Gives maximum hold for the longest time. Price: `550 Sculpting fibre paste: Sculpt your haircut to perfection with this flexible hold sculpting paste.

Create structured or messed up effects with ease.

Price: `550

017 | AUGUST 11

The Style Observer

High style What’s the nub: Tribute to the Mont Blanc collection, a homage to the highest mountain of Europe, the inspiration for the legendary trademark of the Montblanc company. The proceeds from the sale of this collection will be used to support and organise work for the maintenance and protection of the Mont Blanc region.

What’s on offer: The Montblanc Meisterstück Writing Instrument: Since 1924, the Montblanc Meisterstück writing instrument has been connecting highest European craftsmanship with timeless aesthetics and became a writing culture symbol worldwide. In its “Tribute to the Mont Blanc” collection, Montblanc issues the legendary Meisterstück direct reminiscent of the highest mountain of Europe: the white colour represents the eternal ice and snowy peak of the Mont Blanc.

coated ring. The Limited edition accessories ories include organisers (limited to 1,000 pieces), ces), wallets (limited to 2,000 pieces), and cases ases for a writing instrument (limited to 1,000 pieces).

Jewellery collection: Meaningful assortment nt of cuff links, pendants and bracelets in three ree segments: classic, iconic and timeless designs esigns inspired by the Mont Blanc and interpreted eted in different metals. Refined usage of the brand’s iconic motifs: three-rings motif, black and nd white colour and the unmistakable Montblanc ntblanc Diamond. The range includes cufflinks, pendant for men and bracelets for women. men.

The Colour of Eternity – Limited Edition Accessories: The radiant white of eternal snow on the peak and the glaciers of the Mont Blanc mountain inspired these limited edition accessories made of finely imprinted leather, lined with fine jacquard linen. Every piece of this collection has the imprinted “Tribute to the Mont Blanc” signet and a Montblanc logo enclosed by a palladium-

TURN ON SILENCE

WRIST WONDER

lica has introduced split kitchenhoods with external motor technology for the first time in India. In such systems, the motor is installed outside the house and therefore drastically reduces perceived noise levels and improve suction compared to kitchenhoods with internal motors. Also, since the motor is placed outside the house, it is very easy to maintain such systems. With Split kitchenhoods your kitchen is free of unwanted noise and odours thus making it a perfect place to meet, entertain and dine with you your loved ones. o ed o es.

his is one gifting option all you gents must look closely. Thirty-four years after first incorporating the Bulgari brand logo as a design element on its watches it is now appearing in a feminine version. This new collection comprises 14 references encompassing three diameters (26 mm, 33 mm and 37 mm), crafted in steel or rose gold, and providing countless possibilities including wristbands that can be swiftly and easily changed in step with moods and colour preferences. the case has been thoroughly redesigned and subtly streamlined to appear slenderer than ever, while retaining its characteristic steel or gold bezel, featuring an entirely smooth and polished surface bearing the double brand logo. Mediterranean Eden, the new Bulgari Bulgari Lady, is adorned with a mother-of-pearl dial with no hourmarkers and enriched with a delicate floral motif featuring stylised petals enhanced with brilliant-cut diamonds. It is available in the 33 mm and 37 mm-diameter versions with a steel or steel/gold case.

E

T

of the world

Seven thunders

by Nivedita Jayaram Pawar

B

link as you’re cruising along the brightly lit corridors of Palladium, Mumbai, and you’re sure to miss Asia 7, a muted brown-and-black restaurant amid a blur of brightly-coloured sale screaming boutiques on level 3 of the mall. Slow down and smell the steamed fish in Banana Leaf (`525). Lemon grass, chilli and garlic infused Basa chunks cocooned inside a warm banana leaf dances on the palate and tickles the throat. This legendary dish is a must-try at Asia 7 the pan Asian restaurant that serves Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Malaysian and Indonesian (that explains the 7).

What’s the food like: Some of the Korean and Vietnamese dishes may sound unfamiliar, but seafood, meat and vegetables prepared with fresh ingredients share universal appeal, especially when they’re presented in a popular restaurant in a busy mall. Allow me to cut to the chase and share highlights of my meal, which I enjoyed. Trio of Vegetables in Thai Herbs (`375) tossed with crispy water chestnut, lotus stems, white mushrooms cooked in galangal, lemon leaf, and chilli delivers a beautiful, nuanced performance, aided by a garnish of lemon grass on top. Among the other signature dishes at Asia 7 are the Vietnamese Prawn Spring Rolls (`375). Pickled vegetables with glass noodles, sweet basil, mint and coriander bound in a translucent rice paper gets fired up with a little help from the chilly and honey dip. The moist and succulent Basil Prawns (`525) don’t last long enough to cool off.

The sushi is as it should be – a sliver of moist fish on a small pad of rice. Try the Avocado and salmon – my favorites. A litmus test for any restaurant serving Thai is Pad Thai: That silken jumble of rice noodles,

bean sprouts, fish sauce and crushed peanuts that too frequently pander to an Indian penchant for spice. Asia 7 passes muster for its restrained use of spice in the legendary dish.

A teetotaler accomplice gave the bar a thumbs up for its virgin Mojito. This place stocks a good variety of wines. Just ask Restaurant manager Pushkar Singh for suggestions. Unfortunately Asia 7 doesn’t give any compelling reasons to stick around for the desserts. We expect better endings to a stellar meal than fried ice-cream and Chocolate Cigar (Rs 250).

The setting: Minimally accessorised with red Chinese lanterns and Thai paintings, Asia 7 is non-discrepant in its setting. I loved the deft chopstick skills of the bartenders, identified by their all-black uniforms. The service is smart and swift. Glance away from your meal and you will see many suited executives, happy shoppers rummaging through the bargains in their bags and couples fighting over the Sudoku. All the while Dilip, who pilots the kitchen, surveys the place for reactions to his culinary offerings.

What we liked: The staff is patient enough to explain nuances of each dish. Also the small portions of wine tasters are a luxurious indulgence to selecting a wine of your choice. Go for it.

Facts Asia 7 Restaurant Palladium Mall, Lower Parel, Mumbai.

Tel: (022) 43473901/02 Price: Meal for two: `1200 (without alcohol) 019 | AUGUST 11

&

SCENTS SENSIBILITIES A cut of the ďŹ nest perfumes you can lay your hands on. Take your pick from three categories: Floral, fresh and woody Compiled by Ritoo Jhha

F L O R A L In n2 2003, the Year of the Mediterranean, Hermès perfumer Me M e Jean-Claude Ellena was inspired Je J ea to ccreate the first garden-perfume, to the tth he Un Jardin en Méditerranée. was a homage to the secret IItt w garden of Leïla Menchari, director g ga ar decoration at Hermès, on the off d o Tunisian shoreline. Two years later, T Tu un he h e sset off to the island gardens in tthe th he delta of the king of rivers (Nile) tto o iinvent Un Jardin sur le Nil. In 2008, 20 2 200 00 the Year of Indian fantasies him to glorify India’s rebirth iinvited in nvi vi after a af fte te the life-giving monsoon rains, with wi w itth h Un Jardin après la Mousson.

2011, Hermès takes us to 24, In n2 Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris, Fa F au au their tth he flagship store. Hovering unexpectedly above the House of un u ne Hermès, in a secret rooftop garden, He H e err can cca an be found an apple tree, a pear tree, ttr ree ee a magnolia and plenty of “wild plants”.

Jean-Claude Elena, the pl p la in-house perfumer, describes the in n-h -h ssmell sm m that rises from this garden as, ‘the scent of sunlight and as as, pleasure… a fruity botanical floral’. pl p le

Notes: A fruity-floral composition No with wi w ith th a green dimension, the fragrance opens with notes of apple fra fr rag ag and a an nd green grass, plus a peppery effect. ef e ffffe fe The heart twines magnolia with with wi th a rose tonality. The base reveals waves of damp earth and rre rev ev oak moss (evernia prunastri). oa oak

Packaging: It comes with a greenPac hued h hu ue base this time. The package graced with a drawing of the city iss g Paris, including a view over th ze off P o House H Ho o ou u of Hermès’ rooftop garden.

Price: on request Pri

KENZO POWER The power of a flower! In continuation with the brand’s most successful launch ever for women, Kenzo Flower, this new range for men is subtler in conveying the message with a thin sketch of a tulip like flower on the bottle.

Notes: Created by Olivier Polge, it opens with a blend of spices and zest, giving it a fresh, invigorating impact. At its heart is an expression of abstract florality. The woody and amber notes that follow make the fragrance manly with tolu balm, cedar wood and labdanum.

Packaging: The minimalist, streamlined jar, originally a sake bottle, was created by Kenya Hara for Masuichi Ichimura.

Price: `4250 for 125ml 021 | AUGUST 11

SPRUCE S SP PRU RUCE CE

UN JARDIN SUR LE TOIT

F R E S H

CK ONE Cool, refreshing and light, this citrus sheer fragrance is light and casual and is meant to be applied generously.

Notes: Bright and effervescent at the top, it is a combination of bergamot, cardamom, tangerine, freesia and lavender. The middle notes are completed by green tea accord that travels from top to bottom contributing to the signature of CK One, with expressions of violet, rose and orange flower. Musk combined with amber create a sensuous drydown at the bottom, completing the effect of fullness and warmth.

Packaging: The limited-edition comes in an iconic flask bottle with portable speaker. The message of unity “we are one” is etched on the bottle, handwritten in many different languages to convey the fact that no matter what language we speak, we are part of a larger group.

Price: `3700 for 200ml

4711 ORIGINAL EAU DE COLOGNE Wilhelm Mulhens composed Eau de Cologne Originale 4711 in 1792, using the formula of an “Aqua Mirabilis” offered to him by a Carthusian monk. Eau de Cologne Originale was created at 4711 Carillons Street in Cologne.

The formula was kept a secret for two centuries, which allowed it to preserve the purity and the quality of its ingredients and also to be nominated an Original, the seal of authenticity of Eaux de Colognes produced in the heart of the town.

Notes: This hesperide fragrance is composed of raw materials such as lemon, orange blossom, rosemary and lavender. The base note is musk.

Packaging: Since1820, its been stored in the Molanus bottle invented by the distiller Peter Heinrich Molanus. Its special, six-sided design made this bottle far easier to handle, store and transport and was also conducive to the attachment of more expansive labels like the ones that are still being used today.

Price: `1000 for 100ml

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AQVA TONIQ

LACOSTE’S first ever collection of male fragrances is inspired by the brand’s L.12.12 polo shirt. The perfume was launched globally in February this year in three versions: Blanc, Bleu and Vert.

notes combine a dose of citrusy grapefruit with cool aquatic notes of peppermint and watery fruits.

At the heart is a smooth and aromatic accord of sage which blends with an earthy dry down of patchouli, amber wood and oak moss – a more intense aroma.

Blue and citrusy, Bulgari’s Aqva Toniq is a reinterpretation of the much-acclaimed Aqva pour Homme. In this “tonic” version, Bulgari chose to pair aquatic plants with sparkling notes to grant ‘a touch of vigour and purity’.

Vert: A fresh and natural scent,

Notes: Perfurmer Jacques

Notes: Blanc: It opens with a fresh, woody and herbal blend of grapefruit, rosemary, cardamom and cedar leaf to create a clean and aromatic first impression.

These notes blend with a uniquely masculine, floral heart accord comprising a natural tuberose, ylang ylang and olibanum that gives the scent its purity. The base of the fragrance merges cedarwood and georgywood with fresher notes of vetiver.

Bleu: The Blue edition is a bit more powerful. The top

it opens with a cocktail of citrus notes combining bergamot, verbena and grapefruit. It is balanced by a middle note of blue lavender, thyme, violet leaf and fig. At the base there is the sparkling scent of natural living bamboo grass, a note unique to this scent which drives the feeling of fresh, green wood within the fragrance.

Price: `3650 for 100ml

SPRUCE

EAU DE LACOSTE L.12.12

Cavallier of Firmenich’s Aqva Toniq opens with citrusy waves of lemon and peppermint to lend itself a cologne effect. The heart pairs posidonia (an aquatic plant) with icy notes. The sweeter trail unveils a slightly ambry feel.

Packaging: The Aqva pour Homme bottle has been reinterpreted in a nearly opaque metallic blue bottle.

Price: `2900 (50ml)

`4000 (100ml)

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WOODY F BY FERRAGAMO: POUR HOMME FREE TIME F by Ferragamo pour Homme Free Time unites the elegant nature of the Ferragamo man with a more casual and nomadic dimension. It’s about living life with a casual Friday attitude.

The Navy Blue Color Code interprets an idea of casual yet refined living, in line with Ferragamo’s vision of ‘masculine allure’.

Notes: The top notes are a bright and zesty blend of pink pepper, cedrat and lemon, followed by sea breeze accord, ginger and cardamom. This is followed by a more soft and sensual accord of white cedarwood and vetiver for a distinctive signature of elegance and masculinity.

Packaging: Lightness is captured in a blue degradé colour of the bottle.

A blue strip encircles the flacon and emphasises the breezy freshness of F

by Ferragamo pour Homme Free Time.

The Pour Homme plate on the bottle re-enforces the message of masculine strength.

Price: Between `1900 to `3600 for 30ml, 50ml and 100ml

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DAVIDOFF HOT WATER

PURE NAUTICA

Following the success of Cool Water, Davidoff’s Hot Water continues the success story. It is for the man who is alive, at one with the elements, and whose instincts are fully tuned and ready for action.

Nautica captures man’s connection with the sea. It is, hence, a fragrance that tries to capture the refined but modest man. A clean, modern and sophisticated scent, it embodies the epic strength and masculinity of the active man: Its ad campaign features model Jason Caselton on a sailboat.

Notes: It has red basil, absinthe and wormwood as the top note, and the middle note is made of other spices.

Packaging: Embracing its passionate crystal rouge body is a soft and sensual pastel-black side.

Price: `4000 for 110ml

Note: This woody-aquatic scent opens with fresh citrus blended with a sea accord. The heart reveals spicy saffron and watery lotus associated with ambergris. The woody and slightly warm drydown mixes driftwood, suede and patchouli.

Packaging: It comes in a sober rectangular bottle etched with five horizontal lines. According to the brand, they represent the world’s five oceans.

Price: `1850 for 50 ml

`2450 for 100ml

Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobiles put together by none other than Enzo Ferrari himself. It is also the oldest surviving team, having competed since 1948. It represents the ideal of overcoming limits through innovation and technology.

Notes: Its top note is a dynamic and explosive accord of Sicilian Lemon and Green Mandarin bound to fresh and invigorating notes of Peppermint and sophisticated Provençal Lavender.

At the heart is black pepper, Moroccan rosemary and Ceylon Cardamom spotted by elegant and mysterious hints of Black Tea and Egyptian Geranium.

The base note of exotic Guaiac Wood close to the evocative Lebanese Cedar wood enrich this jus, which finds its completion in the cohesion of wrapping touch of Oriental Amber, Tonka Bean and Musks.

DOLCE&GABBANA: THE ONE GENTLEMAN Following the 2008 launch of the Dolce&Gabbana ‘the one for men’, ‘the one gentleman’ is for the contemporary charmer with a spirit of dashing masculinity.

Notes: The top note is pepper and grapefruit. Shades of lavender in the middle complement subtle accents of fennel and cardamom. Seductive patchouli nestles in a sumptuous vanilla embrace at the bottom note.

Packaging: Its transparent bottle is topped with a grayish-blue cap evoking wood. The fragrance’s name is inscribed on it in letters of gold.

Price: `4450 for 100ml

Price: `2300 for 75ml

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SPRUCE

SCUDERIA FERRARI

MASSAGE IN A

Bottl You’ve got to read this gentlemen. Soak in a tub of honeysuckle blossoms or a scrubdown with walnut shells... or some gentle kneading of the limbs with warm oils... Miriam Mathews, president, Spa Division of Mumbai-based Core Wellness Ltd, tells you how to get the most out of your next spa session

BODY TREATMENTS Swedish massage: If you are looking for a simple, standard massage, this is it. The idea here is to leave your body feeling totally relaxed, yet revitalised. The classic Swedish massage uses rejuvenating seasonal blend of oils to give you a firm and deeply relaxing and healing experience.

Good for: Relieving sore muscles and stimulating overall blood circulation.

Duration: One hour

Balinese massage: A dry massage, it is followed by an extended session with an oil that comes straight from the magical island of Bali. The therapeutic benefits of this massage include loosening of muscular tension, toning, firming the muscles and stimulating blood and lymph circulation.

Good for: ‘Reawakening your inner self and evoke calm’ by restoring smooth energy flow.

Duration: One hour

Traditional Thai massage: If you don’t like oilbased massages, this is your next best option. It is based on the discovery of Sen, the ten invisible energy lines that run through the body. Your journey begins with a masterful combination of Thai stretching techniques and a deep tissue pressure point massage.

Good for: Increases blood flow, releases toxins and restores suppleness; balances your body, mind and spirit.

Duration: One hour

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Photograph: Dreamstime

027 | AUGUST 11

Abhyangam massage: A traditional Indian massage, it is done by two therapists simultaneously. The two therapists work in such synchronisation that you will feel it is one person doing it. The ritual uses long strokes and warm herb infused oil to stimulate circulation, enhance joint mobility, relieve muscle soreness and hydrate the skin and speed up detoxification. At the end of the session, medicated herbal powder is applied on the crown to re-balance energy flow.

Good for: Beneficial for treating rheumatism, sound sleep and improving a sense of well-being.

Duration: 45 minutes

Indian head massage: Warm oil is applied to nourish your hair and scalp followed by a slow tension relieving head massage. Research suggests that a source of tension is the muscle that lies beneath the scalp, causing headaches, migraines, aching necks and shoulders.

Massaging specific pressure points across the scalp and the base of the skull ensures deep relaxation.

Duration: 45 minutes

Back, neck, shoulder and head de-stress therapy: If you are looking for a quick

Deep-pore cleansing facial: This purifying

relieving massage, this relaxing treatment is designed to specifically ease muscle tension by concentrating on the tight and stressed muscles of the back and shoulders.

Good for: Extensive therapy will gently relieve aching knots of the lower and upper back, as well as shoulders, neck and head.

Duration: 45 minutes

Reflexology: You just cannot say no to this foot massage. Every part and organ of the body has corresponding pressure points in the feet.

The ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Indians discovered that by identifying these points and gently massaging them many ailments could be relieved. Today this age-old art is becoming ever more popular and is proving extremely effective in treating illness and tensions.

Duration: 30 minutes

Exfoliations

Sea salt dream: An invigorating body polish will leave your entire body glowing with radiance and beauty.

Good for: It removes dead cells, stimulates blood circulation and helps detoxification.

Duration: 30 minutes

FACIAL TREATMENTS treatment consists of steaming, exfoliation, and an intense deeper cleansing of clogged pores.

Duration: One hour

Natural facial therapy: A 100 per cent oldfashioned natural facial therapy with herbal steam, this exclusive natural treatment can be customised to suit all your needs.

Duration: 60 minutes

Ayurvedic facial: Revive and find new life in your skin with this rejuvenating facial formulated especially for dull, lifeless skin.

It is done by a unique formulation of ayur ingredients which stimulate and regenerate the skin. Cooling and anti inflammatory fullers earth pack resurface, nourishes and accelerates healthy cellular growth.

Duration: One hour Skin firming facial: This is a speciallydesigned facial exclusively for men that helps to boost the skin. It is prescribed to protect against the harsh ageing affect of shaving and environment damage. This is the ultimate overhaul for male skin.

Duration: One hour

Honey body buffs: Honey, the cocktail of nature, is enriched with antiseptic and healing properties and when mixed with the nutritious benefits of sesame, it will gently exfoliate, soften, nourish and smoothen the skin, followed by the moisture application.

Duration: 30 minutes

HAND and FOOT TREATMENTS Classic manicure: This classic manicure

Shirodhara: Specially prepared medicated oil

includes the right treatment for individual needs. It involves nail shaping, cuticle care, hand massage with moisture application. This manicure treatment helps in nourishing and reconditioning hands and nails. The result is strong, natural nails.

Duration: 45 minutes

or medicated milk is poured on the forehead continuously in a special pattern temperature.

Pre and post therapy, head and face massages are performed.

Good for: It helps in curing insomnia, de-stresses mind and body, strengthens hair roots and improves scalp circulation to promote hair growth.

Duration: 45 minutes

Classic pedicure: The classic pedicure includes nail shaping, cuticle, hard skin and foot care, foot massage with moisture application. The results is an intensive, relaxing and luxurious foot treatment.

Duration: 45 minutes

HAIR and SCALP TREATMENTS

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FAQs to enhance your wellness experience This is the first time I am having a spa therapy. Will someone help me choose the most appropriate treatments?

Always discuss with spa team members on your needs. Are you looking at detoxification, improving your skin clarity or simply relaxing. Based on what you are looking for, you would advised on a therapy best suited to you.

Can I have multiple spa therapies in a day?

Yes. Many spa therapies complement each other and work very well together. Once again, talk to any member of the spa to find out more about different therapies that give better results when taken together.

What if I have any health concerns?

It is important that you notify the spa team of any illness, or allergies etc, at the time of making your reservations.

Please note that it is extremely important that the therapists know if you suffer from any cardiovascular disorders such as cardiac ailments or high blood pressure, have recently undergone surgery or have any implant or are suffering from skin diseases.

When should I eat before my spa therapy?

Since most therapies improve blood circulation and use pressure techniques, we advise against eating a heavy meal before your treatment. A light snack is appropriate if you are hungry. It is not advisable to have alcohol before any session.

What should I wear during my session?

You can arrive in your street clothes since all spas are equipped with changing facilities. Most spas offer appropriate disposable undergarments and other apparel.

How early should I arrive for my treatment?

It is recommended that you arrive at least 15 minutes before your appointment to give yourself enough time to relax and complete a health status questionnaire. This will help you to get into the mood and help us personalise your visit.

Should I pay tips/gratuity?

Gratuity is a reflection of your level of satisfaction with our services and hence all gratuities are left solely at your discretion. While gratuities to the tune of 15 per cent of the cost of therapies is typical, you are welcome to pay as you think is deserved by your care providers.

Is there anything else I must know for a fulfilling spa experience?

To maximise your experience at the spa, be vocal about your comfort and how it can be improved: Temperature settings, music volume, extent of pressure are some of the customisations possible. Most spas do not permit the use of electronic devices, (including mobile telephones) into the spa area as these not only detract you from your experience but can also disturb other guests.

Photograph: Dreamstime

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h

030 030 03 30 | AUG AU A AUGUST UG U GU US ST S T1 11 1

Step into your own cooking shoes and walk down the seemingly complicated territory of Indian food. Tarun Kapoor, executive chef of The Metropolitan Hotel, makes it easy for all you gent

me

DELIVERY Photographs by Vipin Kardam Styling by Azad Mohan

TIKKA MASALA Chicken thigh Red chili powder Mustard oil Hung curd Ginger garlic paste Kasoori methi Coriander powder Lemon juice Salt to taste

Garnish 4 1 tsp 2 tbsp 4 tbsp 2 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tbsp

Gravy Chopped onion Ginger garlic paste Cloves Cinnamon Bay leaf Peppercorn Cardamom (small) Chopped tomato Red chilly powder Salt Vegetable oil Kasoori methi Cream Butter Dhaniya powder

1 cup 1 tbsp 2-3 1 stick 2 2-3 2 2 cups 1 tsp To taste 2 tbsp 1 tsp 2 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tsp

• Clean and wash chicken leg and cut into tikka size • Cream together all the ingredients and prepare a marinade • Marinate the chicken morsels in the prepared marinade and keep refrigerated for two hours • Roast in tandoor till 3/4th done, remove and keep aside

• Remove from flame and keep aside • In a separate pan take the prepared gravy and temper it by ginger garlic and red chili paste • Add prepared chicken tikka pieces and cook for 5 minutes till the chicken is completely cooked • Sprinkle kasoori methi on top and adjust the seasoning • Finish with butter and cream and remove from flame • Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves and ginger juliennes

For masala

Alcohol pairing

• Heat oil in a pan and add ginger garlic paste, chopped onion and whole hot spices and sauté till light brown • Add red chili and dhaniya powder and chopped tomato and cook over slow flame till the onion tomato is cooked and oil floats on top

This dish goes very well with dark rum as it has a strong flavour and compliments the strong hot spices.

This dish is one of the favourite dishes among both Indians and expatriates. Even in England, this dish is so popular that people call it the national dish of India being served in England.

Coriander leaves Ginger juliennes

2 tbsp ½ tbsp

Method

For the chicken tikka

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FOOD

Ingredients

032 | AUGUST 11

FOOD

SUNEHRI MACCHI

Ingredients Sole cubes Mustard oil Ginger garlic paste Yellow chili powder Green chili paste Salt Cumin powder Gram flour Spinach leaves Lemon juice

200 gm 2 tbsp 2 tbsp 1 tsp 1 tbsp To taste ¼ tsp 2 tbsp 5-6 2 tbsp

Garnish Onion rings Coriander sprig Lemon wedge

30 gm 2 1

Method • Marinate the sole cubes with salt and lemon juice and keep aside • Heat oil in a pan and add gram flour and stir till light golden in colour • Remove from flame and add ginger garlic paste, green chili paste, yellow chili powder and cumin powder and make a paste • Marinate the fish cubes in the prepared marinade and leave in refrigerator for half an hour • At medium pre-heated coal fired tandoor or pre heated domestic oven put fish skewers and roast evenly • In the meantime, take oil in a pan and sauté washed spinach leaves and add salt and lemon juice to it • Once the fish is cooked, remove from skewer and toss in the pan containing sauté spinach. Serve hot garnished with onion rings, coriander sprig and lemon wedge

ADRAKI Chaap

Ingredients Minced chicken Amul cheese Chopped green chili Chopped ginger Chopped garlic Chopped onion Cashewnut Desi ghee Coriander roots Salt Garam masala

Garnish 250 gm 40 gm ½ tbsp ½ tbsp ½ tbsp 1 tbsp 40 gm 50 gm 1 bunch to taste ½ tsp

Ginger, julienne Beetroot curls

1 tbsp 15 gm

Method • Add chicken mince and all the above-mentioned ingredients and pass through mincer • Pass the mixture twice to make a smooth paste • Make small-size flattened balls from the above mixture • Take desi ghee in a pan and

shallow fry the flattened balls over medium heat • Serve hot garnished with ginger juliennes and onion ring bed with ginger chili dip

Alcohol Pairing This dish blends very well with white wine. Light coloured chicken matches perfectly well with the light-bodied white wine.

You can relish this combination almost through the year.

SUBZ Pilli Mirch Ingredients Broccoli florets Cauliflower florets Baby corn Mushrooms Capsicum red Yellow capsicum Pineapple Hung curd Yellow chili Salt Garam masala Roasted channa powder Mustard oil Turmeric powder White pepper powder Lemon juice

50 gm 40 gm 40 gm 40 gm 30 gm 30 gm 40 gm 40 gm 1 tbsp to taste ½ tsp 20 gm 2 tbsp ½ tsp ¼ tsp 1 tbsp

Garnish Butter clarified Chat masala Chopped coriander

2 tbsp ½ tsp 1 tbsp

Method • Wash and cut all the vegetables and boil them in turmeric water till half cooked • Prepare a marinade using mustard oil, hung curd, yellow chili, salt, turmeric pwd, white pepper pwd, lemon juice and garam masala • Cream together this marinade to a smooth paste and marinate the vegetables and keep for 30 minutes in refrigerator • Put the marinated vegetables in skewers and roast in tandoor basting with butter • Once the marinade becomes crisp and light brown, remove from tandoor • Serve hot garnished with onion rings, chat masala and clarified butter

034 | AUGUST 11

Ingredients Bread slices Rabri Passionfruit puree Blueberry puree Sugar syrup Mini gulab jamun Saffron milk

2 1 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tbsp ½ cup 3 60 ml

Garnish Chopped pistachio

1 tbsp

Method • Toast the bread slices and cut into small coins using cutter • Arrange mini gulab jamun on plate and dip the bread coins in sugar syrup • Place the coins on top of mini jamun and place passion fruit, blueberry and rabri on top of each bread • Pour saffron milk in a glass and place on side • Sprinkle the plate with chopped pistachio

Alcohol pairing Dooley’s, a chocolate-flavored liquer, will compliment this dish very well and will leave you with a flavour that will linger in your mouth for a long time

FOOD

CHUTNEY Special Shahi Tukra

MAKAI Matter Galawat Ingredients American corn Green peas Corn flour Dry channa powder Chopped coriander Chopped ginger Chopped garlic Chopped green chili Desi ghee Salt Star anise Cumin powder Clove powder

Garnish Beetroot curl Onion rings Chat masala

100 gm 100 gm 25 gm 25 gm 15 gm 1 tbsp 1 tbsp ½ tbsp 3 tbsp to taste ¼ tsp 2 gm 3 gm 15 gm 30 gm To taste

Method • Boil green peas and American corn in water and keep aside • Heat desi ghee in pan and add cumin seeds, chopped ginger, garlic and green chili

036 03 0 36 3 6|A AUG AU AUGUST UG U GUS UST U ST S T1 11 1

• Mash the American corn and green peas and add to the above mixture and stir • Cook over slow flame till the raw aroma is gone • Remove from flame and allow to cool • Add roasted channa pwd and corn flour, cumin pwd and clove pwd and knead to make a smooth dough • Adjust the seasoning and make medium size balls • Shallow fry using desi ghee and serve with onion rings, beetroot curls and sprinkle chat masala on top.

Alcohol Pairing Vodka will compliment this dish very well as the tender flavour of green peas and corn can be best enjoyed with the neutral flavour of vodka. Also, vodka does not leave any after taste of its own

DUMBA Zardaloo Lamb Desi ghee Ginger garlic paste Chopped tomato Red Chilli powder Chopped green chilli Chopped coriander Jaggery Potato, juliennes Vinegar Salt Turmeric powder

500 gm 2 tbsp 1 tsp 4 ½ tsp 3-4 1 tbsp 1 ½ tbsp 2 tbsp 1 tbsp To taste ½ tsp

Method • In a heavy bottom pan, heat oil and sauté onions till golden brown • Add chili powder, turmeric pwd

• • • • • • • • •

and ginger garlic paste and stir for a minute Add mutton cubes and cook till the meat is light brown in colour Add chopped green chilli and tomato, water and salt Bring to boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes Mix jaggery and vinegar to it Cook again for 5-6 minutes Remove from heat and garnish with chopped coriander leaves Cut potato in fine juliennes and soak them in chilled salty water Drain the water and fry them till crisp Sprinkle straws on top of the prepared curry and serve hot with steamed rice or Indian bread

FOOD

Ingredients

037 | AUGUST 11

MITHAI ki Chaat Ingredients Chenna murgi Boondi Rabri Cinnamon Figs Mint leaves Tart shell

Method 40 gm 40 gm 50 gm ¼ tsp 2 2 1

Garnish Chocolate sauce

038 | AUGUST 11

2 tbsp

• In a glass bowl combine chenna murgi, boondi and rabri • Sprinkle cinnamon powder on top and place in tart shell • Place in a cold dessert plate and draw garnish lines using chocolate sauce • Place figs on side and mint sprig on side

FOOD

KHUSHRANG Paneer Chaat

Ingredients Paneer 150 gm Chopped onion 4 tbsp Chopped tomato 2 tbsp Chopped garlic ½ tbsp Chopped ginger ½ tbsp Cumin ¼ tsp Dhaniya powder ½ tsp Red chili powder ½ tsp Achar masala 1 tsp Olive oil 1 tbsp Salt to taste Chopped coriander 2 tbsp

Roti 100 gm as req To taste

Atta Water Salt

Method • Combine atta, salt and moisture to make a firm dough • Divide the dough in small balls and flatten using a rolling pin • Cut into small coins and toast on a non stick tawa to light brown color on both sides • Cut paneer in small dices (green pea size) and keep aside • Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds • Add ginger, garlic, onion and sauté • Add all the spices and paneer cubes, toss gently and add fresh coriander leaves • Adjust the seasoning and place on prepared roti coins • Serve with mint chutney

Alcohol Pairing Red wine is best suited for this dish because of its full-bodied flavour and also the beautiful color of the wine shines in itself and compliments the colorful khushrang paneer chaat

039 | AUGUST 11

BLACK CHIFFON SHIRT BY VARUN BAHL // MICRO SHOTS BY SHRIVAN & NARRESH

INTERVIEW

Girl

Photographs by Ashish Shah (Elite Model Management) Interview and styling by Rakhi Biswas Make-up: Sagar

What’s with your name Mandana? A tad unusual?

It’s traditional Persian. It means “Forever”

out what are they upto....

What’s your greatest indulgence?

Food and cooking.

How do you manage to look that sculpted?

I practice yoga and Bharatanatyam three times in a week. It helps me keep calm and fit.

Your biggest regret?

I don’t have any... I don’t believe in sulking.

Mornings or evenings?

I am more of a evening person.

One thing you’d like to learn before you die?

Hindi.

What is the one thing a man should never tell his woman?

That she is a terrible cook.

What are you reading right now?

A Hindi book about Indian culture. You see, I am very serious about learning the language.

Weekend at a luxury beach resort or an adventure sports facility?

Definitely an adventure sports facility. I like to pamper the tomboy part of my personality sometimes.

Your favourite junk food?

Chips.

One invention you can’t wait for any longer?

A time machine.

A fashion trend you just don’t understand?

Silicons! I don’t understand why would anybody want to be so fake.

One place you really want to visit?

Rome. It’s the City of Love and I want to be there some time soon.

Have you ever broken the law?

Yes... always. I don’t like rules and regulations.

Are you a tomboy or a princess?

Princess, I believe in fairy tales...

If you were invisible for a day, you would...

Stalk men into their changing room and find

If you opened a specialty restaurant, where would it be and what would it serve?

I would open a coffee shop in Goa. And you know what it will serve? Love coffee... break up coffee.

Your worst date ever?

Can’t think of any yet. Thank God. What are you addicted to?

Candles in my room.

If you were to get a tattoo, what and where would it be?

I HATE Tattoos.

What’s that one thing from a man’s wardrobe that needs to be burnt?

Scarfs.

Do pick up lines work?

Not at all. The worst was “Should I get a drink for you”.

041 | AUGUST 11

WHAT KIND OF SPACE DO YOU FIND YOURSELF IN TODAY?

IN LOVE... GROWING AND GLOWING.

BLACK BIKINI TOP BY SHRIVAN & NARRESH // BEADED SHRUG BY VARUN BAHL

042 | AUGUST 11

If your partner cheated on you, you would…

Leave him. I can’t stand cheaters.

The last holiday you went on…

Bali. Its a beautiful must-visit place.

What in a man sets your pulse racing?

Surely his lips.

Okay, to wrap up, tell us four things you feel men just don’t understand about women.

That women like to talk and talk about anything and everything.

That women like shopping.

Men don’t understand when we are cranky.

They think we like to be pampered and keep asking us why we are upset.

• • • •

ERRATA The credits for our M Girl feature in July issue were printed wrong. The correct credits are: Photographs by Sikandar Khan Hair and make-up: Ruhee M Bindra Model courtesy: Toabh Model Management The error is regretted

043 04 0 43 4 3 | AUG A AUGUST UST ST 1 11 1

TEN YEARS TO TOMORROW A special series of essays

Cinema

by Bhawana Somaaya

A film critic for more than three decades, columnist and author of nine books, including the just-released Bachchanalia 2, Bhawana Somaaya is one of the foremost film journalists in the country. She has been on the advisory panel of the Censor Board and have been on film delegations representing media to several countries. Between 2000 and 2007, she was the editor of Screen.

I

s it possible to predict what is going to happen in the future? Perhaps it is easier to study processes and progress in other practical fields but not in performing arts, and most certainly not in the world of moving images.

Ideas are like quick sand; they change every minute. So do emotions and cinema is about combining both. It is about creating illusions and then destroying them… about weaving fantasies and then letting them delude us… so in a way cinema is like chasing a mirage.

We aspire for perfection but the journey is long and arduous. What keeps us going is always our passion for the medium and not our assessment of it. It was passion that propelled painter Raja Ravi Verma to believe in a raw and intense photographer like Phalke and encourage him to follow his art. It was passion and sacrifices of Phalke’s entire family that turned him into the father of Indian cinema.

If films made in the ’50s were idealistic, those made in the ’60s were celebratory and the ’70s raised many issues. From ’80s to ’90s and ’90s to 2000, our stories, characters and music went through a full circle. The year 2000, all of us agree, was a defining year in cinema. Four young filmmakers presented four different genres of films and what was remarkable is that all were unplanned and accepted by audience.

Karan Johar, son of veteran filmmaker Yash Johar, gave the 7-starrer Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Madhur Bhandarkar, who had humble beginnings with Ram Gopal Varma, gave a path breaking Chandni 044 | AUGUST 11

Bar, Ashutosh Gowariker made Lagaan and finally it was the chip of the old block Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai that changed Hindi cinema forever.

We don’t realise it but cinema in a way is like fashion. It changes suddenly and unless you are alert and astute to adapt to the altering trends, there are chances that you will be left behind. Another interesting facet about change is that it ushers new players who quietly and graciously out focus the old players in a way they will never be missed. In recent times, we have seen the rise of innumerable new talent – writers, singers, performers, technicians, composers, directors. This has not happened in a long, long time. Many of them come from remote villages and towns, and as a result they have brought with them new sounds, images, language, vocabulary and culture. The old guards were not prepared for this. They had not bargained making small-budget films for multiplexes. They had never imagined our films would one day turn shorter, our songs noisier and our performances real. The audiences now say that they miss the old masala movies quintessential to Bachchan; movies that made them laugh and cry.

Will those formula films of ’70s-’80s-’90s, that were synonymous with Bachchan, return in 1920? It depends on what kind of an actor will be ruling the box-office at that time. Romance ruled as long as Rajesh Khanna reigned and then a Zanjeer changed two destinies. One became the king in exile and the other turned a Shehenshah.

At that time nobody had predicted Bachchan to last forever but because he was

a complete entertainer, he sailed through a four decade career. He broke all the rules of show business, courted television, juggled endorsements and even danced on stage Out of 100 plus years of Indian cinema, 40 plus belongs to him and it is a record that will be difficult to match. Younger actors borrowing leaves from his career have become cautious of not compromising.

They have higher expectations and will not hang up their boots in a hurry.

Cinema will be a little same and a lot different in 2020. Who will usher the change is difficult to say. Could be a veteran or an outsider one can never tell. Bachchan will most definitely be there in 1920... if not acting and singing then producing… He will still be endorsing brands and probably hosting the 10th season of KBC. I will be there too writing more biographies.

Maybe I will write yet another book on Bachchan – this time my observations of him as a grandfather.

VOL

JULY 2011 `100

ISSUE

Hello,

India’s finest lifestyle magazine for men

6 7

Velvet Assassin

LIFE

Farhan Ak htar on

+

Jaqueli J liine

F Fernand mind. The dez has Murd former Miss er on her Sri Lanka in a rare tell-a ll mood

+

Books: Scienc Music: The e, engineering and radica rise of John Travel: Of Lennon’s sons l Islam blistering cold, Hot wheels: Tricks to tamewrathful lust your SUV

living it up

Indulge: The Feature: Religibest perfumes for men Athletics: Runnon, opium for the mass es Hot wheels: ing aground Racing the bar

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by Sanjiv Nair

Yip Man

(Ip Man) – Hong Kong (2008)

Brazil (2009)

Besouro

Jnjsannin no Shikaku

(Director: Wilson Yip; Cast: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam and Siu-Wong Fan)

(Director: João Daniel Tikhomiroff; Cast: Aílton Carmo, Ânderson Santos de Jesus and Jéssica Barbosa)

(Director: Takashi Miike; Cast: K ji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Y suke Iseya, Gor Inagaki, Masachika Ichimura, Mikijir Hira)

T

he name Ip Man involuntarily invokes images of a ‘leather-clad, cybercrimeousting’ vigilante. In reality though, Ip Man is an eponymously-titled semiautobiographical film about Yip Man, the most prolific proponent of the Wing Chun style of martial arts and master of the legendary, Bruce Lee.

Set in 1930s, the film begins with a depiction of Ip’s idyllic life in Foshan. A martial arts despising wife, independently acquired wealth and a peace-loving demeanour ensure Ip’s non-reliance on the sport for finances.

However, other grandmasters in Foshan are well aware of the prodigious talent amidst them and through generous praise or closed door sparring, acknowledge and respect Ip’s talent.

Outbreak of the second Shino-Japanese war obliterates the peace of the town and suddenly Ip has no other means but Wing Chun to protect his loved ones and earn a living for his family. With some of the best choreographed action sequences (thanks to the fabulous Sammo Hung) ever captured on celluloid, this is a must watch for a martial arts fanatic.

M Factor: Bruce Lee’s master rip-roaring through ten Japanese karatekas.... Action scenes don’t get better than this.

046 | AUGUST 11

C

apoeira was born amidst African slaves in the Brazilian colonies of the Portuguese in the early 16th century. It imbibes within it the spirit of dance and music and is characterised by quick and complex moves using leg sweeps and power kicks. Inspite of its perceived anonymity, it remains one of the deadliest forms of martial arts, and Besouro is the only film which comes close to capturing its lethal beauty. The movie chronicles the spiritual journey of Besouro, a legendary Capoeirista, into the jungles of Bahia. Gods and deities conspire to bestow Besouro with celestial invincibility, while the spirit of his dead master rouses him to protect his people.

Within Besouro’s crusty exterior, is a soft, warm, chocolaty centre which comprises of no nonsense, bone crunching, and ball busting action like you have never seen before. Kicks and punches and wire fu abound as Besouro cartwheels from one mazy fight sequence to another. Tikhomiroff, uses scintillating cinematography and dazzling locations to augment the aesthetic of the fight sequences.

M Factor: Brazilian martial arts film feature Brazilian men fighting. They also feature Brazilian women. Brazilian women are really hot.

(13 Assassins) (Japan) (2010)

T

akashi Miike, best known for his sadomasochistic drama, Ichi the Killer, has off late walked a path of diabolical discrepancy. While some of his works are consistent with his deranged ingenuity, other films tread on the more mainstream path of traditional commercial fare. But even for the compromise his populace-friendly alter-ego makes, his films still carry a vein of excruciating violence and the Miike stamp of vicious idiosyncrasies. 13 Assassins is one such brilliant feature which many would have you believe is a traditional Jidaigeki (Period drama).

Jusannin no Shikaku is no drama! The plot is superb, the screenplay taut and the movie is technically brilliant. But make no mistake. This remake of the 1961 original is a gloriously made, bloodthirsty, samurai martial arts monster of an action film. The storyline follows the assassination attempt on a ferociously cruel feudal lord by a group of 13 samurai warriors. The final hour of the film features the longest, goriest and most intense battle sequence ever shot on celluloid.

M Factor: In the hour-long battle featuring more than 250 fighters, the final tally of survivors is in single digits. That is several gallons of blood, and Miike ensure he shows every last drop of it.

Banlieue 13 (District 13)

THE HUB

Chocolate

Kiltro

Thailand (2008)

France (2004)

Chile (2006)

(Director: Prachya Pinkaew; Cast: Yanin Vismistananda,Hiroshi Abe, Pongpat Wachirabunjong)

(Director: Pierre Morel; Cast: David Belle, Cyril Raffaelli, Dany Verissimo, Bibi Naceri)

(Director: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza; Cast: Marko Zaror, Caterina Jadresic)

M

I

inema in Chile has not deviated much from the norm in the past few decades. Their addiction to Spaghetti Westerns and comedies is near manic and filmmakers rarely experiment.

Kiltro, inspite of its mundane premise, of a martial arts expert who torpedoes the crap out of anyone who even looks at his girl the wrong way, is therefore, fairly experimental fare. Director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza employs the monstrous Marko Zaror, who for the uninitiated is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s stunt double, in the lead role of Zamir.

artial arts films in the ’70s and ’80s had pre-production done in reverse order. The actor’s (usually a rookie) strengths as a martial artist were assessed, and while he/ she trained with the stunt and action choreographers, the script would be developed based on their fighting abilities. In Chocolate, director Prachya Pinkaew (of Ong Bak fame) reinvigorates this forgotten form of filmmaking with actress Yanin Visimistananda whom he had discovered on the sets of an earlier film. Already well-versed in taekwondo, the actress trained, while a script was developed specific to her fighting style.

Amusing as it may seem, her role as the protagonist in the film is that of an autistic fighter whose skills are gained through her incredibly refined ability to imitate. Not the most appealing of action hero protagonists? You will be delightfully surprised! This movie delivers bloody convincingly on what it promises through its tagline – A special-needs girl, with a special need…. To kick some ass!

The film combines the gritty storytelling style characteristic of Thai cinema , with effervescent humour, making this one of the easiest on the eyes, out and out fun action films you might ever see.

M Factor: Apart from her unquestionable ass whooping abilities, Yanin is one drop-dead gorgeous lady. So is her mom.

n the year 2010 (a futuristic take, what with the movie being made in 2004), anarchy reigns in Paris. Banlieue 13, one of the worst ghettos in the city, is home to some of the most dangerous perpetrators in the world, including the despicable crime lord Taha. A crack cop Damien, teams up with a morally upright punk Leito to deactivate the bomb and annihilate the threat of Taha forever.

Banlieue 13, as the plot synopsis would suggest, is not exactly a film that hinges on sanity, let alone the consistency of its storyline. The plot merely exists to provide situational triggers for the film’s lead pair to break into jaw-dropping sprints, stunts and fights, seeded in Parkour’s maxim of overcoming obstacles in an efficient and preferably aesthetic manner.

David Belle and Cyril Rafaeli, who portray the two protagonists, are highly respected Parkour pioneers with the former being one of the founders of the sport. Stylish cinematography and a soundtrack heavy on French trip hop are seamlessly woven in by director Pierre Morel. Two thumbs and a broken pair of toes up for this one.

M Factor: Remember the amped up chase

C

This ‘way over six feet’ monster is unbelievably flexible from neck down. He somersaults, flips, pirouettes and delivers flying kicks with the flexibility of a rubber band. The fights in the movie are a treat to watch and 70 per cent of the film has people beating the humitas and the enchiladas out of each other. And all of that to a brass trumpet orchestra blaring music evocative of Spaghetti Westerns – pure bliss.

M Factor: Crazy hot Chilean actress Caterina Jadresic is more randy than a Bonobo in heat throughout the film. So that’s a lot of fighting and a really horny girl.

sequence in Casino Royale in the beginning when James Bond chases a bomb maker. This movie has loads more of that. About three truckloads more.

47 | AUGUST 11

I am confused about how my trousers or jeans must fall around the shoes. Should they bunch up a bit at the bottom or must it be short?

Formal trousers should ideally stop about a half-inch from where the heel of your shoe begins. Allow it to cover the top lace of your shoe. For jeans.

Well... there are no rules and that is the best part. It depends on your body shape, cut of your jeans and your shoes. You like it, you wear it and allow our kind to check the hot thing that you are.

What

I am a big fan of shades. Any must-know tricks before I end up spending too much on a sunglass that doesn’t suit me?

Sunshades. It’s amazing you waited so long to gift yourself that ultimate summer accessory.

Before we delve into the basics of this basic, I think it needs to be reiterated that shades not only protect your charming eyes from the powerful sun, but also help hide a few shortcomings and up the glam quotient.

SHE SAYS

by A(u)nti Adams

‘Plain question and plain answer make the shortest road out of most perplexities,’ he said.

Unfortunately, She is everything but plain.

Now about that cye candy. The shape of your face is key to buying sunglasses – owners of an oval face are lucky as most shades will suit you; for a round face, its good to go for angular glasses to balance out; if your face is broader on top and tapers below... it would be good idea to go for similar style.

Colour of your shades is important as well. Black and greys are the safe bet. You can also check your wardrobe to see what colours you wear regularly and decide on a pair of glasses that complement your clothes.

Also, keep in mind the kind of lens you want.

Don’t put it off any more honey.

Get yourself one soon... don’t draw Ra’s ire!

I am looking for a drastic change in my hairstyle. Please tell me how do I balance a serious, business-like, formal style with a young, fun look?

A hairstyle depends on many

048 | AUGUST 11

factors (such as your age, hair colour, texture, shape of your face, etc) and therefore it is difficult to suggest any one look unless you could describe yourself in detail.

The other thing that you could do is approach a salon of your liking and get it straight from those cut out for the job.

However, what I could give you are a few looks that are in this season and may be you could try a few experiments. White collar usually gets along well with a short crop (I do not mean military). Keep it simple and in accordance with the texture of hair. Waves are in, and if you can handle slightly lengthy hair, then the look definitely scores.

If you have curly hair, and do not want length, it would be a good idea to brush it forward and let it spill a little on your forehead. Straight hair looks good long, usually.

I plan to abandon my car for a few months and bike it around the city.

How uncool is that?

Uncool, did you say?

Honey, you did not just question the sex appeal of men on bikes! Yes, it may get tiresome if you were riding to work and back home. But all places else, the two wheels score above four.

I sport a small trace of paunch on my stomach these days. Do I need to get rid of it immediately or do you think it would add to my otherwise lean look?

Good use of words there, to hide what most would consider a flaw (trace of paunch) and to highlight your sexy ‘lean’ appeal. I don’t think you are looking for an answer here. I think you are simply fishing.

So, here goes ... you sound, well, sumptuous. As for your flair with words... ah, Mr Editor, you reading?

From the editor: Copy that, Ms. AA.

CONFERENCE CO C CON ON O NFER FEEER RENC EN NC N CE | EXHIBITIONS EX EEXH XHIIBI XH IB BIITIONS B TIO TI TIO IONS NS | AWARDS AW AW WARD AR ARD A RD RDS

CONFERENC | EEXHIBITION | AWARDS

March 13,14,15 2012

Bombay Exhibition Centre Goregaon Mumbai

by Sudha G. Tilak

Beyond the Border: An Indian in Pakistan

By Yoginder Sikand Penguin Pages: 312 Price: `350 Courtesy: Landmark Group

his associations and acquaintances from all walks of life in the many parts of Pakistan, Sikand discovers a nation and its population which is as varied, contradictory and complex as is India.

While it runs the danger of being dubbed simplistic, Sikand’s book is written more as a travelogue in a narrative style. In all, Sikand prefers to set the political polemics of India and Pakistan aside and seek answers and builds perceptions through travels, tales and local experiences.

Dispersed Radiance: Caste, Gender, and Modern Science in India

By Abha Sur Navayana Pages: 286 Price: `495

A

bha Sur teaches women’s and gender studies in Massachusetts.

In this book, she delves into writing a socially informed account of history of physics in India in the first half of the twentieth century. Through a series of micro histories of physics, Abha Sur analyses the confluence of caste, nationalism and gender in modern science in India.

P

akistan is a country that continues to occupy our mindscape, especially for being a testy neighbour with whom our links have been long and hard. There is much that is speculative and in the realm of discomfort and suspicion regarding the country that whenever there is a book such as this, it makes for an enquiring read.

Yoginder Sikand, who studied history and sociology and who has written on issues including communal and religious conflicts, seeks to find answers from the babble’s mouth. Hence in Beyond the Border he undertakes a journey into Pakistan’s prominent cities such as Multan, Lahore, Islamabad, Hyderabad (Sindh) and Mohenjodaro to record the accounts of many ordinary Pakistanis. The endeavour is to sift public perception of the country as a fundamental Muslim nation. Through 050 | AUGUST 11

In the process, she unspools the colonial context in which science was organised in the early half of the twentieth century.

She examines the constraints of material reality and ideologies on the production of scientific knowledge, and discusses the effect of the personalities of dominant scientists on the institutions and academies they created.

The book examines the science and scientific practice of India’s two preeminent physicists in the first half of the twentieth century: C.V. Raman and Meghnad Saha.

Raman and Saha were – in terms of their social station, political involvement, and cultural upbringing – diametric opposites.

Raman came from an educated Tamil Brahmin family steeped in classical art forms, and Saha from an uneducated rural family of modest means and underprivileged caste status in eastern Bengal. Sur also reconstructs a collective history of Raman’s women students – Lalitha Chandrasekhar, Sunanda Bai and Anna Mani – each a scientist who did not get her due.

Dispersed Radiance makes an important contribution to the social history of science. It provides a nuanced and critical understanding of the role and location of science in the construction of Indian modernity and in the continuation of social stratification in colonial and postcolonial contexts.

Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within

By Shishir Gupta Hachette Pages: 324 Price: `550

E

ven as Mumbai grapples with the ravages of a serial terror attack yet again, the one name that has popped in the name of suspects is that of Indian Mujahideen. It is reported the Indian Mujahideen (IM), has in the recent past formed a group called the 313 Squad and has been recruiting youngsters to organise attacks across the nation. The relevance of Shishir Gupta’s book on the IM seems eerily timely. Gupta is a member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies and is a senior journalist.

The book gives the background on the rise

Photograph: Hachette India

of home-grown terror groups in India and how in the course of recent years many of them have tenuous links with the Indian Mujahideen who seem to serve as an umbrella outfit for many of the smaller units. Gupta also details the links and involvement of neighbouring Pakistan, including the ISI, Lashkar-e-Toiba and even al Qaida in aid and support of the Indian Mujahideen. The book also follows the links of India’s home grown terror outfits across Pakistan, Yemen and Sri Lanka. It is an attempt to trace the resources and patronage from larger units that help fund and keep the IM functioning. Gupta also touches upon the IM’s Salafi ideology and the brand of Islam it espouses.

part biographical and part theological as he seeks to answer how faith and love can only be the abiding and arduous answers to grapple with human suffering. Shourie would know best. His book is the story of his loved ones: his son Aditya, now 35, afflicted with cerebral palsy and his wife Anita suffering with Parkinson’s for over two decades now. And Shourie remains the care-giver to shoulder the enormous love of his family, enfeebled physically but courageous in spirit.

By Farrukh Dhondy Harper Collins Pages: 280 Price: `299

F

arrukh Dhondy, columnist, theatre and film writer and also of children’s fiction gets adult in this collection of stories on infidelity and other relationship angst. The slim volume is a collection of stories about the heart, betrayal, lust, love, friendship and unexplained mysteries of the heart. It includes frisky Indian archaeologists, an ageing poet confronted with new age rap artistes finding his literary theories turgid, American students crazy about celebrities, London’s Indian gigolos, and an Englishman who awaits a transplant but exchanges a series of intimate e-mails with a donor’s relative.

They are different stories threaded in a tangle of relationships and feelings, tragic, comic and about the inexplicable affairs of humans, needy and in search or incapable of handling this thing called love. Dhondy retains his crusty core in this book about people and their affairs.

He underlines the role of the IM in terror acts of the past, including the Mecca Masjid, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and other strikes in the country. Gupta’s is an important book in these times to learn more about the enemy within.

Does he Know a Mother’s Heart? How Suffering Refutes Religions

By Arun Shourie Harper Collins Pages: 432 Price: `599

T

here is a search on for a rationale to explain punishment of the innocent and of the defenceless; for enforced martyrdom and unreasonable sufferance. For different religions reason human suffering and agony as either ennobling of the human spirit or as tests for human capacity for sacrifice and endurance. Other religions reason that human suffering is karmic reaction to sins past and present. Arun Shourie’s book is

It’s not the physical weight of suffering, the enormous cross of filial endurance, the scorching of parental dreams that sets Shourie’s book from turning into a lament to a philosophical, almost mystical level because there is no ready answer for the theological question that book’s characters ask – of why the innocent and sinless must suffer physical and mental agony by cruelly depriving them of an able-bodied life that seems easily available to many others if not a given.

Shourie’s work is a remarkable book on the testament of human fortitude and endurance and one that makes the reader empathise with the firmest of human feature: faith in the human capacity for a love that hurts. A biography about brave hearts and searing love.

051 | AUGUST 11

THE HUB

Adultery and Other Stories

HELLO, BASTAR: THE UNTOLD STORY OF INDIA’S MAOIST

From behind the

BULLETS

Excerpts

I

n Central-West Bastar, spread over 4,000 sq km, lies the area of Abujhmaad. The combined population of the 236 villages in this region was not more than 12,000.

About 76 varieties of forest produce are found here. The mahua flowers and the tamarind collected throughout Dandakaranya is of premium quality.

The Adivasis use mahua for making alcohol and as a food item as well. The businessmen to whom they would sell it used it for extracting oil, making soap and for other purposes. For a kilo of tamarind an Adivasi was paid less than a rupee.

The same was sold in the international markets for 400 rupees.

052 | AUG AUGUST UST 11

From these jungles, the then Madhya Pradesh government alone earned a revenue of 250 crore rupees annually.

A number of businessmen and traders had bribed their way into buying large tracts of government land and turned it into agricultural farms. There, they employed the landless tribals as labourers, paying them a pittance for their labour. Often an Adivasi caught in the forest area collecting firewood or forest produce would be threatened with dire consequences and then coerced into sending his womenfolk or his cattle to the forest officials. The other set of people who held the Adivasis to ransom were the vadde – the local witch doctors. For

Adivasis who had never seen a doctor, the vadde was a personification of God himself. In connivance with businessmen, and because he was feared by the whole village, the vadde often turned into an exploiter himself, usurping land and other resources. It is under these circumstances that the Maoist guerillas entered the forest area. It was in June 1980 that seven squads of five to seven members each entered the forests. Four squads entered the jungles of North Telangana – one each in Adilabad, Khammam, Karimnagar and Warangal.

Two of them entered Bastar and one went to Gadchiroli. The Gadchiroli squad was led by a young Dalit, 23-year-old Peddi Shankar. Peddi Shankar’s father worked in the Sringareni coal mines where the Naxals had made inroads among the miners. After high school, Shankar had worked as a bus conductor. Throughout this area, the Radical Students Union and the Radical Youth League had been trying to garner support among the youth. It was then that Peddi Shankar came in contact with the Maoist activists, and in a short time, he turned into a staunch radical.

One incident in his village, Belampalli, made Peddi Shankar very popular among the people there. Two rowdies, Kundel Shankar and Dastagiri, who were active in the area had spread fear among the villagers. They would openly tease the women, but nobody dared to speak against them. Peddi Shankar and his comrades had warned them repeatedly to refrain from such acts. Finally, one day, Shankar and his close associate Gajalla Ganga Ram (who later died in 1981 when a hand-grenade went off in his hands) waylaid the two in a marketplace and in full public view, hacked both of them to death with an axe. Later, in 1978, Peddi Shankar also led a major strike of coal miners who were demanding better air supply (called galli supply in mining parlance). But it was the Rajeshwari rape case the same year that catapulted him to legendary fame in this area. Rajeshwari, a coal-mine worker’s wife was raped by a mine officer, and later died in hospital. It was Shankar who initiated a massive agitation against

THE HUB

MOVEMENT

by Rahul Pandita

the rape incident and is believed to have led a violent protest against the accused officer, in which his house was damaged.

To quell the protestors, the police opened fire, killing two persons. Afterwards, a case of dacoity and arson and attempt to seize arms from the police station was filed against Peddi Shankar. It was then that he went underground. By 1980, he had turned into a full-fledged Naxal guerilla.

The same year, he was the leader of the squad that crossed the Godavari river and entered Maharashtra. They began work in three villages of Chandrapur district, on the border of Andhra Pradesh: Moinbinpetta, Bhourah and Paidgun.

Shankar and his squad members began to talk to the local people, mostly Gond Adivasis, who lived in about 700 huts and had been exploited by the contractors and moneylenders. On 2 November 1980, Shankar and his friends had stopped for food at a house in Moinbinpetta. It was around this time that Pota, a landlord’s henchman, came to know of it and revealed their location to the police. At about 3 p.m., as Shankar and four other squad members were leaving, they were waylaid on the banks of the Pranhita, a tributary of the Godavari.

The police party is said to have fired at them from behind. Shankar was shot in the back in full view of a number of villagers who were around. He fell, rose again, ran for a few metres but fell in a jowar field and died. His four friends managed to escape. In a short time, Shankar had become very popular in this area. His body was picked up by the villagers and kept in a school. Three days later, the police took his body. The constable who shot Shankar, Chandrika Deep Rai, was awarded 500 rupees while the other members of the police group were given 100 rupees each.

With his death, Peddi Shankar became the first martyr of the People’s War Group. Only a few months earlier, he had received a Mao badge from the party for his work. And now he was dead. The villagers later reclaimed his body from the police and cremated it themselves.

It was an emotional farewell to their hero. His father came to know of it only

ten days later, and went to see the spot where he was cremated. The police hoped that Shankar’s death would put an end to Naxal activities in the region. But his death only served to make the Naxals more popular. Very soon, other squads would enter these areas. Initially, when the squads entered, the Adivasis would run away from them, thinking of them as dacoits. The Naxal guerillas had a hard time even getting food since the people in the villages that they entered would vanish into the jungles upon spotting them. At certain places, the Naxals would then forcibly catch hold of someone and tell him about themselves, their party and their agenda. But one incident in 1981 was to turn the Naxal movement into a major struggle in these parts.

Situated on the western side of Andhra Pradesh, and bordering Maharashtra, Adilabad was the most backward district of the state. Fourteen per cent of the district’s population in the ’80s was tribal, of which Gond tribals constituted 70 per cent. According to a People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) report, the district had the lowest literacy rate, medical facilities, electrification and transport facilities in the state.

Since 1978, the tribals, under the guidance of the rebels had begun to organise themselves into Girijan Rytu Coolie Sangams (tribal peasant labour associations) and had begun their struggles against forest officials and moneylenders.

The tribals began to demand better wages for tendu leaf collection, control over the forest land and better wages for tribal labourers employed by government contractors. Buoyed by the increasing support of the tribals, the activists announced a rally in Inderavalli village of Utnoor taluka on 20 April 1981. The rally was announced days in advance and posters were put up all the way till Hyderabad, the state capital. The police sensed danger and a large number of police deployments took place in the area days before the rally. Section 144 was also imposed. But the poor Adivasis had no means of knowing what Section 144 meant.

By Rahul Pandita Tranquebar Press / Westland Pages: 202 Price: `250

With direct access to the top Maoist leadership, Rahul Pandita provides an authoritative account of how a handful of men and women, who believed in the idea of revolution, entered Bastar in Central India in 1980 and created a powerful movement that New Delhi now terms as India’s biggest internal security threat. It traces the circumstances due to which the Maoist movement entrenched itself in about 10 states of India, carrying out deadly attacks against the Indian establishment in the name of the poor and the marginalised. It offers rare insight into the lives of Maoist guerillas and also of the Adivasi tribals living in the Red zone.

Based on extensive on-ground reportage and exhaustive interviews with Maoist leaders including their supreme commander Ganapathi, Kobad Ghandy and others who are jailed or have been killed in police encounters, this book is a combination of firsthand storytelling and intrepid analysis.

Hello, Bastar is the story of: • How the idea of creating a guerilla base in Bastar came up • What the rebels who entered Dandakaranya had to deal with • The Jagtial movement that created the ground for the Maoist movement • The first squad member who died for revolution • How Maoists and their guerilla squads function • Their goals, recruitment, party structure and funding Their ‘urban agenda’ for cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai • Their relationship with people and peoples’ move- ments • Maoist supremo Ganapathi and other top leaders • Anuradha Ghandy’s journey from Bombay to Bastar

053 | AUG AUGUST UST 11

by Alam Srinivas

U

ntil now in our country, at least most of the times, the judiciary was telling the government how to do things right. On the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) issue, it said that while the selection of P. J. Thomas may have been okay, the process was wrong. In the case of the black economy, the Supreme Court (SC) appointed a committee of its own to track the money stashed abroad. At the same time, the courts kept telling the media how to report sensitive cases like murders, communalism and critical business issues. In effect, they had partially taken over the roles of the two pillars of democracy, executive and media, apart from being a third pillar itself. Only the fourth pillar, the legislature, remained sacrosanct. Well, not really because in the recent past, the SC has donned a new hat – that of an unofficial advisor and critic to the government on what to do on economic matters.

Recently, in its order on black money, the apex court observed that it was the neo-liberal policies (read: economic reforms) that had led to a higher generation of illegal wealth.

In fact, the 2010 Global Financial Integrity report confirmed this and stated that since India’s reforms haven’t gone handin-hand with building of stronger institutions, there have been added incentives for individuals and corporates to evade taxes, take money out of the country, and then convert it into white by bringing it back through legal routes such as FDIs, and putting it in Indian equities and real estate.

A pillar of wisdom

However, the most scathing observation was in the apex court’s judgment on the Ambani gas dispute (May 2010). “A small portion of our population, over the past two decades, has been chanting incessantly for increased privatisation…

They argue that economic growth will eventually trickle down and lift everyone up. For those at the bottom of the economic and social pyramid, it appears that the nation has forsaken those goals as unattainable at best and unworthy at worst. The neo-liberal agenda has increasingly eviscerated the state of stature and power, bringing vast benefits to the few, modest benefits for some, while leaving everybody else, the majority, behind….”

Photographs: Dreamstime

Bursting at the seams World population by the year 2100, according to the United Nations (UN), will reach the 10 billion mark. The big increases, according to its estimates, will be in countries with high fertility rates – 39 in Africa, nine in Asia, six in Oceania and four in Latin America. It adds that China will hit its peak population in 2027, when it

will have over 1.395 billion people, before reducing down to 941 million by 2100. India will hit 1.718 billion in 2062, and will come down after that to 1.6 billion by 2100. In 1950, India’s population stood at 371,856, which increased to 1,241,492 this year. This is a 233.86 per cent increase between then and now.

The worst job I ever had was working nights in the Chrysler Building. I was part of a team of about fie guys, and we polished the leather furniture. We had to work all night because people needed their chairs during the day. I wasn’t good at it.

Actor Gene Hackman in a recent interview to Time magazine 054 | AUGUST 11

Ed Kashi/Corbis

Star Streak

Planet Neptune celebrated its first birthday last month!

Surprised? Here’s more about the year-old baby.

Technically, a year is the time a planet takes to complete one full orbit of its star. Its 365 days for Earth. For Neptune, it is 165 Earth years. It was first discovered by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle at the Berlin Observatory, and has now returned to the same spot in the solar system where it was when it was first identified.

Neptune’s year may be much longer than ours, but its days lasts only 16 hours.

It is now early winter in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet.

It will be extremely cold there for the next 40 Earth years.

Neptune is only the second planet in history that was discovered.

The first was Uranus, spotted by musician-turned-astronomer William Herschel in 1781. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were never discovered: They were always visible to the naked eye.

The planet was discovered after Herschel stumbled upon Uranus and realised that it was not moving in accordance of Newton’s laws of gravity. Later astronomers deduced that some other bigger planet was pulling on it. French astronomer Urbain Le Verrier calculated the position where the big object should be and when Galle used the coordinates, he found Neptune.

English astronomer Adams too predicted the new planet’s position and that why is he is also sometimes credited as one of the discoverers.

Aayaram, gayaram, Jairam

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ast month’s cabinet reshuffle was essentially done for one minister, two portfolios, and two addresses. For some time now, 7 RCR wanted Jairam Ramesh out of the environment ministry. He had angered the PM with his initial decisions to scrap high-profile projects such as Posco and Vedanta. The PM, and his close aide, Planning Commission’s Montek Singh Ahluwalia, felt that such actions would frighten foreign investors.

So Jairam was forced to change his stance, give an okay to both, and a reshuffle was planned to get rid of him. However, there was a catch. He was an appointee of 10 Janpath. And the former had acted on behalf of Sonia and her son, Rahul Gandhi, who had earlier gone to Orissa’s Niyamgiri Hills and assured the tribals that he would personally see to it that Vedanta’s proposed bauxite mining in the area is not cleared. It was a tussle between Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. As a middle ground, Jairam cleared Vedanta’s other proposals due to pressures from the PMO, but refused to do the same for the Niyamgiri project.

A disgusted Jairam wanted to get out of environment.

Manmohan wanted the portfolio to go to someone more pliable.

Fortunately, the Sonia-Rahul combine too wanted Jairam to be in a new ministry, which was more important to it now. So, the reshuffle was designed to achieve this common objective. The net result: Jairam got rural development.

For some time now, Rahul has become more interested in land acquisition. His controversial trip to Bhatta Parsaul (Greater Noida) and padyatra through parts of Uttar Pradesh prove that this is on top of his political agenda. It would become an election campaign issue when the state goes to the polls early next year. By that time, to show his seriousness, Rahul wants the government to act on the proposed land acquisition bill. At the same time, Sonia wants the government to accept the relevant recommendations of her pet committee, National Advisory Council. So, what better way to do it than get your own man in the key ministry, rural development?

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News of the Worst

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ournalists in the Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire, ranging from print, TV and cable with annual revenues of over $8 billion, have turned into true hacks, as reporters are dubbed within the profession. They hacked into e-mails, mobile phones and god knows what else to invade the privacies of common citizens, heads of state and government offices. They had structured dirty-tricks departments to ferret out sensational stories.

They broke all the rules related to media ethics and values.

As the UK’s Parliamentary and quasijudicial committees investigate the expanse and extent of these allegations, as top executives in Murdoch’s businesses resign, as Murdoch closes some of his print products and backs off from his attempt to buy a majority stake in UK’s BskyB, the controversy that has engulfed the now-shut News of the World tabloid looks more like the ‘News of the Worst’ kind for global media, both in the developed and emerging nations.

Ironically, in India, where such practices are more rampant, the NOTW debate has not sparked serious discussions. As a

Theodore Liasi/ZUMA Press/Corbis

senior journalist in decision-taking positions, I have seen my editors asking the poll agencies to rig their election surveys to reach a certain conclusion, deliberately change the angle of articles to adhere to specific ideologies, and regularly cut ethical corners.

The recent Radia tapes exposed the growing nexus between journalists, politicians and lobbyists. Senior editors in India act more like participants in national events, rather than observers.

Like it or not, journalism is no longer a ‘noble’ profession for most of us; it is just a profession that allows people a celebrity status of sorts, and enables them to live a comfortable life. In the bargain, if they can change a few things here and there, pinpoint corrupt politicians, corporate managers and bureaucrats, it is only a bonus. As the race for eyeball and readership hots up, as the bottom line becomes more critical than whether one crosses the ethical one, and as the urge to chase infotainment issues, rather than hard news, grabs the centre stage, Indian media gets more professionalised which, unfortunately, may not be the best thing that happened to it.

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n recent times, especially since last year, Captain Cool is slowly transforming into Skipper Supercilious. Yes, you are right: M. S. Dhoni has become almost as arrogant and over-confident as the BCCI, and he treats fellow cricketers and umpires the same way the Indian board does with administrators from other cricket-playing nations. Let me present a few similarities to prove my theory.

During the third season of the IPL, in 2010, I saw Dhoni regularly raise his eyebrows at his colleagues, throw up his hands in frustration when someone misfielded, and had folds on his forehead during most crisis situations. It was unlike what I had seen of him before. There was more in store during the ODI World Cup, which India won. I was taken aback when the captain justified the inclusion of leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, rather than off-spinner R. Ashwin, in the final XI during the league matches saying Piyush needed confidence more than Ashwin. What was that? Was Dhoni claiming that he was playing a worse player to boost his confidence in the most important tournament?

After the euphoric World Cup victory, it was obvious that most of the senior players needed a well-deserved break. However, Dhoni went with the BCCI’s decision that they would participate in the IPL’s fourth season within days. That was harsh on his colleagues, although as the captain of Chennai Super Kings, owned by BCCI president-designate N. Srinivasan, the Indian skipper was possibly in no position to say no. Many cricketers, who were justified to play with ‘physical niggles’ during the World Cup, continued to do the same during IPL and worsened their conditions. Thus, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were unable to go on the subsequent West Indies tour. Clearly, for Dhoni and BCCI, IPL was more important than a bilateral national-level tour. Finally, during the West Indies tour, the clincher came when Captain Cool publicly criticised umpire Daryl Harper for his decisions.

No sex please, we are...

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fter Paris, Prague and Berlin, Russian capital Moscow too can now boast of its first sex museum. Tochka G (G Spot) opened last month off Arbat, the city’s famous tourist street. One of its biggest attractions is a painting by Russian artist Vera Donskaya-Khilko showing US president Barack Obama and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin fighting each other using phalluses. Titled Wrestling (2011), the painting does its bit to ascertain Russia’s superiority: Putin is shown with two penises: One red and another green. “Putin has two members, as a symbol of hyperpotency, a symbol of the gray cardinal” the text reads.

The museum has more of everything you would expect in a sex museum: paintings of orgies, sculptures etc with erotic woodcarvings from France, ritual phalluses from Cameroon and even three goldplated “phallus talismans” from 20th-century England.

THE HUB

Captain un-cool

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f you go by the 2011 Forbes list of richest Indians (excluding NRIs), there is only one businessman whose wealth can be compared with the riches stashed away in the basements of our temples. A recent survey of the six secret cellars of Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) estimated its nidhi (treasure) to be worth `100,000 crore. Only the assets owned by Mukesh Ambani, worth $27 billion or `120,000 crore, can match this.

There are other Indian temple trusts whose fortunes compare with those of the modern-day entrepreneurs.

After his death, it came to light that the business empire of Satya Sai Baba (Puttaparthi) was around `40,000 crore, or lower than the personal base of a few Indians – the elder Ambani, Azim Premji (`75,000 crore), Ruia brothers (`70,000 crore) and Jindal family (`60,000 crore). The Tirupathi Trust may be richer: It has an annual expenditure budget of over `2,000 crore, and receives donations of over `3,500 crore a year. Religion is clearly the materialistic opium of the masses.

However, what is important is the fact that religion, or religious trusts and institutions, are being run more like businesses. Increasingly, they operate in a free-market competitive environment, where entry barriers are coming down. And they have to become glocal – encompass global and local traits – in their outlook. In today’s India, religious gurus seem more like CEOs, with their own sense of vision and management styles. As more Indians join the middle-class community, spiritual seekers act like

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The estimated worth of Kerala’s Padmanabhaswamy Temple is believed to be worth `100,000 crore. The Tirupati Trust has an annual expenditure budget of over `2,000 crore. Is this the new face of religion in India: Gurus, like CEOs, with their own sense of vision and management styles? Middle-class India is only too happy seeking spirituality like typical consumers.

by Alam Srinivas

COMMENT 059 | AUGUST 11

typical consumers. According to Meera Nanda, who wrote In God Market, these people “shop around for the right gurus, often trying out many before settling on one (of them).” Sriya Iyer, a Cambridge University professor who recently headed an economic study on religion in India, feels that spiritual customers don’t make a choice based solely on ideology, but also on other material benefits offered by each group.

Competitive religion market Whether they are in the broad categories of miracle, philosophical or mediation, religious gurus face competition from both within and cross the three spectrums. When he was alive, Satya Sai Baba battled the growing popularity of Mata Amritanandamayi in the miracle group. In the meditation/yoga class, Baba Ramdev has been tussling with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. More importantly, they seek not just domestic followers, but also the rich foreigners and NRIs. A few may start their ventures in the western nations, and then graduate eastwards to India. But in each instance, having a large global footprint is critical. In the age of globalisation, even the gurus need to either export their offerings, or reverse the spiritual drain to capture the growing market in India.

The new-Indian consumer Most studies have shown that with growing affluence, and the rise of middle class in countries, people tend to gravitate away from religion.

This is true of developed countries like America and Japan, or emerging ones like China. The poor, it seems, are twice as likely to be religious than their richer counterparts. Surprisingly, this is not true of India: More Indians have latched on to spiritualism in the modern era of high economic growth. This is evident from several polls as well as hardcore data. Studies by economic think-tanks show that almost half of domestic packaged tours constitute religious trips, as opposed to a quarter for leisure ones.

The reasons for this are many. One, higher incomes, at least in the initial stages, lead to greater insecurity about the future. Most people are uncertain about the sustainability of their riches; it is only when economic Photograph: Deepak Malik

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Pavan Verma, the author of The Great Indian Middle Class, feels that in an economy that has been growing at a frenetic pace, urbanisation leads to alienation in new gated worlds, and uprooting from old village communities. The combination forces the neo middle-class members to seek refuge in religion and spiritualism, at least in the beginning. The ashrams or gatherings at the gurus’ daily meetings offer these people an opportunity to form their own mini-communities, where they can confront their angst in an open and transparent manner. However, the fact remains that the potential base of consumers for spiritual gurus is on the rise. Therefore, they can ignore the domestic market at their own peril.

Wooing with freebies Competition in religion, as it does in most mass-based businesses, leads to spiritual discounts in varying forms.

The initial objective is to convince the consumer that their brand of offering is different, more relevant, and of higher premium. But since all TVs or laptops have almost-similar features, and all gurus espouse similar ideologies, at least in specific categories, the trick lies in value-added parameters. The flat TV, LCD and LED models, and bigger screens are steps

in this direction. In religion, it can take the form of socially-relevant middleclass amenities, be it computer education, access to modern medical facilities, or finance activities. As Iyer puts it: “Although variations are observed across religions in the types of services provided, we find that groups act out of a willingness to do good and help where the state may be providing less, and also in response to their competitors.” Nanda contends that most gurus have smartened up to the fact that they cannot talk to the new-age consumer in a philosophical vacuum without including material wealth in the overall context. This, she says, explains why some of them tend to give “a divine stamp of approval” to wealth. For example, Swami Dayananda, she feels, teaches a modern version of Gita where, unlike Lord Krishna who asks people to renounce all desires, he says that “desires are a manifestation of divinity that actuate people to do things.”

Guru as a modern leader Several Indian CEOs have modeled themselves as natural political and social leaders. Infosys’ main founder, Narayana Murthy, has been tipped to become the country’s President.

Nandan Nilekani, another cofounder, had donned the hat of a Cabinet Minister to look after the UID project, which aims to bring in social revolution in the country. Others like Vijay Mallya, Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Navin Jindal have become Parliamentarians in a bid to influence the policy-making process. The same is now happening with the country’s religious and spiritual leaders.

Baba Ramdev’s fast against black money, and his joining hands with

Transparency and corporate governance Until now, unlike listed corporate empires, the finances and decisionmaking process of religious trusts were opaque and veiled. The latter acted more like privately-controlled business entities, whose balance sheets were unavailable, and the powers of their trustees unknown.

This too is changing now. For example, after his tirade against black money, Baba Ramdev was forced to reveal a few details of his flourishing empire. He disclosed that the bulk of his businesses were worth over `1,000 crore, but it did not include the real estate and other fixed assets he owned or was gifted. The SC formed a committee to look into the treasures of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple; many state governments now directly wield control over big religious trusts. The Centre monitors all foreign inflows into religious trusts and charitable organizations.

However, more needs to be done in this direction. Recent events have indicated that religion, by its nature of being dominated by a cash system due to donations, will continue to be dogged by controversies if the gurus don’t clear up their financial system.

After Satya Sai Baba’s death, a vehicle loaded with cash was found, and the money was linked to his trust.

In Dharamshala, a monastery was charged with using foreign money to buy assets locally. The hint was that this was black money which was flowing into the monetary system, although there could be a logical explanation that this money was part of donations given by the followers.

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COMMENT

growth continued unabated for a decade or two that confidence levels go up. Until then, people turn to religion to pray for continued material benefits. Thus, it will take time for Indians to reach the stage of secularism witnessed in the US, where economic prosperity has been around for a century, or China, where growth has been a constant for three decades.

Anna Hazare, was an attempt to participate in the civil society’s movement to become part of the decision-making body to draft the new Lok Pal bill. The former has stated his intention to enter mainstream politics. In the past, religious leaders with allegiance to BJP/RSS have whole-heartedly and openly tried to pressurise the ruling regimes on socio-religious issues like the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid structure.

“Given Sri Sri’s underlying Hindutva, it is not surprising that Indian techies, who make up the biggest chunk of his followers, also show a distinct affinity towards Hindu nationalist parties,” says Nanda.

R U N NI NG The only way to stem the rot in athletics in India is by imposing life bans on the guilty, stripping them of their medals and by dismissing them from their secure government jobs, writes Delhi-based lawyer Rahul Mehra, who’s waged a relentless fight to cleanse our sports bodies of corruption, unaccountability and nepotism

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ndia is the second most populated country in the world and yet struggles for a podium finish at the Olympics. When compared, in the arena of sports, with giants like USA, China and Japan, or with minnows such as Cuba and Kenya, it has virtually no global standing. Dismal performance of our athletes and other sportspersons is due to complete mismanagement and incompetence of our various National Sports Federations (NSFs) which are being run as personal fiefdoms by officials and office bearers at their helm of affairs.

All the maladies plaguing our Indian sports is due to absolute autonomy given to NSFs resulting in their total lack of accountability and transparency despite they being substantially dependent on the Government of India. The fact is that non-professional persons having little or no knowledge of sports are heading these NSFs for unlimited terms.

Often electorate are manipulated, fake elections are held by show of hands or proxy system of voting, leaving no scope at all for infusion of fresh blood in the form of experts and former players in the day-to-day affairs of these institutions.

As a public spirited citizen, I filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court of Delhi in 2000 against Union of India, BCCI and DDCA much before the cricket match-fixing scandal came to light. In a landmark judgment delivered by the Division Bench of the Hon’ble Court, the so-called autonomous and private body

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(read BCCI) was held to be discharging public duties akin to State functions and thus amenable to writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, which made BCCI fully responsible to the members of the public for its acts of omission and commission. This judgment was the first of its kind in the history of independent India as earlier BCCI and other NSFs used to claim to be private autonomous bodies not answerable to the public at large but only to their selected few members.

I filed another petition in public interest before the Delhi High Court in 2009 against Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS), Sports Authority of

India (SAI), NIS Patiala, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and various others NSFs challenging these bodies for their opaque, undemocratic, unworthy, unaccountable and non-transparent functioning much before the start of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. My petition and various observations made and orders passed by the Hon’ble Judges during the hearings of this petition have gone a long way in exerting pressure on the MYAS to intervene and discipline these organisations by restricting the age of the office bearers and term for which they could hold office, amongst others.

This PIL has created a huge debate in the sporting fraternity as well as political circles and the Hon’ble Sports Minister

Photograph: Getty Images

etc. All this when achieved would automatically discipline the various sports bodies in India. Further, it would provide Government patronage to oversee the working of these NSFs so that proper sporting infrastructure is developed sooner rather than later and growth of sports in India becomes truly inclusive giving due importance at the grassroot level. At present, there is no such attempt on the part of the key stakeholders and sports bodies in this regard.

Recent events where Indian athletes have been found guilty of doping have put the entire nation to shame. The blame game has started and it appears that various athletes who have tested positive are the only ones being condemned and punished. Passing the buck would not serve any purpose. Rather, an honest beginning will have to be made to disclose names of all the sportspersons, sports officials belonging to IOA, NSFs and support staff consisting of coaches, doctors, recovery officers and others largely responsible for encouraging doping to earn laurels through such dubious means. This is urgently required in national interest to clean the stables once and for all.

has also come forward to introduce a historic legislation known as the “Sports Regulation Bill”.

If and when this bill is passed it will be a codified law and would ensure principles of good governance through international best practices. This would further lead to ending the monopoly of the office bearers, ensuring free, fair and democratic elections, fixing the age and term of the office bearers, ending unprofessional and haphazard way in which various NSFs have so far been governed, performance linked funding of various NSFs, providing players a grievance cell and dispute resolution mechanism through an Ombudsman,

It is common knowledge that before any major international event, athletes are often confined for considerable time in NIS Patiala and other training venues of the SAI. Such athletes are provided with entire boarding and lodging where their diet also includes material and supplements to enhance their performance which ultimately leads to testing them positive. May be in some cases athletes procure such drugs themselves from nearby chemists or through their own resources, but the possibility of the managerial and support staff being in active connivance with the sportspersons cannot be ruled out. So far, the undesirable activities of such officials have been kept under the carpet and no action taken against them to stop this malaise which has lead to systemic and institutionalised doping.

In my aforementioned PIL which is pending adjudication before the Delhi High Court, I have also highlighted active role played by all agencies and how doping is rampant in Indian sports.

Further, it was also well known within the sporting circles as to how and under what circumstances one of the 22 athletes who had won two gold medals at the Hyderabad National Games in December 2002 tested positive. She made a sensational revelation stating that she and many of her colleagues were forced by Andhra Pradesh officials to take performance enhancing drugs so that the state of Andhra could come on top of the medal list as a host city.

She also confessed that NIS Patiala is a “major centre” for doping activities and had several shops around it that sold “all kinds of banned medicines”. Predictably no action, whatsoever, was taken against the said guilty officials although the players were punished and banned. Had the authorities acted on the confessions of the said sportsperson and various others thereafter, doping at such a large scale could have been prevented.

It’s high time that the Hon’ble Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ajay Maken takes cognizance of this menace and sends loud and clear message to all dope cheat who have been funding and encouraging the athletes to consume banned drugs for enhancing their performance at international meets.

Institutions like SAI, NIS Patiala, IOA, NSFs, etc are required to be regulated for greater transparency and accountability since all of them perform key public functions.

Towards this end, the Sports Ministry must immediately introduce an effective “Sports Regulation Bill” providing exemplary punishments to erring athletes, support staff and other officials indulging in such undesirable activities. The various banned drugs should be brought within the purview of the Narcotics Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act so that when an athlete is caught doping, he / she can be booked under the stringent provisions of the said Act along with their abettors who encourage them to consume the same for enhancing their performance.

Besides, action should also be taken against the culprits by imposing a life ban on them, stripping them of all their medals and awards and by dismissing them from their secure Government jobs. Such steps would act as a major deterrent to stem the rot.

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COMMENT

AGR OUND

The Original

Illustration: Azad mohan

JUMPING JACK

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Long jump world record holder Mike Powell is an eternal optimist. How else would he have competed and won against the invincible Carl Lewis? After losing 15 races at a streak to him, Mike unleashed the longest jump in history: 8.95 m, crashing Bob Beamon’s 23-year-old record (8.9 m) at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo. The legendary American athlete was in Mumbai as the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) ambassador to announce the body’s 10-year strategic partnership with Nirmal Lifestyle. Powell spoke at length on his historic jump, missing the gold and the doping clouds on Indian Athletes.

Interview by Nivedita Jayaram Pawar Photographs by Shivangi Kulkarni

Not many know that basketball was your original favourite sport. When did you start taking your jumps seriously?

When I was in high school, my dream was to play basketball, if not in the NBA, but at least at the university level. I was pretty good at it. But I was a more natural athlete. The thing about athletics is that it doesn’t require your ball-handling skills. You just need to be fast. If you can jump, you are going to be the best jumper. My athleticism was stronger and I had better offers for scholarships from universities. So though I preferred to play basketball, this is the way it all worked out.

During your initial years, you were known as ‘Mike Foul’ for your tendency to plant your foot past the legal take-off board during approach. You often produced only one or two legal jumps out of every six.

Oh yeah, it was frustrating throughout my career. If it wasn’t for the fouls, I would have been a much better jumper. I had many coaches who helped me, but the one who’s most responsible for my success is Randy Huntington. He taught me the art of sprinting. When I was competing against Carl Lewis, I noticed that he was always consistent with his running. When you are doing the long jump, you have to sprint for about 40 metres and hit a board that is just 20 cm long. You have to be pretty accurate about it, keeping in mind a number of other factors such as wind etc. A lot can change within the 20 steps. Before I started to work with Randy, I used to just jump (laugh).

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As a result, you underachieved at the trials for the 1984 Olympics and didn’t make it to the US team. The rejection hurt?

Oh I wasn’t good enough then. In 1984 I wasn’t prepared mentally. It was my first Olympic trials and I was just happy to be there. I was young, just 21. I looked at Carl and was like ‘wow this is Carl.’ I was just trying to contain myself.

What was on your mind before entering the 1991 World Championship?

How did you prepare for it?

When I started working with Randy in 1987, he looked at me, saw what I was capable of and said: “Okay, we can break the world record in four years.” I liked him for his belief in me. I believed in myself but didn’t know if I was doing the right thing. With Randy, I learnt the science of the sport, the periodisation in the training, the importance of weightlifting, etc. My coach was way ahead of the curve. Each year we were working on a particular issue – improving speed, running technique, diet, shrink level, consistency and so on. So it was a well thought out process knowing that each year I would get better and better and better and then close the gap between myself and Carl Lewis.

Was Carl Lewis’ success on your mind? You said somewhere that you demonised him. Was that important?

You see, I was always the under dog. I grew up as a skinny kid, not very confident about myself. But when people would challenge me, I would do my best. Carl Lewis was my idol. But when I started competing against him, I thought I can’t look at him as my idol. So I made him my enemy to give me more motivation. I figured I needed to use everything I could to beat such a great athlete.

How do you look at it now? Are you guys friends now?

We are friends now. I like Carl. I like him NOW. Carl wasn’t the bad guy, but I knew I had to use everything I could to maybe beat him. Now everybody says ‘oh you broke the world record,’ but back then nobody could beat him. In many competitions he was lagging behind. But when it came to the last jump – it was over – he would win. And the thing that bothered us the most was that he didn’t even jump so much. He was doing 100 and 200 meters, whereas we were jumping all the time. And then he would come over and beat us too. We hated it. He didn’t lose for 10 years.

He was very arrogant though. When he came to compete, he 066 | AUGUST 11

would give us a look that said, “You know I am winning. Who is going for second and third?” And that’s why I had to demonise him. I had to let him know – you can lose, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next year. But one day I am going to get you.

How did you feel when the world record was announced?

Oh gosh! It was amazing. My training was at the best. My coach and I knew that I was ready physically. One of my best attributes was my mental capacity to compete well. My thing was to connect with the crowd and take their energy… I needed that so much. So prior to the last jump (when I broke the world record), I told myself, ‘Okay, this is the time, this is the jump, you can see it, now just go and do it’. I knew before I started running that it would be a world record. I use a lot of visualisations. The night before the competition, the morning and at the competition, I see myself doing positive jumps. I worked with a lot of sports psychologist on the positivity. The more positivity you put in your mind, the more positive things you will acquire. So when the time came for the last jump, I could see it. It was one of those moments of clarity... I wish I could capture it for ever.

You won two Olympic silver in 1988 and 1992. Do you miss the gold?

Everyday (laughs). When I was competing, I would achieve every goal that I set: Going to the university at UCLA, making it to the Olympic team, going around the world, beating Carl Lewis and becoming the world champion. So I thought the gold would come easy... But it didn’t. May be it was a blessing. If I would have won the gold, maybe I wouldn’t be coaching now. Maybe I wouldn’t be as humble. Who knows?

What kept you going in spite of Carl being there? How did you keep motivating yourself?

I love competing. For me it was just fun. And it wasn’t a job. I would tell myself that it’s a game, that you are jumping in sand.

Sometimes I would pinch myself to tell myself that I was competing at that level. I always kept that attitude... I felt blessed to be doing that.

Tell us something about your growing up years. I believe you shocked your neighbours by jumping over their cars?

(Laughs). I used to jump over everything. Even to this day, I look at something and think ‘can I jump over that?’ Most times I have to stop myself from jumping over things. So now when I go out

with my friends they goad me to jump over things and even bet money.

The world of athletics has been rocked by drugs scandal. More recently 14 of our athletes have tested positive for banned drugs. Your thoughts.

It’s unfortunate. I think that mostly when athletes do get involved in performance-enhancing drugs, it’s because their coaches have told them you need to do this as everyone else is doing it. Fortunately the coaches I have had always said you don’t have to do that. That’s the short cut. It may take longer, you may have to work harder, but you don’t have to do that. Most often people who get caught are people who are supposed to get caught. My advise to athletes would be: Don’t do it. It’s not worth it.

Lastly who do you think can break your record?

It’s difficult now. When I broke the world record I had to do – to win. Because Carl was so great. I had to beat the world record just to be close to him and hope Carl wouldn’t break it right after. The level of competition is much lower now.

The talent is there, but it’s not just the talent but the mental strength and I don’t find that in the athletes today. What’s disappointing to me is that not many come to me to ask. When I was competing, I would go to anyone who was even slightly better than me and ask, ‘What shoes are you wearing, what do you eat, can I train with you.’ But the athletes today just pretend they have figured it all out. So as much as it’s disappointing, my record still holds.

Cricket in India dominates all other sports, especially athletics which is considered the poor man’s sport. What in your opinion ails athletics in India?

In the US, the biggest sport is football. Then comes basketball, baseball and football again! Athletic is way down the ladder.

India is a country of billion people. Everybody doesn’t have to compete. Just get even one per cent of the population to be interested in the game. Get the best coaching and facilities available to the best of that lot. You need a place to train, a place to find out how good your athletes are. I am the world record holder, but I know that there are many people walking around this planet who can jump further than me. I just happened to be the one who did it. I was working with Anju Bobby George. She was great. When I first started training with her I knew she could jump seven metres. She was confident but didn’t believe in her self so much. Not as much as I thought she should.

About me

I am a positive person. The glass is always half full. It’s never over until it’s over and when its over we will figure out how to come back next time.

Best thing about being an athlete The travel, people and the friends that I made.

You strength

My positivity. Not letting the seriousness of the competition get to me.

Biggest challenge as a coach

To get people to believe in themselves. To make them believe that it can happen.

Passion apart from sports Travelling, meeting people

Looking back

If I had achieved everything then I guess I wouldn’t have learnt so much. I am glad that I learnt.

My ultimate goal

To get my masters in Sports Psychology

Sports Philosophy

You can have all the talent in the world but if can’t focus and do it in the right time, it doesn’t matter.

Perfect day

There are no perfect days. That’s why we practice.

Best athlete ever Michael Johnson

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is Photographs by Abheet Gidwani Styled by Carlton Desouza & Sania Momin Interview by Nivedita Jayaram Pawar Make-up: Swapnil Pathare Hair: Walter Raju At B:blunt Salon Location: Trident, Bandra-Kurla Mumbai Tel: (022) 66727777

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racing Farhan Akhtar’s meteoric rise in Bollywood is like watching a fine Scotch age: It only gets better with time. The enfant terrible of Indian cinema, Farhan is a bit of late starter. After squandering away his time watching movies and playing rummy with friends, he surprised everyone with his first film, Dil Chahta Hai (DCH). Mainstream Hindi cinema, DCH proved, could be both path-breaking and popular. And just when we were coming to terms with his promising directing skills, he unleashed another ace: This time with his acting, dialogue-writing and singing skills in Rock On. The just-released Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara only asserts his credentials as a complete package. Frankly, we cannot wait to see what Farhan does next. brings you the other, lesserknown side of The Talented Mr Akhtar (jr).

COVER STORY

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Is this the life you had planned for yourself – director, actor, singer, lyricist…

In stages, yes. Twelve years ago I planned on directing; three years ago I planned on acting. So it happened in stages. When I was 25, now the legal age limit for making any decisions for yourself, I had no idea how things would unfold. But I was always sure of my general area of work. I knew it had to be in entertainment.

But you were quite a waste growing up. People around you thought you won’t do much with your life. Do you remember anything about that phase?

I think it was more difficult for people around me. If you asked me then, it was the most normal thing to do. I knew I was in love with an expression called movies, but I wasn’t sure what to do about it. I always enjoyed watching 2-3 movies in a day. So for me it was an amazing time.

Yeah playing rummy at kitty parties!

That’s a story my sister put out there and it’s going to haunt me for the rest of my life... my kids are going to hold it against me (laughs). I had failed in every subject in college and was playing rummy. My mom and sister had completely given up on their dream to see me graduate ever.

But, seriously, what were you doing playing rummy with girls?

Just passing time! Hanging out with friends who were not working. My attendance was so poor that I was politely asked to leave college. You know, when I introspect on those days, I can only relate to it vis-a-vis my kids now. Tomorrow if they are indecisive about what they want to do in life, I know I will be there for them... help them do whatever they are interested in.

And, most importantly, give them time. I don’t think everyone can bloom at the same time. There is no natural evolution law which ensures that by the time you are 18 you have to know what you are supposed to be doing for the rest of your life. This kind of conditioning is something we put to ourselves. Some people are just fantastic and know everything by the time they are 12. Some figure it out only when they are 40, if not later, what they would have actually liked to do. So I guess I am a bit of a late starter.

When did you first realise that there was a director in you?

The first person who realised it was Adi Pocha with whom I worked in advertising. In fact, I owe much of my work ethics to him. He once met my dad at the airport and told him that whatever I would want to do in films, I will be “really good at it”. That was 1996. So he was the first person who felt I could direct. For me,

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the decision to direct a film came while writing DCH. I was so attached to the material that I was always insecure about what someone else might do to it. DCH was essentially about my life, my lifestyle, my friends...

I wasn’t sure if anybody else could look at it the way I did. That is why I chose to direct.

Did you anticipate the kind of response it generated? In a sense it broke the mould for conventional cinema.

Sometimes when you don’t know what the possibilities are, you don’t really think about them.

That’s why your first film is always so special. You have no fears or anxieties. No one expected anything out of me. At the most, it was a famous writer’s son making his debut as a director. There was no major pressure.

For about a year-and-a-half after DCH released and did as well as it did, there were articles all over the place that called me Farhan Khan! That’s how much they knew about my background.

So after the high of DCH, how did you deal with the low of Lakshya?

To be honest, I didn’t feel very low about it (laughs).

Maybe business wise it didn’t do as much as our producers or distributors would have liked it to do. But I wasn’t disappointed because I was very happy with the film.

Both your parents are progressive writers who pushed the parameters of commercial cinema. Were you influenced by their writing?

I am a fan of their work. The minute you respect somebody’s work and hold it in high regard, you automatically get influenced by them. You can’t run away from it. To have people who can inspire you is great in itself. Their work has a distinct voice of who they are. That’s the most important thing I have taken from them – you must always write what you truly feel like writing.

Directing, acting, singing, writing… is there anything you don’t do?

I don’t compose music, build sets, design costumes or

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choreograph songs. Of course, there is a lot I don’t do.

You have a quirky sense of style. How much of that is Adhuna’s influence on you?

There are no grand plans wanting to be quirky. My style is a tee, jeans or pajamas and keds. I like dressing up for occasions. Yes, Od (Adhuna) has influenced my style to the extent that she has made me enjoy wearing a suit. There was a time I used to detest wearing formal clothes. Even if I had to wear a jacket, I would always wear it over jeans. She actually pushed me towards buying and wearing suits. Now I feel I wish I had started wearing them earlier. It took some time getting used to. I remember I would feel so odd and stiff in a jacket that if anyone called out to me, I would turn with my shoulders.

How do you keep your marriage going amidst all the speculations and temptations that are a part of the film industry?

The only understanding between us is that whatever happens we will be straight up and honest with each other. Life will keep throwing things up. Not just with me, but with her too. It will be totally foolish of me to think that something could happen only to me. I trust her implicitly and I think she does too. But it’s important to be honest because then the choice lies with the other person with what they want to do. You can be as loving and accepting as you can, but you have to be put into that situation of knowing the truth. So in the fear of the fact that we have set up this ‘knowing the truth’ pact, I think nothing will ever happen (laughs).

Where did you guys meet?

Od and I met at a club in Mumbai in 1995. She had just come down from England and was working at a salon.

What I liked most about her is her free spirit. When I first saw her she was doing cart wheels across the dance floor and she had red hair. I was like ‘wow’!

What upsets you the most?

I have kids who don’t understand what’s going on in terms of what the world is like. I mean, there’s no censorship on what is published in our newspapers.

My 11-year-old daughter picks up the paper and reads that her father is having an affair with someone. They internalise things and to me that’s more upsetting than anything else. The first time it ever happened to me was during Karthik Calling Karthik. As random and ridiculous as it was, I expected a certain amount of decency on the part of the people reporting to call me

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•

Fun is Playing horse horse with my kids and jumping off a plane.

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The most amazing feeling till date When the first poster of DCH went up at Juhu beach. I got out of the car and told my friend ‘take a photo.’

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What upsets you When someone wastes my time

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Greatest possession My sky diving B license

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What’s relaxing Sky diving

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A let down Bungee jumping. I didn’t enjoy it

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Biggest fear To not have enough money to let my kids go travel or study abroad if they want to

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Currently reading A Spot of Bother by Mark Haden

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One vice you want to get rid of I could drink less

up and ask my side of the story. The more recent one had the reporters go ahead and print it without even bothering to check with me. Without saying who the girl is, they pretty much described her whole life. So everybody, including her family, knew who they are talking about. That girl has just got married and her mom-in-law almost freaked out.

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Any recurring nightmares Drowning. We stayed close to the sea and as a kid I used to feel there will be a huge tide and we’d be washed away.

Somewhere that nightmare has stayed on.

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Any OCD When I am looking for something it has to be where I left it last. I am very organised. My blu ray collection has to be kept alphabetically. Cleanliness is very important to me

On the professional level, what upsets you?

The industry lacks basic professionalism and respect for other person’s time. To me that’s the most important thing. When you are working on a film, the only thing you are asking them is their time. Their talent comes with their time. It’s not like they are going to send their talent and not be there. Somehow it’s a bit disrespectful if you can’t see that. I also feel that studios in Mumbai can get a lot better. For the number of movies we make and the amount of tax we pay, the least our state government can do is make Dada Saheb Phalke Chitranagari a nicer place to work in. There are no green rooms or make up rooms.

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Sexiest woman alive Scarlet Johansson

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A thing you want to get back to Cooking. I enjoy it a lot

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Splurge on DVDs for my daughters

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Listening to The Beatles and Floyd.

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You admire Robert De Niro

Tell us something we don’t know about Farhan Akhtar?

I am an adventure freak. New experiences are very,

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Your feeling right now Optimistic and happy

Is there life beyond films?

To me my independence away from films is very important... to have a completely different life with friends who have nothing to do with the movies, to talk about things other than films, to travel with friends who are not from the industry, to not be always at film events… I hold all these things very close to my heart. I have tried very hard to maintain this balance, and in the bargain I say ‘no’ to many things. Yes, that comes at the risk of being called a snob. But then, at the end of the day, life can’t just be about films.

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COVER STORY

QUICK TAKES

How did you woo Adhuna?

I tried very hard for a very long time. When I met her, she was seeing someone and I was single.

So my effort was a whole lot more than hers. We were friends for a long time. Then something happened and she broke up with her boyfriend and I had a little party with my friends to celebrate. Then we hung out a lot and started dating.

very important to me. I feel I would die if I had to live life through a basic routine. I don’t think I’d live very long that way. So it’s very important for me to keep experiencing new things. Simple things like taking up a new sport or travelling to a new place, trying out new food are very important. You can only write or create characters from all these experiences.

You are a father too. What are your concerns with regards to your two daughters?

I feel parents in general don’t want their kids to repeat the mistakes they made. But somehow the kids always do exactly the same. We just have to accept that. I genuinely believe they are going to find their own path to what they want to do. What’s important for me is that they know just completely that I will always there for them.

Talking of kids, what’s your best childhood memory?

I was always a bit of a brat. But I went through spells where I was completely rebellious, lying a lot to being absolutely quiet and not talking to anyone. My mom thought I was going through some strange depression.

What I remember most vividly are the family trips we made with my mom, her sisters and brothers and my cousins, including Farah and Sajid. We used to go once a month on a family vacation to Manori beach.

All through childhood I thought those trips were to some really far off places. It was only when I grew up that I realised it was so close. I used to even take a nap enroute and felt like I travelled for hours when I woke up.

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on the

by Sriparna Ghosh Follow the travels on www.travellingteadom.com

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Like a lot of people in India, I have grown up with twice-aday-tea, and I am told my continuing obsession is hereditary.

I try to travel once every two months and carry my camera wherever I go. A logical blend of these three loves of my life was: travelling teadom. I take pictures of the cups of tea (and sometimes coffee) that I drink, sip, glug, gulp on my travels.

Sometimes it is the beautiful surroundings that take over, and sometimes it is a purely exotic looking cup... sometimes it is a dog sleeping peacefully next to my mug and sometimes it is heavenly light streaming in from a train window. I look for tea everywhere, in every small town, in every small village, over every big mountain, or under a rainy cloud. Whether it is the flavour or the delicate smoke from a piping hot cup, I strive to box a place’s essence through my camera, and freeze these snippets from my travels.

PHOTO-FEATURE This cup of tea, more like a shot, is called a cutting chai. The beach at Mandvi is perhaps one of the main highlights of Gujarat Tourism and I was really eager to find out if Amitabh Bachchan’s claim that the sea is blue is in fact true. The information was accurate, but missing a lot of other details such as masses of people eating, littering and joyriding on camel backs, a cluster of amusement rides and a host of vendors add so many other colours, not always pleasant.

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PHOTO-FEATURE

My first idli-vada (certainly not the last) on the Bangalore-Coimbatore highway.

The thought of a bite into my life’s first authentic south Indian meal in south India was enough for me to forger the whole lot of sticky weather even in the end of September. Food not served with a whole lot of love, yet the love for good flavour was unmistakable in the taste. The green chutney was so overwhelming in its difference from anything I had ever tasted before that it was licked away before anything could be dipped into it. And it was all finished before I could ask for any more.

One of the three nomad-dogs who keep shifting around with trekking groups sleeps peacefully next to my mug of tea.

These dogs have no fixed address, no territory to protect. They walk with the groups, stop with them, eat off them, and return to the base camp to latch on to a new group. Reaching Dodital is pretty relaxing for them too, because they know that trekkers like to take a day off there. For him too, it is just a sunny-stretchy day, and it is always a bonus when pieces of omelette start falling from the sky.

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For someone used to lofty-snowy peaks and high altitude deserts, the hills of Southern India are a changed experience. In a good way too. How everything is drenched in green, how the clouds are within touching distance, and how I knew there were wild elephants around. The fact that all around me were rolling hills ripened with tea plantations, pepper shrubs, cardamom and cinnamon, put me on an euphoric high.

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Lachung offers a cup of coffee in a quaint wooden lodge overlooking snow peaks, in the middle of winter, more than 1100 Kms away from home. A quick cup, before heading to zero point, where we ended up being the first tourists to venture that far that year (not so difficult to achieve considering this was January 2). Seen in the background is Mt. Katao, where cars full of bengalees reach in dozens to throw snow at each other. Apparently, illegally.

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Steaming cups of cinnamon mint tea (in a Lebanese restaurant). The pretty cups made the experience more worthy of discussion, and a long camera exposure (the light was pretty dull). When I think back to that day, I realise the wonder of being an Indian sitting on foreign land, taking pleasure in a cup of tea from a third country altogether, snapping the frame through a camera from yet another different land.

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PHOTO-FEATURE

Bareilly Express took 23-hours to bring us back to Delhi from Bhuj. We, of course, were aware of the time it would take, but not so aware of the fact that this train has no pantry car. And why?

Because no party is willing to take on the tender to operate a pantry car in a train which commutes Gujaratis! Reason being, they are always well-prepared.

They are always carrying food. So for unsuspecting mortals like us, this could have been an upsettingly hungry end to a trip, if it were not for a fellow traveller who contacted a restaurant which delivers food to your berth, at a specified station. Needless to mention, this is the station which arrives, right at dinner time! Tea and coffee though flows seamlessly and endlessly. I had many a cups, but only one looked as brilliant in this evening light.

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That feeling THE LAST DAYS OF KIRIBATI 086 | AUGUST 11

Kiribati, a remote island republic in the South Pacific, is sinking beneath the waves. Bearing the full brunt of sea level rises and the effects of climate change, it may disappear completely from the map within 25 years. The indigenous inhabitants can do nothing to stop it, and they feel the world has ignored them and left them in the lurch. Carsten Stormer / TCS reports on the islanders’ plight

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B

Baranite Kirata is sitting in his fishing boat, sailing towards a rainbow. He takes a nylon line out of a toolbox, feels the hook with the tip of his forefinger and throws the line into the ocean. Let’s see if we get a bite. “In the old days we used to live very simply here,” he declares, winding a cloth round his head to protect himself from the ro rou ro sun.. “Our “Ou Our community was quite happy as it was, Our with no television sets, just the sea h no telephones, t and d the fishermen of Kiribati.”

The old o days da – meaning just a few years earlier.

Nowadays, modern things are coming in, imported Nowad Nowaday from om China, C Chin Indonesia, Fiji, Australia: petrol for cars, corrugated iron roofs, tin cans, batteries, plastic corrug corrugate bags, bags bars bar of chocolate, computers, windowpanes.

Rubbish ends up on the beaches, where it sits and rots or floats around on the sea; for there is no refuse collection service in Kiribati. Over on the horizon, Korean trawlers are netting every last fish out of the ocean. Now it’s starting to rain, but no fish are biting.

Kirata scowls.

It’s Sunday. The sea is as smooth as a carpet. Over there on the beach, the inhabitants of Kiribati are dozing in hammocks under coconut palms, drinking kava or strumming their guitars and singing Micronesian songs. Kirata is 56 years old, and a pastor in the Kiribati Protestant Church (KPC).

He is also a kind of climate change warden for his community. He throttles the engine, stands up and 088 | AUGUST 11

points seawards. A sandbank emerges from the water. Seagulls and crabs are foraging on the surface.

A sandbank?

“Actually no, it used to be an island!” says Kirata, fishing for one of the crabs with his hand. His parents used to bring him here for picnics when he was a child. The locals used to call the island Viketawa, Land Bathed in Moonlight. Nowadays it’s more like Land Bathed… Full stop. Only at low tide are a few centimetres of sand exposed above water level.

“This convinced many of the sceptics that Kiribati really has got a problem,” says Kirata.

But is there any use in knowing? The people of Kiribati call this problem “Bitakini Kanoan te Bong” – which translates as “alteration of daily weather” or simply “climate change”. If things don’t change pretty soon, in 25 years’ time the republic of Kiribati will no longer exist. It will have vanished from the map, swallowed by the sea simply because in other parts of the globe people are polluting the environment and refusing to curb the economic growth they have been enjoying – people in China, the USA, Europe, Australia.

112,000 Kiribatians live on 32 atolls scattered over an area of 811 square kilometres. Most of the people make their living from fishing and seafaring. The gross domestic product is below $700 per head per year. It’s a poor country, and because even its highest

FEATURES 089 | AUGUST 11

parts are a mere two metres above sea level, Kiribati will be one of the first countries to be engulfed by the sea as the greenhouse effect causes the oceans to rise. The sea level is rising relentlessly, a wee bit every year, so gradually that even the local people hardly notice. Only those who live close to the shore wonder why their drinking water has suddenly gone brackish, or why the waves are eating away more and more of their property.

It’s the same thing in Tuvalu and the Maldives. All these countries are gradually disappearing under the sea. Their inhabitants are helpless. None of them know how to defend themselves from rising sea levels, and meanwhile, the rest of the world is simply sitting back and watching.

Kirata is in a hurry. A storm is brewing, and he doesn’t want to be out at sea in his tiny dinghy any longer. Also, an old friend is waiting for him on land.

Back on shore, the pastor climbs into a rusty blue van with a spluttering engine. In this, his official vehicle, he spins along the coast road which connects the north of Kiribati to its south, thirty kilometres in a straight line, with the South Pacific to left and right.

On the roadside, wrecked cars rust away, women stand trying to sell a day’s catch of fish or a bunch of bananas, while children splash around in the sea.

The surf crashes against storm-battered sea walls.

Rising sea level isn’t the only problem, says Kirata, wiping sweat from his brow. “The weather has gone crazy!” More and more violent tropical storms are sweeping Kiribati, followed by unusually lengthy periods of drought. “We never had those before, not on that scale.” The result: coral reefs, the islands’ natural protection from the fury of the sea, are dying, salt water is penetrating the interior of the country, and drinking water is becoming brackish. Water is already such a scarce commodity that households are only allowed a few hours’ worth of fresh water supply per day. Worse, young people, skilled workers and qualified personnel are leaving the islands because they can see no future there. The islands’ intellectual capital is moving away to Australia and New Zealand. Eventually the rest of the population will follow, as climate refugees.

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FEATURES

112,000 KIRIBATIANS LIVE ON 32 ATOLLS SCATTERED OVER AN AREA OF 811 SQUARE KILOMETRES. MOST

OF THE PEOPLE MAKE THEIR LIVING FROM FISHING AND SEAFARING. THE GROSS DOMESTIC

PRODUCT IS BELOW $700 PER HEAD PER YEAR. IT’S A POOR COUNTRY, AND BECAUSE EVEN ITS HIGHEST

PARTS ARE A MERE TWO METRES ABOVE SEA LEVEL,

KIRIBATI WILL BE ONE OF THE FIRST COUNTRIES TO BE ENGULFED BY THE SEA AS THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT CAUSES THE OCEANS TO RISE. 091 | AUGUST 11

At a plenary session of the Pacific Churches Conference (PCC) in 2007, Pastor Kirata reported on the local effects of global climate change – in such emphatic terms that the regional church authorities decided to make climate change a focal point of their work. In 2009, they turned to the world community with an urgent appeal. In their “Moana Declaration”, the church elders demanded not only that protection and asylum be given to victims of climate change, but also that steps should be taken to tackle climate change itself. As the people affected couldn’t afford to wait until politicians finally took action, the PCC, together with the charity Bread for the World, went ahead and set up a pilot project with the aim of educating people in the Pacific area about the consequences of climate change and working with them to develop adaptive and protective measures.

“It’s going to be no easy task, protecting Kiribati from the rising sea for at least a few years,” Kirata admits.

Building dikes could help, or barrages out on the reefs, or artificial reefs contrived out of shipwrecks or concrete blocks. Or perhaps planting mangroves so that their matted roots could stabilise the seashore.

These are all expensive undertakings. “But what else can you do when the water is literally up to your neck?” asks the pastor.

As he drives, the clergyman tells how exceptionally violent winds swept the islands in November, how the sea came right up to his house and the fishpond in front was flooded. “My fish swam into my neighbours’ pots and pans,” he says, chuckling.

After an hour’s drive along Kiribati’s only road, Kirata stops in the village of Temaiku, at the southern tip of Tarawa, Kiribati’s main island, a place where the effects of climate change have been particularly stark. It’s low tide. Dead reefs are sticking out of the water as in some bizarre lunar landscape; snapped off coconut palms lie in the mud, and a lone man is dragging a lump of rock across the beach towards his hut made of jetsam. Kiareti Muller is 66, a thin man with bare torso and a deeply-lined face. As soon as he sees Kirata, he drops the rock and looks at his feet in embarrassment. What he is doing is illegal, officially banned, as it hastens the demise of the islands. For Muller is breaking bits of coral off the reef, to sell to neighbours for a paltry sum or to patch up his own sea wall which gets damaged by the waves all the time. “It’s my only source of income,” he pleads. He has to protect his home from the sea somehow. “I can’t afford any other material than coral!” Nowadays the sea comes up to his front door whenever there’s a spring tide with full moon, says

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Muller, and he takes hold of Kirata’s hand. There’s something he wants to show him. He stops in front of a hole in the ground a few metres from his hut, under a pandanus tree. This was once his family’s spring; now it has turned salty. His wife has to walk half-an-hour to the nearest good spring, several times a day, to get drinkable water.

The same kind of problems as those faced by the Mullers are being experienced by carpenter Faavae Papua in Tarawa. His house is right on the waterfront on the eastern side of Tarawa. The sea wall there is rarely able to protect his land from high tides. And the same thing is happening to the gravediggers of Bairiki, who just have to watch while the surf, with increasing regularity, washes over the graves and claims them for the sea.

We drive on past the airfield, which goes underwater when high tides are accompanied by gales, and where at this moment goats are grazing by the runway and children are playing football on the taxiing area, then we take a left turn, leave the tarmacked main road, go past the Ministry of Agriculture, cross a bridge built by American troops and finally come to a halt in Bonriki, a village in east Tarawa.

Kabiri Kokia, preceded by his voluminous paunch, comes up and greets Kirata with a cordial hug. They know each other, having gone to the same school.

Over the past three or four years, the sea has robbed the 56-year-old giant of more than five metres of his land. Every year the water gets a bit closer, he says, as he offers his guests slices of fresh coconut. He points at his plot of land where nothing remains now but a shattered toilet bowl. A year ago, another house was standing – until the sea swept it away. Kokia hitches up his robe and wades a few yards into the shallow water. “We used to have a terrace here, where we would barbecue fish with our friends of an evening.”

All gone. A sea wall might protect his property, but that’s something he cannot afford. “How could I possibly pay for all the cement, the sacks of sand, the mortar?” he asks.

The two old friends discuss the past and the uncertain future for several hours, while consuming kava by the gallon – a brew prepared from a peppery root. Then the pastor gets up and readies himself for the return journey. “Let’s hope it isn’t too late to save our country,” he sighs, burping loudly. It’s high time the problem was tackled. “We owe it to our grandchildren. But Kiribati won’t be able to do it without help from abroad,” he adds, staring at the sea. He doesn’t look particularly happy.

FEATURES 093 | AUGUST 11

Affordable luxury in the

Picture yourself in a tropical haven, where the attractions are as varied as they are pristine…white sandy beaches, idyllic islands, beautiful marine life, rocking nightlife, decadent shopping, cuisines galore topped with a spectacular countryside…. Indulgent? Yes. Expensive? Not really. We tell you how to get the most of the Philippines next time you are visiting this idyllic island: Here’s to three difference experiences, each equally exhilarating and inexpensive. by Rupali Dean

BORACAY

Life on a beach

typical Filipino beach day is vastly different from what you are used to anywhere else in the world. Shops here don’t open until 10 am and its laidback people, unperturbed by the outside frantic western world, are more interested in lying on the beach and convincing you to buy souvenirs. It is, however, hard to miss the tourist attractions here like any other beach destination: From banana boat to para-sailing,

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beauty treatments, zipping, quad biking and glass water boats and canoes... it’s a long list. Snorkelling though is the thing to do in this beach city. The reef here runs all along the Island and is only about 20 feet from the beach edge.

What heightens the experience is the remarkably clear water, and yes, the flora and fauna inside. Once you are under water, the stunning

kaleidoscope of colours will sweep you away, literally. I swam over virgin young corals, discovered many fish lurking in the shadows and also had an encounter with a curious young turtle. Once you are tired of all the frenetic activity, treat yourself to a Filipino spa at any of the numerous resorts that dot this city. Try the four-hand harmony massage: Its an amazing combination of different strokes.

FAST FACTS

FEATURES

Best way to reach

From Manila, take a flight either to Caticlan or go through Kalibo city.

From the airport, take a minivan ride to the ferry terminal to finally head up to your resort.

Best place to stay Boracay Regency Beach Resort boasts an amazing location and excellent spa. A luxurious Superior room with Breakfast will cost you `6,500.

Reservations www.boracayregency. com

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MANILA

Shopping and nightlife

hen you have South East Asia’s biggest mall in Manila, it doesn’t take much to figure out that it is a shopaholic’s paradise.

Next time you are in Manila, do what the Philippinos do: Shop. Located by the bay, the Mall of Asia has a nice boulevard for a stroll, and it is lined with restaurants and carts selling hot snacks and cold drinks. Step into the huge Green Hills Shopping Centre and your eyes will dazzle to some of the biggest brands in the world.

And if your wallet size forbids you from indulging in brands, walk up to

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the local vendors outside and cheat yourself into acquiring knockoffs of the same brands you salivated to inside. The rip-offs look so original that unless you are an expert in brands, you won’t be able to tell the difference.

Once you are tired of ‘shopping’, head straight to Crisostomo for dinner. It is one of those pit-stops every visitor to Manila must go to savour arguably the finest Philippino food. Satiated, get ready for a taste of Manila’s famed nightlife.

Remember, when you are chalking out your itinerary in Philippines, make sure you have kept for yourself a night or two in this capital city.

Your first stop must be RepubliQ: A Vegas-style club, this is where the city’s finest go for a night out. The club is unique in its own way: It is designed in such a way that wherever you are positioned, you are next to a bar. The drinks, however, are a tad costlier than the rest of the city, but then that’s a small price to pay for beautiful décor, stunning ambience, and of course, beautiful people.

FAST FACTS

Best way to reach Fly Philippine Airlines from Delhi to Manila An inviting beacon set in the world-class casino entertainment complex of Resorts World Manila, Marriott Hotel Manila is the place to work and play.

Reservations No. 10 Newport Boulevard, Newport City Complex, Pasay City 路

Phone 63-2-9889999

Web www.marriotmanila.com

Photograph: Dreamstime 097 | AUGUST 11

FEATURES

Best place to stay

CEBU

Historical

popular tourist destination and one of the oldest cities of the Philippines, this lively and colourful metropolis is regarded the most dynamic metro of this South-East Asian nation and is littered with historical and cultural landmarks. Steeped in history it may be, Cebu also boasts a tantalising mix of cosmopolitan and historical appearance; a great and lively hub with a charismatic atmosphere and plenty to see and do.

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Don’t forget to stop at The YapSandiego Ancestral House. This is Cebu’s oldest residential house and just a few steps away from the Parian Monument, also known as Heritage of Cebu Monument and a few meters away from Colon street. Originally owned by a Chinese merchant named Don Juan Yap and his wife, Dona Maria Florido, today it belongs to Dona Maria’s great great grandson, Val Sandiego, an avid art collector and a renowned choreographer.

Enroute to the hotel from the airport, we stopped at a monument on Macatan Island where the tribal chief Lapu Lapu killed Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan’s Cross is a symbol of Cebu and the image of the pavilion that houses the cross is there on the city’s seal.

If you are not a history buff, don’t worry. Cebu is also a booming, hectic city and comes across as a place with many stories and faces. The city has captivating resorts and beaches; it is a haven for convenient and luxurious shopping malls, retail shops, restaurants and cafés!

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Fly Philippine Airlines from Manila to Cebu.

FEATURES

FAST FACTS

Best way to reach

Best place to stay Radisson Blu is ideally located on Serging Osmena Boulevard and the corner of Juan Luna Avenue in Cebu City.

Reservations North Reclamation Area, Juan Luna Avenue Extension.

Phone 032-402 9900.

Web www.radissonblu.com/hotel-cebu

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Photographs: Ishan Raghava

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Isha

is fonr Raghava t He m ced to ch akes the more aintains oose bet Audi R CLS to the co diplom ween bru S5 and and t upĂŠ c atic s A he BM atego ilenctee power a7 for a s r , W M y to cle and in nd she pin and e 3 ar th e airs:tead addr beauty. the M s two erced es

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> AUDI RS5 Top Spec (Manufacturer’s claims) Engine: Petrol 4.2-litre V8, FSI Power: 444bhp Torque: 317lb/ft Weight: 1725 Kg 0-100: 4.6 seconds Price: (ex-showroom Delhi): `76 lakh

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udacity or an ill-timed move? Call it what you may, Audi’s decision to unleash the RS5 on to the Indian roads, to me, is unusual. Think about it this way. Sure the RS5 is known for its sinewy, head-turning curves, plush interiors that scream luxury, and bucket-loads of gadgets and equipments that adequately justify the `75 lakh-plus price tag. And it has raw power… lots of it at that.

This then, gentlemen, is my point. The RS5, with all its brute power, is unusual for the Indian market. You see, traditionally the coupé category in India is one segment that is expected to deliver the moon and the Indian buyer, to my mind, is not evolved yet to see the point of a two-door car. For the casual observer, looking for a distinctive set

of wheels, the RS5 appears nothing more than a simple two-door coupé. But there is more to the RS5. It is THE two-door coupé!

And this, purely on the merit of the fact that it offers something unusual for the Indian market: 444 bhp.

The RS5 amply justifies its position as Audi’s flagship performance product in the two-door everyday-usable coupé range: It comes with a power plant capable of mega performance and shares the same 4.2-litre V8 engine that is at the heart of the legendary A8, the marque’s flagship sports car. Its 444 bhp and 317 lb/ft of torque is coupled with a 7-speed DSG transmission, and the Quattro all-wheel drive system chips in to give the RS5 impressive performance numbers: 0 to 100 kmph in

The RS5 looks the part too with its square, flared arches, reminiscent of the original sports coupé: the Quattro, which in the ’80s took the rallying world by storm and eventually inspired the first application of an all-wheel drive in a sports coupé. The aggressive body panels lend the RS5 a very dynamic look which, when coupled with the wide, squat stance and large arch filling wheels, gives it an unmistakable sporty and aggressive intent.

The interiors too retain the traditional Audi design flair with a combination of

luxurious materials, great design and classleading fit-and-finish. To be fair, though, given the price tag of the RS5, and the fact that it is a high-end sports coupé, the interiors fall short of expectations: It simply doesn’t feel special or unique. One look at the cabin and you realise that the RS5 is based on Audi’s entry-level sedan, the A4.

But the raison d’être of a car like this is not how good, or bad, it looks once you step inside. The RS5 lets its performance speak for itself. Rate it on its power, driving feel and exlusivity, and you have a segment leader which beats the opposition hollow with a fair margin: Its Quattro all-wheel drive lends the RS5 unmatched traction and the lightening fast 7-speed DSG gearbox powers the V8 engine in one

seamless surge, emitting a growl to die for. I drove the test car at a time when the monsoons were in full-swing in Mumbai and that is where the advantages of the Quattro system become evident: It allows you to use the full power of the RS5 in total comfort, despite the extremely slippery conditions. Try the same on a regular rear-wheel drive and you will realise the difference. Its well-setup suspension adds to the whole driving experience: There were no hard crashes or jolts even on our bad roads. The RS5 is just as stiff as a sports car should be, but certainly not too stiff to not look at at it as an option for everyday use on Indian roads. You need to be on this brute’s wheels to appreciate it fully.

The 4.2-litre V8 engine, for instance. Its power delivery across the band and the

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FEATURES

mere 4.6 seconds. Add to this a top speed limited to 280 kmph and you know that this is one machine that translates to true sports car performance.

willingness to rev, urging you to push the car further, is simply unmatched.

Yes, the RS5 has got the looks, sheer power, and definitely comes with the exlusivity badge. Still, it is not the perfect car by any means. Make a mark of a few gremlins that mar the driving experience. First off, the trademark Audi steering. It is tremendously direct and quick reacting, but doesn’t give you any feel of how fast the car is moving.

With this kind of a steering, driving the RS5 fast through bends is more a matter of faith rather than confidence: There is no feedback whatsoever that lets the driver know what is happening. Next up is the Quattro all-wheel drive system.

The amazing traction it lends to the RS5 nothwithstanding, it also means you cannot fool around, even if just for fun, with this car. Sure it is tremendous in a straight line or fast sweeping corners if

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driven in the conventional driving style.

But if you want to play with the stance of the car while cornering or indulge in some sideways theatrics, the ever-active stability control and the all-wheel drive system simply clamps down faster than you can even blink your eye. Did we hear you say that’s no problem? Well, we have a difference in opinion. How would you like a car that likes to play by its own rules rather than the drivers. We rest our case.

In conclusion, the RS5 is more like the muscle cars of the 1970s, albeit with all of the technology and gadgets it comes loaded with. Think of it like a German James Bond: It’s got the looks, the brute power, the gadgets and the manners, but like Bond, it likes to control the situation and if that is ok with you, this is the performance car you’ve been looking for all your life.

FEATURES

> A7 3.0 TDI Top Spec (Manufacturer’s claims) Engine: Diesel 3.0-litre V6 Power: 241bhp Torque: 369lb/ft Weight: 1770 Kgs 0-100: 6.3 seconds Price: (ex-showroom Delhi): `64 lakh

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start with an admission. Four-door coupés is a category I could never understand. Weren’t we told long time back that coupe’s only have two doors?

Thats why they were called thus. No? Remember the Quattro, Porsche 911 and the ilk? The whole concept of a coupé with four doors left the traditionalist in me a tad confused. Oh come on, a coupé with four doors?

A few years ago, Mercedes-Benz unleashed the CLS and rewrote segment statements to the car buying crowd. It was a winner, no doubt, purely on the basis of its style quotient. Is Audi trying something similar by adding two doors to the coupé and christening it A7?

Whatever that may be, this one comes as a welcome relief from the similar-looking, boring cars Audi has been launching of late.

The A7 looks fresh and sharp. The swooping roofline, which makes it look like a coupé, and the sharp front, marks it different not only from others in the Audi stable, but also anything else on the roads. And if the car comes in an attractive colour, along with a set of nice, shiny wheels, it doesn’t take much to evince envious glances from bystanders. The rear-end styling of the A7 is disappointing though: Compared to its overall superb styling, it looks a tad halfbaked and unfinished.

Step inside and the disappointment continues. To me, the A7 suffers from

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the same problem all 4-door coupés are yet to crack: Lack of space in the rear. The swooping roofline that defines the styling of a 4-door Coupé automatically means that the space at the back is always compromised. It is not as bad as others in the same segment, but the fact is that the car has less headroom than a conventional 4-door sedan and if you are 6-feet or taller, you might not be too happy being driven around. That said, the A7 interiors, similar to the design and quality of the A8, is simply superb and the best in the segment. The sheer attention to detail Audi engineers and designers lend to their cars never ceases to amaze me. Personally 106 | AUGUST 11

speaking, I was hoping that the press car I’d get to drive would have the Yatch-style wood veneer finish I’d seen earlier in pictures of the car. A first of its kind in the segment, it has only been featured on the Rolls Royce Drophead Coupé in the past.

But that was not to be and I guess I will have to ‘test-drive’ the A7 all over again.

The A7 is fitted with the ubiquitous 3.0-litre diesel engine, producing 241bhp and 369lb/ ft of torque which allows the car to sprint from 0-100 kmph in just 6.3 seconds, which, for a luxury sedan of its size, is pretty quick.

Audi has limited the top speed of the A7 to 250 kmph. Take her for a spin in the

FEATURES

city and you’d be surprised how well the engineers have been able to suppress the engine noise from the diesel mill. The incabin refinement of the A7 is superb, and with more than ample torque available across the power band means that driving this beauty in city traffic or in cruise mode is absolutely relaxed and effortless. Part of the reason for such effortless performance also goes to the excellent DSG gearbox which with its 7-speeds allows the engine to run right in its optimum band of torque.

You also have the option of shifting to the driver mode via its gear lever or paddles placed behind the steering wheel. In the end, it took me a drive on an actual 4-door

coupé to figure out this segment. This is what I think about it now.

The four-door coupé doesn’t exist for the traditional buyer who wants a set of luxury wheels to reaffirm his status. Rather, it’s for the customer who’s been there with the luxury sedans and SUV’s and is looking for something different, something distinctive.

In this regard, the A7 is the perfect match for him. It is unlike any of the staid top-ofthe-line luxury sedans you’ve been used to all these years. Neither is it like any of those flashy, huge SUVs. It’s the car for somebody who appreciates style in a subtle manner. If you are one, the the A7 is a no-brainer.

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T

Top Spec (Manufacturer’s claims)

he original avatar of the M3, launched in 1986, was hailed as the most significant sports car of all time. In its fourth iteration, the E30 M3 still remains a coveted object of desire even now.

Engine: Petrol 4.0-litre V8 Power: 414bhp Torque: 295lb/ft Weight: g 1580 Kgs g 0-100: 4.8 seconds Price: (ex-showroom Delhi): `75 lakh

The basic DNA of the car remains the same: Powered by a high-revving naturally aspirated engine, it offers performance levels that can shame any sports car.

At the same time, it offers comfortable seating for four occupants, a decent-sized boot and a smooth ride even on cratered roads like ours.

accelerate from 0-100kmph in 4.8 seconds, on to a limited top speed of 250kmph.

Aiding the engine in putting down the power is a traditional rear-wheel drive setup for purer feel and feedback and an option of either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed DTC double clutch gearbox.But, in essence it’s not the performance or the usability of the M3 that endears it to the enthusiasts. What really sets it apart is its chassis balance and the willingness of the setup and electronic nannies to let you have some fun and go sideways at will, offering you unparalleled feedback all the time.

The point is, the M3 could also be your choice of car for everyday use. Its prime attraction, though, remains the 4.0 litre V8 that powers it, putting out 414 bhp at a heady 8300 rpm and 295lb/ft of torque.

This gem of an engine allows the M3 to

Needless to say, the M3 is not a car for the posers. Rather, it is for hardcore driving enthusiasts who want everything: performance and usability rolled into four wheels, without sacrificing anything from the pleasure factor.

> BMW M3

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> MERCEDES CLS Top Spec (Manufacturer’s claims)

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he originator of the four-door Coupé body style, the last-gen CLS was a tremendously styled and revolutionary product with its unique and admittedly superb looks. However, its been around for a long time: It’s last iteration came in 2004.

As expected, Mercedes has announced a successor to the CLS featuring a distinctive design language with a much more aggressive design. This is a significant departure from the earlier products.

Engine: Diesel 3.0-litre V6 Power: 245bhp Torque: 443 lb/ft Weight: g 1815 Kgs g 0-100: 6.2 seconds Expected to be launched in India soon, the Price: (ex-showroom Delhi) `70 lakh (estimated) new CLS would be available with the 350

V8 petrol engine putting out 400 bhp.

So expect the performance to be quite brisk and a car which would be much more equipped and of better quality than the last machine. Seating capacity though is expected to be restricted to a 2+2 seater only. Once it enters the market, it’ll be interesting to see whether it is able to claw its way back and retain the lost turf.

But with the competition growing fiercely wilder each day, with the likes of the A7 etc, it would be an uphill task no doubt. Let the battle begin.

CDI engine putting out 245bhp and the 500

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an tch f o a k Tal ikely mave theer unl we h strang and t of a ge bes stran ial in a d. Init ns lan idatio akes trep e, it m nse to .. asid fect se nable. per fashio . be time.. any where any

Photographs by Shivangi Kulkarni Styling by Carlton Desouza and Sania Momin Hair and And make-up: Make-Up:Anjali AnjaliNoronha Noronha Model: Namit Khanna

PINK SUIT, OFF-WHITE SHIRT, PRINTED SCARF, LEATHER BELT, SUNGLASSES, SHOES ALL BY TOM FORD >> PRICE ON REQUEST

GREY KURTA BY DEV R NIL >> `9300 // TROUSERS BY ETRO >> `10,000 // CHECKED TIE BY PAUL & SHARK >> `9590 // RED SHOES BY LECOANET HEMANT >> PRICE ON REQUEST // SUNGLASSES BY RAY BAN

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FLARED PANTS >> `2600, JACKET >> `3400; BOTH BY DEV R NIL // T-SHIRT

BY JUST CAVALLI >> PRICE ON REQUEST // GLASSES FROM A SELECTION // FLIP FLOPS BY ZEGNA >> PRICE ON REQUEST

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T-SHIRT BY DEV R NIL >> `3600 // PANTS BY LECOANET HEMANT >> PRICE ON REQUEST // CANVAS PRINTED BELT BY ZARA >> `890 // LEATHER BRACELETS BY TODS >> PRICE ON REQUEST // SCARF BY DIESEL >> `3295

PRINTED JACKET BY LECOANET HEMANT >> PRICE ON REQUEST // KURTA

BY DEV R NIL >> `8400 // WATCH BY DIESEL >> PRICE ON REQUEST

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RED JACKET BY LECOANET HEMANT >> PRICE ON REQUEST // T-SHIRT BY JUST CAVALLI >> PRICE ON REQUEST // TROUSERS BY DEV R NIL >> `6400 // SHOES BY PAVERS ENGLAND >> `5500

PINK T-SHIRT, JUTE PANTS, SHOES; ALL BY LECOANET HEMANT >> PRICE ON REQUEST // JACKET BY ZARA >> `2199

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YELLOW JACKET >> `16990, TREKKING BOOTS>> `7690; BOTH BY TIMBERLAND // PRINTED T-SHIRT BY ETRO >> `7690 // PANTS BY GAURAV GUPTA >> PRICE ON REQUEST // ORANGE BELT BY ZARA >> `890

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Photograph by Ashish Shah (Elite Model Management)

STOCKISTS

STOCKISTS >> DEV R NIL Tel: (033) 26880225 DIESEL Western Wind Building Opp Maneckji Cooper School Juhu Tara Road Juhu, Mumbai Tel: (022) 26618282 >> ETRO G-7, Palladium Phoenix Mall Lower Parel, Mumbai Tel: (022) 43412294 >> GAURAV GUPTA Shop no.321 2nd floor, Dlf Emporio Vasant Kunj, New Delhi Tel: (011) 41042989 >> LECONET HEMANT Tel: (0124) 4215300/5306 >> PAUL & SHARK Shop No. 204 B, Emporio Mall Nelson Mandela Marg Vasant Kunj, New Delhi Tel: (011) 40634750 PAVERS ENGLAND 1st Floor, Oberoi Mall

Oberoi Garden City Goregaon(E), Mumbai Tel: (022) 40990888 >> SHRIVAN & NARRESH Tel: 09910441017 SISLEY Unit No F3 Palladium Phoenix Mills Compound Senapati Bapat Marg Lower Parel, Mumbai Tel: (022) 67493001 >>TIMBERLAND Ambiance Mall Vasant Kunj New Delhi Tel: (011) 40870061 TIE RACK LONDON DLF Promenade Nelson Mandela Road Vasant Kunj Phase 2, New Delhi Tel: (011) 46152725 www.tie-rack.co.uk TOMMY HILFIGER Ground Floor Select City Walk, Saket New Delhi Tel: (011) 40588770

Raheja Chambers Linking and Main Avenue Road Santacruz (W) Mumbai Tel: (022) 65567267 TRÈSMODE Shop 10 First Floor 1 High Street Phoenix 462, Senapati Bapat Road Lower Parel (W), Mumbai Tel: (022) 24913515 TOM FORD Shop No 125 DLF Emporio Mall GRD FLR, Nelson Mandela MG Vasant Kunj, New Delhi Tel: (011) 41033059 >> VARUN BAHL B-41, Sector 2, Noida Tel: 09512043103/68/69/70 >> ZARA Palladium Mall Phoenix Mill Compound Senapati Bapat Marg Lower Parel, Mumbai Tel: (022) 43473852

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LAST LAUGH

by Bijoy Venugopal

W

hen was the last time you got a facial?

Tch... not that kind. Stop wasting your time online and get a life.

Smell the flowers, the diesel fumes, last night’s garbage. Stoop to pet the neighbour’s pooch, then look under your shoe for the source of that smell. Appreciate life’s little joys, those Keatsian things of beauty.

Whoever told you beauty is skin deep should stick their head in the nearest salon. Really.

When foot is finally unplugged from mouth, it might benefit from a pedicure. Skin, cosmetologists will tell you, is the largest organ, although that offers no satisfying explanation for why Svetlana in Novopavlovsk still e-mails me with exhortations to augment a more obvious one. But that’s another story...

Whatever became of good ol’ me? I used to be a certified Boy – all frogs and snails and suchlike.

Back in college it was cool to be grunge – to sport hair and beard like Eddie Vedder, and to toke, poke and even reek like Kurt Cobain.

Beauty, except where it concerned the opposite sex, had no status. In strictly male terms, beauty was Rambo’s vein-spangled, gunsmoke-streaked heft. Beauty was Mad Max raising dust, and Robocop and Streethawk.

And, lest you forget, Nicolas Cage’s unmuscled, hirsute coolness. Hair was cool. Hair was in.

Hair was it.

In the nineties my mofussil cousins who wanted to grow up and marry Sridevi aped – that’s the word even King Kong would use – the forested corpus of Anil Kapoor. Others modelled their torsos a la Salman Khan in Maine Pyaar Kiya, down to the last hair on our hero’s woolly sternum.

Don’t fault me for waxing eloquent, it’s better than waxing my chest. The next time I saw Sallu, he’d done exactly that. Cavorting amidst a bevy of beach lovelies in itsy-bitsy thong-thingies, he was as hairless and peach-nippled as the day he was born. I wondered if he’d suffered an unannounced attack of alopecia universalis, except he looked smugly happy about it.

Curiously his head of hair, which I thought would be the first to go, was intact.

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Cobain didn’t dn’t live to hear the word metrosexual.

After Vedder der cut his locks, he resembled a Nazi pizza delivery ery guy. But there was something about Salluu – I couldn’t take my eyes off the taut smoothness oothness of his chest, the supple slabs of muscle uscle that would have escaped my attention had ad he not sheared them of follicular distractions. s. And Chulbul Pandey absolutely killed me.

Hang on, was I experiencing a homoerotic epiphany?

If you raisedd an eyebrow at that, make sure it’s been threaded. ded. For here’s my little secret.

Back in time me I had acquired a sometime girlfriend whose primary pursuit was to max her old man’s an’s credit card. At high tide, her daily retail therapy washed up a cornucopia of epilators, moisturisers, deodorants, under-eye gels, face washes, foot-creams, hand-lotions, blackhead-removal removal kits, face packs and suchlike.

Each day I helped carry a staggering load of the stuff back too her place. One day she and her dad fought ught bitterly and Daddy cancelled her add-on card.

Shattered, she lleft eefft the city. And bagged nd me. Shee bba agg g ed as much off her loot as she h ccould, ouuld ou lldd, but she had so much that even the domestic airport officials cials demanded import duty.

Guess whoo inherited the rest of it?

The raspberry chapsticks distributed h i k I di ib d that h winter i among street children (I was aghast when they ate them). One bad hair day, battling an enormous pang of survivor’s guilt, I applied her hair conditioner. Soon I was washing my hair with a different shampoo each day, and colouring it twice a week.

At the office my male colleagues observed but did not comment. The women, though, stopped by my desk more often. Some found excuse to ruffle my hair absently. Others remarked at my unblemished cheeks, which glowed like radium watch dials in a darkroom full of cats. We had long meaningful conversations about facial exfoliation and the pros and cons of Brazilian wax. None of it escaped my editor’s attention; he threatened to move me to the lifestyle page.

All of this is sweet albeit unfathomable irony.

For at the dawn of adolescence I mourned my lack of body hair. My high school classmates who could sport stubbles, in the proud tradition

off then George Mi Michael, h not-yet-gay G h l were the h uncontested hotties. Twenty years down laser and electrolysis cannot salvage these furry wrecks from Planet of the Apes gone horribly wrong.

And here I am, infinitely grateful that I don’t have to de-gorilla myself periodically as Sallu or Ajay Devgn perhaps have to. I’m the hero of this hair-erasing story.

Since I married my wife has granted me unqualified access to a plethora of cosmetic riches. I spend more time attending to my shoulder-length hair than my investments.

Last week we went to watch Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and she commented how awesome those three hunks look with their hair-bare chests.

I’ll take the hint!

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