old
SOULS MAY 2016
The Little
Nimish Dalal
“
Old souls know the pain from experience, happiness from the lost and peace from learing. To all the old souls who cherish life through storms .�
Heart for Art is a Public Charitable Trust that promotes the traditional Arts + Crafts of India. They work towards bringing you products from the best artisans of India, who passionately create them!
Their endeavor is to provide these products in the best traditions of artisanal masterpieces, yet adapted to contemporary lifestyles and sensibilities.
Their products represent some of the best traditions of Kashmiri, Bidriware, Dhokra, Kottan, Channapatna, Navalgund, Longpi, Jaipur and many other Indian arts and crafts.
. Inspiration before the begin .
FRIDA KAHLO
Wear your strengths and weaknesses with pride.
. Inspiration before the begin .
Never apologising for her human qualities Sreelakshmi
Artist
Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907, in Coyocoán, Mexico City, Mexico. Considered one of Mexico’s greatest artists, Frida Kahlo began painting after she was severely injured in a bus accident. Kahlo later became politically active and married fellow communist artist Diego Rivera in 1929. Around the age of 6, she contracted polio, which caused her to be bedridden for nine months. While she did recover from the illness, she limped when she walked because the disease had damaged her right leg and foot. Her father encouraged her to play soccer, go swimming, and even wrestle -- highly unusual moves for a girl at the time -- to help aid in her recovery. Never apologising for her human qualities, Kahlo wore her strengths and weaknesses with pride. Refusing to be a victim of the poor health that prevented her from having children and kept her bedridden for long periods, she fought
Nair
back with a tequila-drinking, hard-living, sexually liberated exuberance that unashamedly expressed itself in the lavish blues and oranges of her home, her dresses and her painting. While she never considered herself a Surrealist, Kahlo befriended one of the primary figures in that artistic and literary movement, Andre Breton, in 1938. Kahlo was asked to paint a portrait of Luce and Kahlo’s mutual friend, actress Dorothy Hale, who had committed suicide earlier that year by jumping from a high-rise building. The painting was intended as a gift for Hale’s grieving mother. Rather than a traditional portrait, however, Kahlo painted the story of Hale’s tragic leap. While the work, The Suicide of Dorothy Hale (1939), has been heralded by critics, its patron was horrified at the finished painting. In 1939, Kahlo went to live in Paris for a time. There she exhibited some of her paintings and developed friendships such artists as Marcel Duchamp and Pablo Picasso.
She divorced Rivera later that year. During this time, she painted one of her most famous works, The Two Fridas (1939). The paintings shows two versions of the artist sitting side by side, with both of their hearts exposed. One Frida is dressed nearly all in white and has a damaged heart and spots of blood on her clothing. The other wears bold colored clothing and has an intact heart. These figures are believed to represent “unloved” and “loved” versions of Kahlo. In 1944, Kahlo painted The Broken Column, which depicted a nearly nude Frida split down the middle revealing her spine as a shattered decorative column. She also wears a surgical brace and her skin is studded with tacks or nails. Again, Kahlo shared her physical challenges through her art. Around this time, she had several surgeries and wore special corsets to try to fix her back. etons in sombreros; her particular genius was to capture this pain on her own face, expressed with a diva’s
‘Refusing to be a victim of the poor health that prevented her from having children and kept her bedridden for long periods, she fought back with a tequila-drinking, hard-living, sexually liberated exuberance..’
Poorvi Mehta www.oldsouls.co.in
Editor’s Note Hey Readers! For May’s issue is
all about little things. There was a lot of speculation going on regarding the topic of this issue. The idea was to bring awareness to our readers who are always busy in their lives. The idea was to ask them to give a break, pause, hold on, breathe and look around. Trust me! you would definitely find a million reasons to be happy still. Apart from the cover story, we have the palette which caters to all needs of the readers or what we call them as ‘Old Souls’. Old Souls do not always need the materialistic things to rejoice and
therefore, in our magazine we do not supoort promotion of anything which are futile to soul building. ‘Old Souls’ magazine is basically for those who rejoice in drawing pleasures from the little things, hobbies, passion and other real reasons to live by. We focus on featuring those people who are lesser known but are highly inspirational. Basically, it’s the media which promotes and hypes any living being or happening. We aim to become that medium which goes out to those people who are subtle in their own ways, who do no call out for attention
themselves but then, their work surely does. We talk about those people who chose to live life not differently but on their terms. The idea is not to promote the rebel but to promote the power, the strength that one requires to live their own lives. We salute those people who at some point of their lives, have taken that one single step to change the direction of their lives, those people who took the reigns in their hands and charged forward. So here to all our readers- Keep reading, living and enjoying. eneciating the little things.
CONT The Little Things Cover story
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Indian Imprints Music to hear by
Coorg Travel
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T ENTS 13
Fan Ho Photography
Tribute to Fan Ho Specials
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Bombay Featured Article
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. Cover Story . Advita Khanna
‘Enjoy the little things before they
become the big things’- the new favorite quote of anyone and everyone. But you know, the more easil we start liking anything, the more hard it gets to love it. Similarly, we might ‘like’ the quote but do we actually follow it? Human tendency is to wait for the BIG day. Whenever anything happens, we console by thinking that better is there yet. In a sense it is good to give oneself hope. But in this wait for the future, unknowingly we are actually missing out on acknowledging those little things which makes the going easy. If slowly and slowly one withdraws these little things from our lives, then we will be left with nothing. So here is the scene: you get selected for an internship and you turn around to announce it to someone and found no one but only yourself. The smile
appreciating you, the hands gifting you ice cream, the chocolate which fits perfectly in your bad mood day, a random stranger exchanging common woes at the ticket line, an unexpected good morning text, your-delivery-has-arrived message, making a high score in your favorite game, a sudden compliment on your attire and so much. In the hustle bustle of the daily life, humans have actually forgotten to look beyond the ultimate. We have made ourselves some goals which would make us successful only if we accomplish. Until those goals are not reached, we just drag ourselves further and further to reach the end. We ignore the journey to reach the destination. I thought of testing myself on how would I feel if the little things go missing. On a mundane day, surprisingly I get a break from my lecture. I hurried down
to my hostel only to find my tiny single mattress to be really hard than usual. I would crib because I am missing on a good nap. But if i sit back and introspect, then there are millions who do not have it. And it is for this mattress and perfect nap that I am able to continue my remaining classes soundly. How would you feel if you do not get your favorite mango shake at the usual coffee house? That was the drink that had the power to make you feel up but alas! not today. So if we actually list down in lots the things which made us a ‘little’ happy or ‘contented’. So here’s a a shoutout to all- learn to value and live the ‘the little things.’ Smile in one single day, trust me you would have a jar full of paper chits. And the number would definitely exceed the 365 days mark.
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Not everybody is meant to make it “big.” Not everybody wants to be multitasking all day long. Not everybody wants to have “crazy busy” be their new normal. Not everybody wants to devote their energy to going for the gold. Indeed, many of us are more appreciative of the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet in the world. We like color. We like contrast. We like to do a lot of things that have nothing to do with making it big or being on top. And that’s a good thing. Obviously, we can’t all be at the top. Nor do we all want to be. For at the top, it’s lonely; the air is thin. And there’s no place else to go but down. If this article is resonating with you, it’s time to make a shift in how you allocate your attention. Begin with enjoying the little things in life. Why? What’s so great about the little things in life? They are what we will remember and appreciate when we reflect on days gone by. A little thing may be a fun evening with friends. It may be the joy of learning something new. It may be listening to the giggles of your kids. It may be the warm feeling you get when you’ve done a simple kindness for a friend or a stranger.
It may be noticing nature bloom and blossom. If you neglect to enjoy these little things, what are you left with? It’s the daily struggles, the disappointments and the disasters that plop on our doorsteps when we least expect it. Appreciate that life is made up of moments. We tend to think of life as the passage of days, weeks, years and decades. But, in essence, life is made up of moments. As you reflect on your day, what moments stand out for you? Is it the stress of trying to do it all? Is it the stuff that didn’t get done? Is it the disappointment in yourself for what you forgot to do or failed to do, or a gloomy feeling about how far you are from the top? If so, it’s time for you to make a shift. Each day, pay attention to at least one or two moments that worked out well for you. Don’t shrug your shoulders and conclude that “it was just a crappy day. Nothing worked out for me.” Even a bad experience has a valuable moment wrapped up inside of it, if only you‘re willing to dig deeper to discover it. Pay attention to what you have done. The constant barrage to “DO more,” “GET more,” and “BE more” negates what you have done, what you have and who you are. It makes you feel deprived. Less than. Not good enough. In this competitive world of ours, we often need to remind ourselves of what we have accomplished.
It’s the little things in Life. 2
. Featured article .
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HUMANS OF Covered by Hiten Tyagi “My father was very successful when we used to live in Pakistan, but after partition, we left everything behind and ran away to India. We used to stay on the streets - 9 siblings and our parents with very little food. I was the youngest one, so my education was heavily compromised — I wasn’t allowed to study because it was more important to educate my brothers. As a child, I couldn’t understand why and I grew up with a lot of resentment. When we finally got a house, the roof used to leak so when my father was sleeping, I would have to hold an umbrella over his head the whole night — I was always angry because I felt so rejected. One of my older sisters got a job as a teacher at a school nearby and because of that I was allowed to attend at a much lower price. I was desperate to prove to my family that being a girl had nothing to do with capability, so in my 10th I got 75% which was the highest score! But again, life took a different turn as my father passed away and there was no money for my college. But instead of sitting at home, I fought with my mother to allow me to work and I finally got a job as a telephone operator at Chicago Radio where I earned 100 Rupees a month! While working, I became friends with a Gujrati boy who I used to confide in about
everything. We would meet behind the Taj and spend time together…purely as friends. When I turned 23, my mother said she had found a great Sindhi boy for me to marry… but I wasn’t ready. She had heard of my friend from work and was livid that I could have a friend who was a boy! As she kept pressurising me, I went to work and told my friend that I had to get married and we would have to stop meeting. I left, got onto the bus and started crying…but I couldn’t understand why. When my stop came and I got off, there he was waiting in a cab. He got out, held my hand and said, ‘you can’t marry him, you can only marry me’ and then he just turned around and left! Well, that was my proposal and it was always a yes…how could I not marry my best friend? We faced a lot of resistance from both
our families and my mother didn’t even sit through my wedding….but after 52 years let me tell you that it was the best decision of my life! I was respected as a woman, allowed to work and given equal rights. In 1983, I was standing at my balcony one day when I saw 5 children in school uniforms sitting on the footpath and playing cards. I kept seeing them everyday, when I went upto them and asked them why they weren’t at school. They said, ‘We have shabby uniforms so the teacher beats us and doesn’t allow us to sit.’ My childhood memories came rushing back to me, so immediately I bought them uniforms and paid their fees, but within a
week 2 of those children ran away again. I still focused on those 3 and started a trust with 900 Rupees I had saved. People started volunteering with me, visiting slums where children weren’t studying and enrolled them with us. From those 3 students, today, there are over 10,000 such children studying under my Trust and there has been nothing more fulfilling. Our students have gone on to become doctors, lawyers and engineers. Even though I didn’t get to go to college, I’ve lived my every dream through these students and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
BOMBAY
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. Travel .
COORG
Madikeri 5
Bella Gupta
Madikeri is the most sought-after destination in Coorg.
Endowed with a number of things to do and places to see, the drive to Madikeri is not only scenic but probably the brightest green you will ever see in any part of Karnataka. With freshly flushed coffee plantations on either side, the mist of Coorg is likely to call you once again. Raja’s Seat: Raja’s Seat or the Seat of the King is a famous sunset point in Madikeri in the Coorg district of Karnataka. It was once the platform from which the kings of Kodagu used to enjoy glorious sunsets. The spot got its name as it was the favourite recreational place for the kings. Omkareshwara Temple: The Omkareshwara Temple is an ancient shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is situated in the town of Madikeri in Coorg, Karnataka. The speciality of the temple is that its construction reflects a mix of Gothic and Islamic styles. It is a popular religious destination of Coorg. Madikeri Fort: It is a historical landmark of Coorg. The fort
stands in the center of the Madikeri town, still preserving the remnants of a bygone era within its proud walls. Some of the elevated structures inside the fort present astounding view of the surrounding areas. The River Harangi: The river Harangi is a tributary of Kaveri. It emerges from the Western Ghats – the Pushpagiri Hills – at Kodagu or Coorg, Karnataka. The Harangi joins Cauvery at Kudige in Somwarpet taluk. The length of the river from its place of origin till it converges with Cauvery is nearly 50 km. Namdroling Monastery: This monastery in Bylekuppe showcases the wonderful Tibetan culture. The Government of India has welcomed Tibetan settlers who fled Tibet due to persecution and granted them a vast area in Kushalnagar to continue with their culture and lifestyle . The Namdroling monastery is the centrepiece of the massive settlement .You will get to move around in the monastery and interact with the inmates .
‘Better known as Kodagu, Coorg is only six
hours away from the busy city of Bengaluru and a popular getaway during the monsoon. The rains add a certain charm to this district, even though it experiences a high amount of rainfall because it is situated on the eastern side of the Western Ghats. 6
. Literature .
10 must read Books
Nimiksha Nair
Books
open doors in our minds, allowing us to live an entire lifetime and travel the world without even leaving the comfort of our chairs. When we read a book, we step into someone else’s shoes, see the
world through someone else’s eyes, and visit places we might never otherwise go. It teaches us about love, heartbreak, friendship, war, and the resilience of the human spirit. Here are 10 books you should read at least once in your life. 7
1. The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.
2. A brief history of time by Stephen Hawking This book has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies sold worldwide. That edition was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the nature of the universe. Professor Hawking’s theoretical predictions. Eager to bring to his original text the new knowledge revealed by these observations, he has written a new introduction, updated the original chapters throughout, and added an entirely new chapter on the fascinating subject of wormholes and time travel.
3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Told against the backdrop of the changing political landscape of Afghanistan from the 1970s, The Kite Runner is the story of the unlikely and complicated friendship between Amir, the son of a wealthy merchant, and Hassan, the son of his father’s servant until cultural and class differences and the turmoil of war tear them asunder. Hosseini brings his homeland to life for us in a way that post 9/11 media coverage never could, showing us a world of ordinary people who live, die, eat, pray, dream, and love. It’s a story about the long shadows that family secrets cast across decades, the enduring love of friendship.
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. Literature .
4. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry This Newbery award-winning novel tells the story of Annemarie Yohansen, a Danish girl growing up in World War II Copenhagen with her best friend, Ellen, who happens to be Jewish. When Annemarie learns about the horrors that the Nazis are inflicting on the Jewish people, she and her family stop at nothing to protect Ellen and her parents. Lowry’s novel is a powerful reminder that cultural and religious differences are no divide between true friends and that love shines all.
5. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Little Women invites us into the warm, comfortable home of a 19thcentury American family. Everyone can find a character trait that resonates with them, whether Jo’s temper, Meg’s vanity, Amy’s mischievousness, or Beth’s shyness. The novel is a coming-of-age story that follows four sisters from girlhood to womanhood. Together they learn about the harsh realities of poverty, illness, and death, and how to dream, love, and laugh through it all. This timeless classic is about the importance of family and the simple, home-spun comfort of never being alone.
6. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink Set in late-20th Century Germany, this novel boldly confronts long-standing German national guilt over the Nazi war crimes of the Holocaust through the strange, intergenerational relationship between 15 year-old Michael Berg and 36 year-old Hannah Schmitt, an illiterate tram operator and former Auschwitz prison guard. The Reader is a story about personal as well as national guilt, about the consequences of keeping secrets, and about the power of redemption. 9
7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Bronte’s classic novel tells the tale of a young girl’s struggle to make something of herself in the world and the deplorable conditions she lives in at Lowood school to the dark secrets she encounters in her role as Governess at Thornfield Hall. Strong-willed and resilient, Jane longs for the independence that Victorian England denied women, and her story stands as a timeless example of a woman’s determination to choose her own path in life in the face of hardship and ridicule.
8. Tuesdays with Morrie For Mitch Albom, Morrie Schwartz was more than just his college professor. He was a constant reminder of how worthful life is. Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn’t you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you? Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man’s life. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final ‘class’: lessons in how to live.
9. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci. Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered, his body covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and French cryptologist Sophie Neveu sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the puzzle, the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever.
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. Literature .
10. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Paulo Coelho’s enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. It is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.
“Everyone believes the world’s greatest lie...” says the mysterious old man. “What is the world’s greatest lie?” the little boy asks. The old man replies, “It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie.” ― Paulo Coelho
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. Photography .
FAN HO Siddharth Malhotra
Fan Ho was born in Shanghai,
China in 1931. When was 13, his father gave him a twin lens Rolleiflex, and he was immediately entranced. From the start, he showed an innate sense of light and drama that are the hallmarks of his images today. Ho immigrated to Hong Kong in teens. There he began to document the drama of daily
life in the bustling city, from crowded markets to lonely alleyways. Throughout the subsequent decades, Ho exhibited his photographs in international salons, exhibition, and competition– garnering nearly 300 awards.
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Simple Lines
Eight times between 1958 and 1965, he was named one of the Top Ten Photographers of the World by the Photographic Society of America and has been elected Fellow of the Photographic Society of America. Currently, as of 2014, he is considered to be one of the most influential photographers in Asia by the IPA, Invisible Photographers Asia, and received a Life-Time achievement award by 2nd Global Chinese International Photography.
. Specials .
TRIBUTE TO FAN HO Black and white photography with Antoni Garba Raghavendra Mehra
Fan
Ho was an impeccable artist cum photographer who knew his subjects well and kept the story straight. Giving our tribute to Fan Ho in this issue, we kept the topic as ‘Black and white photography. Mr Antoni Garba is an enthusiast, photographer and traveller. Antoni has always been a folllower and practitioner of black and white photography. Among his
favourites, Fan Ho has always topped due the perfect use of geomtry, abstracts, minimalism and impact created by his photographs. What better chance to honour people for their talents and pay tribute to the talenthouse himself. Here’s an excerpt from a tete-atete between Antoni and me, knowing more on the essence of black and white photography.
I’ve heard lighting is particularly important in black and white photography, why is this?
black and white image.
When I’m thinking of black and white images, the absence of light can be as important as the highlights. Good deep shadows can give a depth and solidity to an image. If you look at old black and white movies you can see a completely different way of lighting sets. It allows me to separate out the effects of colour and luminosity to a degree. Black and white photography allows me to use colour more effectively . What sort of lighting conditions should one avoid? I read once in an old (1950’s) photography book, where colour was still a ‘new thing’ that colour photos were best with the sun behind you, and black and white the worst with the sun behind you. In black and white, shadows become a more important feature of your composition and having the sun behind you (or an on-camera flash) makes it much harder to bring out the higher contrast you are often looking for in a
Do you use any special equipment to control / direct the light when you photograph in black and white? (e.g. reflectors / diffusers / flash etc.) I have a strong preference for natural lighting for subjects – For interiors, I’d often prefer to take multiple images at different exposures and composite them, than set up artificial lighting. Of course for some subjects you need additional lighting. The choice depends on what aspects of the subject I want to show. An excellent experiment is to take some fairly close up pictures of an orange or similar textured object – the sharpness of lighting creates a whole different feel for the surface. An orange is also very different in black and white, losing its key defining visual feature. There are those who say that being forced to slow down and think about composition and the technical aspects of photography is “a good thing”. For me, landscape is a dynamic active
subject. My images aim to capture some of how I felt at that moment. Many of my best shots come from being in an area, looking round and just thinking “that will work”. Of course, I get a lot of shots that are not terribly special (or just plain bad) What, in your opinion, makes a good black and white subject? For landscapes I want ‘active’ skies that give a strong sense of mood to the image. Commercially I’m not so often asked to shoot in black and white. This is changing with better printers and cameras with a black and white mode, since more people are comfortable with the creative possibilities of good black and white, but there is still an attitude of why have black and white when you can have colour? In many ways shooting only colour can make you lazy and not pay as 15
much attention to the shot as you could. My love of black and white makes my colour work better too. If you could give someone just 5 tips on learning to ‘see’ the world in black and white, what would they be? 1) Take a load of your existing colour photos and simply convert them to black and white – How do they look different? Do any look better? 2) Have a ‘black and white day’. Go out and take pictures of anything you see – forget about what you’ve been told is common or clichéd.
them. Decide on some effects or examples you like and go and produce your own versions. 4) Try also some of the colour test images you have collected to see how different colours convert. 5) Look more closely at colour, start to see how it is used around you. As you see colour more distinctly, you can also spot the aspects of a scene that are going to figure more in a black and white image. – you don’t see those ones as big prints.
3) Visit a second hand book shop and look for old photography books, with lots of black and white photography in 16
. Reader’s Submit .
Little Sarah fumbled through her bag
to find the pens. She remembered seeing them there last night. Meanwhile, as her heart beats rushed faster through pins and needles, she could hear the thud of the warden’s feet on the wooden floor. The Sword of Damocles was hanging over her head and even before she knew, it fell. “Sarah, what are you doing here?” howled the belligerent giant lady. “Ma’am…I…was….I need….” “You need what? SPEAK!” “Madam, I… I…my painting….waiting…” ******************* Figuring out from the faint, filthy smell and the emptiness, Sarah understood that she was in the Punishment Cell. The last thing she remembered was getting bowled over by a heavy hand. Cosseting her bruised cheeks and legs, Sarah struggled with the streaming, unstoppable tears. From the only caged window, she could see the bright lit sky with the moonlight and the stars. Just as Sarah was trying to snug herself in the cold-biting room, she glanced at the window and there! She saw it! Bewildered first but convinced later, Sarah made her trivial, goofy wish. A faint smile reached her sullen lips as she never expected the grilled window to give her a view worth the wait of 72 years- a Shooting Star. Happy at the sight and oblivion of the
Bhavya Malviya
power of wishes, Sarah found sleep in the malodorous doomed room. ******************* The next morning, Sarah woke up to the irritated face of the warden. Her 7-year mind told her that something has happened again which made the devil worried. The warden pushed her out of the room and asked Sarah to freshen up and join her in the cabin. Sarah looked at the hallway wall and saw the hands striking one o’clock. She couldn’t find her fellow mates anywhere and she knew that she overslept and now, had two reasons in her scolding bag. Scared and aware of the future happenings in the warden’s cabin, Sarah knocked at the big door. Through the huge window nearby, she saw her most desired companion playing outside in the bright sunshine. She saw him jumping happily, licking the man’s face in between and lazing around in the lush grass. The door was opened by a pretty, delicate young woman welcoming Sarah with a smile. Shocked to see a new emotion, Sarah walked in to meet the usual frowned emotions of the warden.
questions about them. Sarah answered involuntarily hardly understanding the reason of interest from this lady. “Sarah, I would like you to meet somebody outside. Would you please come along?” asked the gentle voice. Looking at the warden, Sarah got her quickest permission from her. While walking out, she knew that the young lady’s power had kept the warden at bay but apart from this, everything else was vague. As the entrance door opened, Sarah saw her dream companion running over to her and cuddling her. Seeing Sarah taken aback in the first go, Ms. Walter said, “Sarah, this is Jimmy- your new friend. Don’t be scared, child. Cuddle him up and he won’t do anything.” From the window, the warden sighed a deep, frustrated sigh at the sight of the dog’s and the girl’s bonding. In the distant near the car, she also saw the other gift- the basket cycle. Accepting her defeat, she turned back to the documents on her table and picked up the pen. The shooting star sealed the fate of the little girl with the signature of warden’s approval on the adoption.
The young lady took Sarah by the hand and introduced her as Ms. Walter. She appreciated Sarah’s paintings kept near the warden’s table and started asking her
Make a wish
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. Music to hear by .
No matter how many times the story of Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927) is told, it’s always fascinating. He was the great-great-grandson of Tipu Sultan, the “Tiger of Mysore”. He was the father of Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan, a British espionage agent and the first female radio operator to be sent into German-occupied France to aid the Resistance. He founded the mystical Sufi Order of the West. He was a trained Northern Indian classical musician. And, unknown to many, he was an influence on western classical music, in particular the music of French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918). Scottish pianist and musicologist Roy Howat has looked closely at the influence of the Orient on the music of Debussy. In his book Debussy in Proportion: A Musical Analysis, and in his essay Debussy and the Orient in the book Recovering the Orient, Howat describes a meeting between Debussy and Inayat Khan in May 1913. The introduction had been made by a mutual friend, the pianist Walter Rummel, while Inayat Khan and his family of musicians were on a performance tour of Europe and America. In a letter to Rummel, Debussy recounted that the musicians chose a day to play for him at their convenience but the performance’s time was almost
Rajeshwari Verma predetermined – “around 5 o’clock, which I understand is their usual time”. Inayat Khan’s youngest brother Musharaff Khan, who was also present there, described the encounter. He remembered Debussy calling it “the evening of emotions”. After hearing their performance, Debussy “sat down at the piano and played, calling out titles that resembled the descriptive names of the ragas” that had been played by Inayat Khan and his musicians. The titles apparently included “rainy season”, “spring” and autumn”. Could it be that these were Debussy’s “Jardins sous la pluie” (his third Estampe), a piano reduction of “Printemps” (an orchestral work that premiered just a month before), and “Feuilles mortes”, his newly-published prelude? Use of the Indian palette: Debussy’s fascination with the Orient predated his meeting with Inayat Khan. Among his close friends were ethnomusicologists and Oriental scholars Edmond Bailly and Louis Laloy. Besides, during the Expositions Universelles in 1889 and 1900, which exposed the Parisian public to the cultural treasures of the exotic
East, Debussy had famously fallen under the spell of Javanese gamelan music. erhaps during this time he was also exposed to Indian music. His love of the visual arts would, surely, have left him impressed by the Indian raga, which in addition to “melody” also means “colour”, “hue”. In a raga, the musician progressively paints an aural canvas using not just a prescribed mode or scale, but a set order in which the notes are introduced for the first time. n the first movement of Debussy’s 1905 orchestral work La Mer (“De l’aube à midi sur la mer”), there are many references to this: the repeated falling fifth of the bass ostinato line reminds of the Indian tanpura; the fragments of a pentatonic melody played by the woodwinds, with parallel fifths and avoidance of major third intervals, give the work a decidedly Asian mood; and the gradual addition of the “blue” notes is in the manner that an Indian musician would develop a raga. Perhaps Debussy intentionally chose an Indian palette to colour this movement which charts the progress of the sun from east to west. The title, which translates to “From dawn to noon on the sea”, is unusual for conventional western music in that it specifies a time of day. But for ragas, which are defined by a time of day or night, or mood or mode, the title is commonplace.
How an Indian Sufi teacher left an imprint on Claude Debussy (and western classical music) It is believed that Inayat and Musharaff Khan helped Debussy through his creative crisis in the years 1913-1915. According to Dutch pianist Hakeem van Lohuizen, who accompanied Musharaff Khan on recordings of Sufi Songs, musical echoes of Inayat Khan’s music can be heard in Debussy’s 1913 ballet for children “La boîte à joujoux” (The Toy Box) and his anti-war offering, Berceuse heroïque (1915). In “La boîte à joujoux”, there is supposedly a quote from a raga, in the form of the “Pas de L’Éléphant”, to which Debussy added a footnote: “Old Hindu chant still used in the training of elephants, constructed on the scale of 5-in-the-morning and obligatorily 5-in-a-bar.” His two-piano suite En blanc et noir (1915) is believed to have the influence of the tanpura as well.
“We grown-up people think that we appreciate music, but if we realized the sense that an infant has brought with it of appreciating sound and rhythm, we would never boast of knowing music. The infant is music itself.” ― Hazrat Inayat Khan
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. City Explore .
New DELHI Market Café, New Delhi
This quaint little café tucked away in the busy hustle and bustle of Delhi’s Khan Market is a breath of fresh air. With great food, prompt service, lovely ambience, and a mean cuppa joe, Market Café is the place to go when you want to leave your troubles behind for a while. Oh, lest we forget to mention, it also has free wifi. Address: 8, 2nd Floor, Khan market, New Delhi, Greater Kailash 2
Kunzum Café, New Delhi The Kunzum café distinguishes itself from the rest as a “travel café”. The walls are laced with photographs clicked by travelers. It houses a great collection of travel books, and is the place to go to meet other travel-hungry (pun intended) people. It also has a unique pay-what-you-like concept, which basically means that you decide what you want to pay for the tea or coffee. Innovative and cozy, what’s not to like? Address : T 49, Ground Floor,Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi
Cha Bar, New Delhi This minimalistic book café in Connaught Place is the place to go when you need to get comfy with a book and a cup of tea. This café is actually situated INSIDE a book store. The food is great, the ambience is quiet and it’s easy on the pocket, too! Be warned though, it’s usually jam packed. Address : N-81, Barakhamba Road, Block N, Cannaught Place, New Delhi, Delhi 110001
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Mumbai
Kala Ghoda café, Mumbai A strange, quirky little café that serves arguably the best coffee around. Kala Ghoda café is the place to go with a group of close friends when you want to lose yourself in good company, deep conversations, and great food. Address : 10, Ropewalk Lane, Opp Krishna Restaurant, Kala Ghoda Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001
The Pantry, Mumbai As soon as you step in here, you’ll feel as though you’re transported to some quaint bistro in the Italian countryside. The décor, which is strongly influenced by European tastes, is soothing and inviting, and once you enter, the great food won’t let you leave. Address : B Bharucha Rd, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001
Food For Thought, Mumbai This contemporary café is actually housed inside a book store, Kitab Khana. The ambience is classy and artistic, the vibes are homey and warm, and best of all, the coffee is out of this world! The menu is great and will leave you spoilt for choice. This café will make you come back several times until you’ve tried all that it has to offer. Address : Somaiya Bhavan, 45 / 47 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort, Mumbai
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. City Explore .
bENGaLURU Om Made, Bengaluru
Om Made is a rooftop café with a spectacular view! A late evening chai here guarantees a splendid view of the setting sun. But this café has more to offer than just aesthetic appeal, with a diverse menu that caters to every palette. Whatever you’re craving right now, head over to Om Made to be blissfully satisfied. Address : No. 136, Ever Green Park, Fourth Floor, 1st Cross, 5th Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru
DYU Art Cafe, Bengaluru If you love homemade food then Dyu Art Cafe is one of the places where you need to try. They have everything made in - house with fresh ingredients. This cafe will make you feel like home. You can enjoy your food and the light breeze with some soothing music. They even have beautiful paintings on their wall which you must see. You will definitely walk out satisfied. Address: No 23 MIG, KHB Colony, Koramangala 8th Block,Bangalore
Cup O’ Joe, Bengaluru The name says it all, doesn’t it? Its red brick walls, old school décor and the faint aroma of coffee in the air attribute to its rustic vibes. Here you can try food from Europe, Mexico and of course, India. Apart from its great coffee, its chicken wings are also the talk of the town. Address : 483, 5th Block, 1st A Cross Road,, Koramangala, Bengaluru
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Living happily through the blurred lines, the distortions and the disturbances. Hoping to reach the light by spreading the light �