Hindustantimes Brunch 10 June 2012

WEEKLY MAGAZINE, JUNE 10, 2012 Free with your copy of Hindustan Times

Solo Vehicle Sharman Joshi is going places, in a Ferrari

Formula Fun

When Karun Chandhok got a ticket for speeding

indulge

A rare, exclusive peek into the not-so-serious world of IPL champion skipper Gautam Gambhir VIR SANGHVI

History and luxury

RAJIV MAKHNI

Rumour roundup

SANJOY NARAYAN Monday playlist

SEEMA GOSWAMI

Middle-aged and proud

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W AT C H O U T F O R

inbox LETTER OF THE WEEK! More than a silver jubilee

YOUR COVER story The 100 Crore Club (June 3) made for entertaining reading. In Bollywood, yardsticks change with time. Earlier, the silver jubilee was the measure of a stunning hit. Now, the benchmark of triumph comes down to a number – 100 crore. In this race, stars leave no stone unturned to make sure their films join this club.

Thank you Brunch for churning out one masterpiece after another.

— ARIJIT GHOSH, via email Arijit wins a shopping voucher worth `2,500. Congrats!

Not quite the five star after all!

I COULDN’T stop laughing after I read Vir Sanghvi’s column (It’s A Five-Star Life. Really?, June 3) I could picture all the troubles that a guest has to go through during his “five-star stay” (a typical Charlie Chaplin movie scoreplaying in the background). But Mr Sanghvi’s piece raised some genuine issues. Keep up the good work, Brunch!

– MANILA CAROLINE SAMPSON, via email

More power to women!

YOUR COVER story The 100 Crore Club (June 3) was an eye-opener. The net collections by these box office hits are mind-boggling. I was disappointed to note that no woman had made it to this elite club. Perhaps one day a good role will be scripted and we women will make it straight to the 1,000 Crore Club!

– RACHANA GROVER, via email

Gear up, for every week the best letter will get a SHOPPING voucher worth

10.06.2012 LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch

Charanjit Kaulitz The Same-Sex Wars by Seema Goswami = the truth. I’m a lady ...and I couldn’t agree more!

Chhavi Arya: It’s great to see the handsome son of soil on the red-carpet at Cannes! Looking forward to see Rajiv Sir back from glamour to gadgets!

@djKachari: Nice to read a little back story about @RajivMakhni in @HTBrunch. Burma & Amritsar, a deadly combo! @rockingboyz31 What is the difference between Dal Makhni and @RajivMakhni ? One is delicious to eat and another is Techlicious to read ;) @HTBrunch @chandant1974 @virsanghvi nice article! Keep up the good words! Your articles in Brunch are quite nice and best enjoyed with a hot cuppa tea! Cheers! @Chitrariyer @RajivMakhni enjoyed reading @HTBrunch article. It was honest and down to earth... Yes Sir, you have definitely arrived!

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On the lighter side of Gambhir

or to 18-20 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001 JUNE 10, 2012

Personal Agenda

Race car driver Karun Chandhok would love to race at the Monaco GP every year

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14 RUDE TRAVEL What makes the Villa d’Este hotel in Italy the property it is?

18 TECHILICIOUS Big-time rumours in the world of tech will leave you salivating 20 DOWNLOAD CENTRAL What’s your antidote to beat Monday morning blues?

22 SPECTATOR It’s time to accept middle age and be proud of it

Regular Fix

EDITORIAL: Poonam Saxena (Editor), Aasheesh Sharma, Tavishi Paitandy Rastogi, Rachel Lopez, Mignonne Dsouza, Veenu Singh, Parul Khanna Tewari, Yashica Dutt, Pranav Dixit, Amrah Ashraf, Saudamini Jain, Shreya Sethuraman

Drop a line at

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Reel World

Actor Sharman Joshi talks about jumping out of ensemble casts and landing a solo role

Cover Design: ASHUTOSH SAPRU Cover Photograph: AJAY AGGARWAL

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TWEET YOUR HEART OUT twitter.com/HTBrunch @SavarSuri: Read @virsanghvi’s column in @HTBrunch on why aren’t hotels more customer friendly...Truly agree with every point spl. LACK of plug points!

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Basking in the IPL afterglow, Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Gautam Gambhir is not all that reticent

Narender Jorasiya: Every Sunday, my wait gets over as I get to read Brunch. I enjoy it with my mug of ‘rubdi’. It was fantastic to know about the 100 crore club, it was fantastic to know it. Thanks Brunch.

R2,500!!

DESIGN: Ashutosh Sapru (National Editor, Design), Monica Gupta, Swati Chakrabarti, Ashish Singh, Rakesh Kumar, Suhas Kale, Shialendra Mirgal

Cover Story

Ronak RaJa This Sunday’s Brunch was super fun. I read the magazine thrice. The cover story (The 100 Crore Club) was awesome.:-)

The victorious Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain and his family opened their home and hearts to Brunch. The result: an exclusive peek into the not-so-serious persona of Gautam Gambhir.

Gauti is young, successful and recently married.

And the world is an oyster for the man tipped to be India’s future cricket captain.

Catch up with Gursimran Khamba’s sarcasm on Monday, Rajneesh Kapoor’s comic strip Rezi Vastav on Tuesday, The Fake Jhunjhunwala on Wednesday, Judy Balan’s philosophies on Thursday and Gautam Chintamani’s SplitScreen on Friday.

Brunch Blogs This week, read Of Red Lipsticks and Crystal Glasses by Yashica Dutt. On fashion and Hollywood pop culture.

REEL WORLD

hindustantimes.com/brunch Photo: KALPAK PATHAK

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Going Places, In A Ferrari Actor Sharman Joshi went through 30 auditions before landing his first leading rolec

By Udita Jhunjhunwala

T

HIRTEEN YEARS ago, a young actor from Gujarati theatre made his debut in the award-winning Godmother (1999). He followed this serious arthouse entry with youthful capers like Style and Xcuse Me. Sharman Joshi’s trajectory was hard to define.

“People in theatre consider ourselves learned compared to people in cinema. My fraternity was proud of me for being a part of a five National Awards-winning film. But when I did Style, they wondered where I was headed,” recalls Joshi who bases his decisions on instinct and the script. “It’s important that I enjoy myself; thereafter everything else falls into place. I have no set rules. I just love entertaining people.”

It was only in 2006, when he played Sukhi/ Rajguru in Rang De Basanti and Laxman in Golmaal, that Joshi’s

graph began to take shape. Ask him, and after great deliberation picks 3 Idiots as the game-changer.

THE PLATFORM

After dabbling in college theatre competitions, the Mumbai-born actor entered Gujarati theatre, mentored by his dad, theatre veteran Arvind Joshi. “I was 20 when I did a cameo in my first play. After that I decided to be an actor,” says the Commerce graduate who spent seven years in theatre.

Of the 16 films he has done since 1999, his notable performances include ensemble films Rang De Basanti, Golmaal, Life in a Metro and 3 Idiots, while some of his forgettable works include Shaadi No 1, Raqeeb, Hello and Dhol. But now, Joshi is living in the moment he has been waiting for – as the lead in Ferrari Ki Sawaari (releasing June 15). “An actor always feels that a role good enough for him has not been written yet. I think Ferrari Ki Sawaari will be a turning point in my career. As an actor and character, it’s a lot of responsibility. The film’s acceptance and your position at the box office

“If Mr Chopra gifts me a Ferrari, I will happily accept it”

From top: Joshi chose his roles on instinct and the script.

Style: “After Godmother, people wondered where I was headed.”

3 Idiots: “The gamechanger.”

Ferrari Ki Sawaari: “I think it will be a turning point in my career.”

make it easier for other filmmakers wanting to work with you.”

PERSEVERANCE PAYS

Landing the role of a Parsi head clerk at Mumbai’s RTO in a film produced

by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, written by Rajkumar Hirani and directed by Rajesh Mapuskar was not easy. It took more than 30 auditions for Joshi to convince the makers that he was

CANDID THOUGHTS Films I wish I’d been a part of: Chak De! India, Taare Zameen Par, Lagaan, Lage Raho Munna Bhai What I wanted to be when I was growing up: I always wanted to be an actor, but when anyone asked me I would say ‘director’. Anyone who wants to be an actor will shy away from admitting that because then you come under instant scrutiny and assessment.

Recent films I’ve liked: The Artist was good; Shaitan and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara were nice; Vicky Donor was fun.

I loved Paan Singh Tomar and thought Irrfan was dazzling.

On Aamir Khan: I love and respect him. He’s a fine actor.

the right actor to play the part of Rustom in Ferrari... “It took a while to persuade them that I could play the father of a 10-year-old and pull off the gentleness of the character,” says the 33-year-old father of three. Two months of intense auditioning were followed by preparaing for the look for the character – hair, popping out of ears, thickening of eyebrows, paunch, gait and gaining 8 kilos.

After 3 Idiots, this is the only film Joshi signed. He has also signed Tanuja Chandra’s romantic drama Chithiyan. So what did he do in the two years between completing 3 Idiots and starting Ferrari...? “That in between time is when you work the hardest – reading scripts, meeting people, working on ideas.”

Besides his father, Joshi names Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra as the biggest influences in his career. “Mr Hirani is a great director. You can see it in the way he visualised the interview scene in 3 Idiots. That scene is now used by management schools to show students what their attitude should be during interviews,” says Joshi. “Mr Chopra is a genius. The best part about him is his candour and clarity.”

The Ferrari car is central to the plot of his forthcoming film. Like most men, he says he also is passionate about cars though you will only find a SUV and a sedan in his garage.

“But I hope to own a Ferrari some day. If Mr Chopra gifts me one, I will happily accept it!” he says.

“I know very little about acting. I’m just an incredibly gifted faker.” – Robert Downey Jr JUNE 10, 2012

brunchletters@hindustantimes.com

PROMOTION

Fruit Of Abundant Joy M

angoes in India are more than just a fruit. For mangoes here represent life in various forms. Be it mango leaves hung on doors during auspicious occasions, the paisley sitting pretty on hennaed hands, Kashmiri shawls and Kanchipuram silk saris or the use of mango wood in funeral pyres, something about mangoes conveys the circle of life.

Like Himanshu Verma, founder, Red Earth, an independent arts organisation, puts it, "Mango has always been a marker of the sheer abundance and richness of our land.

Also the kind of variety it has lent

itself to various forms of artistic expression."

THE ORIGIN

The name 'mango' is derived from the Tamil word 'mangkay' or 'mangay'. When the Portuguese traders settled in Western India they adopted the name as 'manga'.

Mangoes also find mention in the songs of 4th century CE Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa. Mangoes are believed to have been tasted by Alexander in (3rd century BCE). In (7th century CE) Chinese pilgrim, Hieun Tsang is their magical taste.

Soon the magic of this yellow fruit

made many stalwarts surrender to it.

OF FESTIVITY AND CELEBRATION

The Mango tree plays a sacred role in India. A symbol of love, many believe it can grant wishes.

In the Hindu culture hanging fresh mango leaves outside the front door during Ponggol, Deepavali, Ganesh Chaturthi, marriage and festivities is considered a blessing to the house.

Mangoes and mango leaves have long been used in various parts of India to symbolize fertility and good fortune.

No Telugu, Kannada and Tamil New Year's Day are complete without eating ugadi pacchadi which has

mango pieces as one of the ingredients.

Nishant Choubey, executive sous chef, Dusit Bird Hotels says, "I consider mango the most versatile fruits. Raw or ripe, its extremely versatile.

Right from Asian to European and to our very own Indian cuisine, mango has been an integral part of our kitchens."

MYSTIC MAGIC

It's not a surprise what is sensual also has a more mystical side to it. In Hinduism, the perfectly ripe mango is often held by Lord Ganesha as a symbol of attainment.

The pretty mango blossoms are used to worship goddess Saraswati and also offered to the Moon on the second day of the month of Maagh It's under a mango tree that Lord Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. The Jain goddess Ambika is traditionally represented as sitting under a mango tree. An image one can also see in Cave 34 of the Ellora Caves.

Little surprise mangoes never stop to fascinate us all.

Slice and Brunch will continue to romance the king of fruits in forthcoming editions. Watch this space to savor and soak in mango pleasure.

The Mango originated in Southeast Asia where it has been grown for more than 400 years

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WELLNESS

MIND BODY SOUL

SMOOTH OPERATORS

SHIKHA SHARMA

Coconut water: Coconut water is rich in minerals and very cooling for the body. Consuming 200 ml of coconut water daily for one week helps detoxify the liver.

BALANCING ACTS

E

VERY HUMAN being has hormones – the chemicals released by cells or glands in one part of the body, which transfer messages that affect cells in other parts of the physical self.

They control a vast range of functions – your physical appearance, your appetite, the distribution of hair, your bone density, and aspects related to emotions and behaviour. But while male hormones show a consistent change over the years, female hormone levels are subject to more sudden fluctuations. These are cause by several factors and situations: PUBERTY: When surging hormones help develop the feminine features that define you as a woman.

PREGNANCY: The hormone profile changes both during the nine months of pregnancy and after, when levels begin to drop to pre-pregnancy levels. Some hormones, such as oxytocin, change as well.

MENOPAUSE: This is the time when the balance between estrogen and progesterone begins to change.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND EMOTIONAL IMPACT: Due to high levels of stress, a woman’s hormones can undergo a shift which may unfortunately lead to, among other things, weight gain.

Your hormone profile changes during pregnancy and after it

DIET, LIFESTYLE AND OTHER FACTORS: A diet containing high or unbalanced amounts of animal protein (especially animal protein injected with high levels of growth hormones), pesticides and chemicals found in packaged food, have a negative and unbalancing im-

pact on female hormones.

Fluctuating hormone levels can often have adverse results on overall health.

The typical symptoms of an unbalanced hormonal profile include weight gain (despite portion control and exercise), water retention, chronic indigestion, sluggishness and tiredness, a feeling of being low and sometimes depressive thoughts and anxiety. Blood pressure can fluctuate or it may remain low. Hair begins to fall excessively, the person may develop frequent candida (vaginal infections) and urinary tract infections. In addition, an imbalance of insulin and androgens can also cause obesity around the abdomen and waist.

Stress-related obesity usually begins with high levels of cortisol. If there is weight gain due to chronic stress, it affects the balance between cortisol and insulin. In such circumstances, the key to controlling weight involves detoxifying the liver. A healthy liver can improve metabolism and greatly combat water retention. Stay off non-vegetarian foods for four weeks to detoxify the liver and during this time, switch to the kinds of food that aid cooling and detoxification. Many of these are available at your local ask@drshikha.com grocer.

Sabudana: This light non-cereal grain is effective for pacifying liver problems.

Brown rice: Brown rice is very cooling for the liver. People who do not like the taste of brown rice can opt for brown rice poha for breakfast. This has the same benefits as brown rice as it is made from the same grain. Just make sure you consume it only in the morning, and not more than three times a week.

Barley water: Soak barley grains overnight.

Next morning add a fistful of them to six glasses of water. Keep boiling till the water colour changes to a faint yellow. Cool refrigerate, and consume the beverage over the day.

Samak rice: It’s not really a rice but a grass seed that usually thrives alongside rice paddy.

Known informally as fasting rice, it’s good for healing the liver.

Fruits: All high-water content fruits like watermelon, muskmelon, apples, and sweet lime are good for the liver. Heat-inducing fruits like mango should be avoided if you are someone who tends to suffer from liver disorders.

Photos: THINKSTOCK

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C OV E R STO RY

A KNIGHT’S TALE Getting past the gambhir veneer of the KKR skipper can be tough. But we managed!

by Aasheesh Sharma

A

T THE SAME time that Shah Rukh Khan went cartwheeling at Chepauk and Sunil Gavaskar began praising the combative qualities of the Kolkata Knight Riders, a senior teacher at Delhi’s Modern School broke into a silent jig around his TV screen. A glow spreads across Firoz Bakht Ahmed’s face as he reflects on his illustrious student and rewinds the clock to 1995 when he taught Gautam Gambhir. “In class 8, Gambhir was lagging behind in English assignments and I called his dad to complain. His dad said his attendance was erratic because he was representing Delhi in cricket tournaments. It was then that I told him: ‘All this won’t matter if your son becomes the next Sunil Gavaskar.’”

Ahmed’s words would turn prophetic sooner than he expected. In 2004, Gambhir made his Test debut against Australia and by 2009 when he won the Arjuna Award, his opening mate and now IPL rival Virender Sehwag famously announced: “Gautam is the best Indian opener since Gavaskar.”

Even as pundits contemplate the dramatic turnaround in the fortunes

L SPECUIA CH N TO BR hir

Gamb Gautam ely for HT xclusiv poses e t his Rajendra a h Brunc ome in Nagar h Delhi

Photos: AJAY AGGARWAL

JUNE 10, 2012

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of the Knight Riders and an opportunistic chief minister tangos with a superstar at Eden and calls it paribortan, Gambhir, 30, the resolute Delhi boy-turned-Kolkatar chele, exudes a Buddha-like serenity that has been part of his demeanour since he first began demolishing bowlers.

The T20 World Cup title? The World Cup crown? Or IPL 2012?

Which one of the three wins gave him the most satisfaction? “It is unfair to compare,” says Gambhir. “Still, for the manner in which we lived up to fans’ expectations and came back after being out four years in the cold, this IPL victory is special.”

Now that even the media is anointing him as the next skipper, how does he look back on his captaincy? “Kolkata Knight Riders is not about me. It is about the team. A captain is as good as the 11 who are out in the park.”

Really? Even after scoring 590 runs in 17 innings with a strike rate of 143?

“Yes, in our country we have a culture of putting the spotlight on the individual and I resent it.

Cricket is a team game. If you want fame for yourself, go play an individual game.”

Recognising every small contribution has been KKR’s gameplan this year, says Gambhir. “If Manoj Tewari hadn’t hit those fours and Saqib not bowled a last tight over or Bisla not played one of the best T20 knocks that I’ve seen, you wouldn’t be talking to me today, would you?”

game, it is Gambhir’s mama Pawan Gulati who has been a big influence on him. In the 1990s, when Gambhir was staying at Gulati’s modest Ramjas Road residence near central Delhi’s Karol Bagh, the boy ate, drank and breathed cricket. “He would come from practice and again watch sports channels,” says Gulati.

Seeking reassurance from his loved ones is something that Gambhir has made a habit of sorts. Close friend and former Indian offie Sarandeep Singh says that at every stage of his cricket – from the junior stage to Test cricket – Gambhir would call up his naani after important matches. “He’d often ask me how he was playing. Nowadays, I tell him he has done his PhD in cricket. He doesn’t need to ask his mama how he is playing anymore,” jokes Gulati.

From an intense introvert to a poised performer who cracks jokes at teammates and shakes a leg with Shah Rukh, Gambhir is a changed man. “Perhaps it is marriage that has done it to him,” says Gulati with a laugh. Gambhir shed the most eligible bachelor tag when he tied the knot with Natasha Jain in 2011 in an arranged marriage.

Gambhir agrees that marriage has had a calming effect on him. “Having Natasha around has been fantastic.

Over the last 90 days, there were situations when we were not doing well on the field. At times I was angry, low and aggressive. It was reassuring returning to the room knowing that she was there.”

When, after the IPL triumph, Gambhir had declared: “Ami Kolkatar

BATMAN FROM GAUTAM CITY

The Gavaskar-Gambhir resemblance doesn’t end with modest height and batting slot. They were both mentored by their maternal uncles. If it was Madhav Mantri who inspired Gavaskar to take to the gentleman’s

MADE FOR EACH OTHER

Gambhir with his wife Natasha at their sangeet in 2011

NICKNAME: Gauti CAR: BMW Gran Turismo ROLE MODEL: Bhagat Singh.

“Along with Mother Teresa, he’s one Indian icon who can live up to the title of legend,” says Gambhir.

WAY HE LIKES TO UNWIND: By going to the movies: He recently watched Kahaani, Vicky Donor and Paan Singh Tomar. He has watched

TRIVIA CORNER

Photo Courtesy: BADAL RAJA JAIN

“Having Natasha around during the IPL was reassuring”

the entire Rambo series featuring Sly Stallone many times over.

COACHES: Sanjay Bharadwaj of Delhi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy and Raju Tandon.

MUSIC: Ghazals of Jagjit Singh and popular Punjabi music. Woh Kagaz Ki Kashti is a favourite on his playlist.

SUPERSTITION: Throughout the IPL, Gambhir kept his pads on till the very end in every game. The only occasion he removed his pads after getting out, the

Knight Riders lost. “Only once in the tournament, against the Kings XI, I took off my pads after I got out. We couldn’t manage to get 13 from 12 balls in that end,” he said.

BOWLER BRETT LEE ON GAMBHIR, THE SKIPPER: “I am really impressed.

He is a structured player, someone who likes to take on opposition. Off the field, he likes to have a joke with his teammates. More importantly, I think Gautam is respected for his fairness.”

“We have two options, medically and emotionally: Give up, or fight like hell” – Lance Armstrong JUNE 10, 2012

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C OV E R STO RY

THE GAUTI I MET IN 2002

Photo: RAJ K RAJ

When he made a name for himself in the Ranji Trophy in the 2002-2003 season and was on the verge of playing for the country, the diminutive intense young man visited the Hindustan Times office for an interaction. Unlike a lot of Delhi cricketers who’ve worn India colours, Gautam Gambhir wasn’t rough at the edges.

For an average cricketer, Gautam had impressive conversational skills and was polite to a fault (he kept addressing me as bhaiya through the interview). The only hitch, at least initially, was that it was tough to bring him out of his shell. He warmed up in the course of the interview and I discovered he liked to go on long drives in his Maruti Esteem with ghazals playing on his music system.

Gambhir was studying at Hindu College after schooling at Modern School and was nonchalant about his appearance. He wore a grungy Tshirt and track pants to the photo shoot. But even then, the fire in his belly and clarity of thought were unmistakable: “The best way to make it to the India eleven is to score runs. And I know I’ll make it,” he had said. Fielding the standard trivia questions, he said he idolised Sourav Ganguly. The boy from Karol Bagh was about to draw first blood on the international stage. Even then, he had the looks of a winner.

– Aasheesh Sharma

FROM THE HT ARCHIVES

Hindustan Times first featured Gautam Gambhir in 2002

hindustantimes.com/brunch

chele (I am a Kolkata boy) and I want to soon pick up Bengali,” many fans were left wondering whether Kotla had lost out to Eden. Was he serious when he said that? “Yes, once upon a time Delhi’s Kotla was my home ground. But today, Kolkata is my side and the kind of reception I get when I turn out at Eden is overwhelming.

The fans’ affection is special there.”

And then, before the IPL finale on May 27, Gambhir told journalists: “When you go out on the field, you don’t go out to make friends… I play to win the game and not just to compete.” Is that his philosophy towards the game? “It’s my philosophy towards life. Whether it is for my side ONGC, or Delhi, for India or for the Knight Riders, I don’t like returning back to an unhappy dressing room. Winning is something that makes people happy.” The pursuit of happiness for his teammates has always been important for Gambhir, says his KKR mate Rajat Bhatia, who was his cricket captain at Modern School. And Gambhir listens to them.

“After losing matches to Rajasthan and Delhi, we were having dinner together,” recalls Bhatia.

“When I suggested that Gautam revert to his position at the top of the order as that’s what he had done since school, he took it sportingly. He heard me out and then decided to open. The rest is IPL history.”

THE SRK EFFECT

PROUD PARENTS

Deepak and Seema Gambhir at their residence in central Delhi

three years. Now, he has every right to cartwheel if he so pleases.”

As for Gambhir, after being on the road for close to eight months, he can finally put his feet up, chill and vacation in Europe.

Gambhir’s idea of relaxation is a movie and Indian food.

He also loves street food (a favourite is a dahi bhalla vendor at Bharat Nagar in west Delhi), near the academy his coach Sanjay Bharadwaj runs.

The southpaw was driven from a young age, says Sarandeep Singh, his roommate at the National Cricket Academy in 2000. Back in his room after scoring a hundred against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens for India Under-19, Gambhir asked his buddy how he could improve his game further. Saran-

“I don’t want to come back to a dressing room where people are sulking”

When he looks back at his career, Gambhir has experienced a few stupendous highs (see box, right) and one low in 2007 when he was left out of the World Cup squad and was on the verge of quitting the game. So, when Shah Rukh, another Delhi boy who has made it big in his chosen vocation, offered him the leadership of a side which was down in the dumps, Gambhir took up the challenge. “It wasn’t easy. We were the most loved IPL side off the field. Over the last two years, our resolve has been to make it the best on it.”

Shah Rukh, says Gambhir, is the coolest IPL boss around. “In cricketing matters, whenever I say, ‘Bhaiya, this is what we are planning,’ his response is ‘yes’. Coming from showbiz, he has had his shares of lows. He talks to us about non-cricketing matters. He was on the losing side for

GAMBHIR’S HIGHS ■ 97 runs against Sri Lanka in the World Cup final, 2011 ■ 137 runs, in 643 minutes against New Zealand in 2009 that helped India save the match, then the fifth-longest effort in second innings in all Test cricket ■ 75 runs to help India win the T20 World Cup final against Pakistan in 2007

AND A LOW ■ Being left out of the World Cup squad in 2007

MEET THE GAMBHIRS The Gambhir family was bowled over by Shah Rukh Khan during the IPL playoffs. “He’s a charmer,” says Gautam’s father Deepak Gambhir, 56, who manages a textiles business. Gautam’s sister Ekta, 28, who is based in Boston, wanted to watch the lPL. So, Gautam’s homemaker mom Seema, 52, and she visited Chennai for the finals.

deep’s response: “How much more do you want to improve? You’ve just hit a ton against an international team.

But Gauti wanted to make it large.”

LOOK BACK IN ANGER

A constant in the legend of Gambhir has been his anger. He even takes umbrage at the manner in which the word ‘legend’ is casually flung around. Aakhir Gautam Gambhir ko gussa kyon aata hai? “The only people qualified to be called legends in India are those who’ve been selfless in making a difference to people’s lives. To my mind the two legends we have are Bhagat Singh and Mother Teresa.”

When we meet Gambhir at his residence in central Delhi’s Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood, he is flipping through Raghu Rai’s coffee table book on the Saint of Kolkata, then enjoying breakfast with his parents, sister and wife, swapping KKR tales. “Pradeep Sangwan is the joker of the team. Sarabjit Ladda and he keep playing pranks in the KKR dressing room,” he says.

At home with his loved ones, at peace with the world, the man who once eyeballed Shahid Afridi and elbowed Shane Watson on the cricket pitch suddenly doesn’t appear so gambhir.

The Gautama smiles.

“Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you” – Arnold Palmer JUNE 10, 2012

aasheesh.sharma @hindustantimes.com

indulge

WHERE LUXURY IS THE FIRST RESORT

Vir Sanghvi

One of the world’s most famous hotels, the Villa d’Este in Lake Como near the city of Milan, perfectly balances history with luxury Photo: REUTERS

ON HOLIDAY

Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson stayed at the Villa d’Este while he was still the Prince of Wales IT ALL FITS

The amazing mosaic in the garden is many centuries old

I

ALWAYS THINK that the great difference between the grand hotels of the East and those of Europe lies in the nature of resort hotels. The great city hotels of Europe (the Ritz in Paris, the Savoy in London, the Imperial in Vienna or the Hassler in Rome) are well matched by the grand hotels of the East: The Oriental in Bangkok, the Peninsula in Hong Kong, or the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay.

But there is a Western tradition that we never seem to have reproduced in Asia: The grand hotel in a resort. In Switzerland, for instance, there have always been grand hotels built in holiday spots intended as resorts for vacationers: The Victoria-Jungfrau in Interlaken, the Beau-Rivage in Lausanne, or the Palace Hotel in Luzern.

These hotels were not designed for businessmen travelling on work. The idea was to offer a resort experience for people who wanted a scenic holiday for a week or two when the weather was pleasant. I have never worked out why, but there have never been many such hotels in Asia. Even in India, where the Raj left behind such great properties as Calcutta’s The Grand, Madras’s Connemara and Bangalore’s West End, resort hotels were always slightly second-rate. When people went on holiday, they preferred to stay at clubs or in bungalows. There were few memorable hotels at Indian hill stations (the Savoy in Ooty, perhaps, is an exception) and in any case, most of them are now rundown.

The closest we have come to capturing the grand hotel-in-a-holiday-area is in our conversions of palaces. The Lake Palace in Udaipur must be one of the most beautiful hotels in the world and Umaid

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Bhavan is an extraordinary jazz-age palace that makes for an unusual hotel.

In Europe, few of the grand hotels are conversions. Most were designed to welcome guests. But every once in a while, you come across a conversion that has been a spectacular success. I was at the Villa d’Este in Lake Como near the city of Milan in Italy last weekend and was astonished to see how well the hotel had merged history with luxury.

The Villa d’Este is one of the world’s most famous hotels. Even if you have not heard of it, you have probably been exposed to the property at some subliminal level. In 1936, when Edward VIII abdicated the throne of Britain, the only photograph in existence of him with Wallis Simpson was one that had been taken at the Villa d’Este, when the couple had gone off on holiday while he was still the Prince of Wales. It was this photograph that was flashed around the world and still appears in documentaries and articles about the Abdication.

Similarly, all books about the famous romance of Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis and opera singer, Maria Callas, mention that their relationship began at the Villa d’Este and the couple returned to the hotel again and again. When Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat held a summit meeting, it was at the Villa d’Este that the famous photograph of the two old enemies shaking hands was taken – on the terrace of the property.

And then, there are the literary references. The Villa d’Este crops up in many novels by writers as disparate as Robert Ludlum, Joseph Heller, Barbara Taylor Bradford and John le Carré. Plus, of course, there is the one subliminal image that most middle-class Indians have probably seen. The outdoor shots of the fabulous gardens in the daytime soap opera The Bold and The Beautiful have very little to do with the Forresters and any property they may have owned in America: They were shot at the Villa d’Este.

When a hotel has such a legendary reputation and such a strong place in history, it is reasonable to assume that it must originally have been built as a resort. In fact, as I was to discover, the Villa d’Este has less in common with the grand hotels of Europe than with the palace hotels of India.

It was never intended to be a hotel but started out as a villa, constructed in 1568 for Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, a powerful figure in the Catholic church who liked the location facing the mag-

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IN THE LAP OF LUXURY

Partly, it is the location that makes Villa d’Este so special. Set on the shores of Lake Como, the hotel has an unparalleled vista nificent Lake Como. It continued as a private property of the Gallio family for two centuries till a dissolute aristocrat called Marquis Bartolomeo Calderara bought it as a residence for his sexy young wife in 1784.

As soon as the Marquis died, the young widow promptly remarried a handsome Napoleonic general but held on to her late husband’s fortune and properties. Because she feared that the general might get bored staring at Lake Como, she built fortresses and towers on the hills overlooking the villa. This was a kind of medieval theme park for the general who would stage imaginary battles with military cadets to entertain himself.

The next chapter in the history of the Villa d’Este began in 1815 when Caroline of Brunswick, the Queen of England and the wife of King George IV, arrived at the property. Caroline had married George, her cousin, believing that she would reign over England. Instead, George grabbed her dowry, paid off his debts, and threw her out.

Caroline arrived at Como and bought the villa from the family of the war-game-loving General.

She tried to claim the property as her own ancestral estate and announced that her family descended from a certain Guelfo d’Este, who had left Italy for Germany three centuries before. The property was renamed the Villa d’Este and Caroline lavished so much money on it that she went bankrupt.

Eventually, her bankers took it over because she was unable to pay her debts.

In 1868 the property was rented out to the Russian Czarina who came to Lake Como to holiday for two months and stayed for two years. The Czarina’s visit led a group of Italian businessmen to convert the property into a hotel run by a limited company. It was only in 1873 that the Villa d’Este opened as a hotel. The new hotel combined the original villa along with a newer building that is sometimes called the Queen’s Pavilion in honour of Caroline.

Almost from the day it opened as a hotel, Villa d’Este has been a huge success. Partly, it is the location that makes it so special.

Set on the shores of Lake Como, the hotel has an unparalleled vista. Plus, it is relatively easy to get to: It takes as long to get to the Villa d’Este from Milan’s Malpensa airport as it does to the centre of Milan.

But mostly, I suspect that the success of the hotel lies in the way in which it balances history and luxury. Too many Indian palace hotels are so proud of their royal heritage that they do not try hard enough to ensure that guests get a truly luxurious experience. At our hotels, rooms can be small and uncomfortable (we are told this is inevitable because the building was not designed as a hotel), the staff and service can be sloppy (old retainers, we are assured, who cannot be fired) and the food can be indifferent.

At the Villa d’Este, on the other hand, they wear their heritage lightly. It is possible to visit the battlements constructed for the general’s war games or to see the amazing mosaic in the garden that is many centuries old. But even if you have no interest in history or in the property’s antecedents, you will always have a good time because the hotel focuses on the luxury experience.

For instance, service is frighteningly efficient – unusual in a European property and extraordinary in Italy. If you phone and ask for someone to collect your laundry or to bring you an adapter for the plug point, the doorbell will ring almost as soon as you have put the phone down.

As far as I could tell, the same service was extended to every single guest. There was no VIP culture and even though the place was crawling with millionaires, the rest of us got exactly the same attention from the staff.

This is no mean feat for a hotel that is such a celebrity haunt. In the old days, the Villa d’Este would host the likes of Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra and Greta Garbo. Now, regulars include Robert De Niro, Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and Elton John (who sent his cook to the chef at the hotel to learn how to make the perfect pasta).

Celebrities like the hotel because nobody bothers them. Sometimes this can be a humbling experience. The film director Alfred Hitchcock would come to the Villa d’Este every September for his annual holiday but would be paranoid about photographers invading his privacy. On one occasion, the Villa d’Este hosted a glamorous society wedding and the bridal couple had commissioned photographers to cover the event.

Hitchcock saw the photographers and went ballistic.

“I will leave if you don’t throw those paparazzi out,” Hitchcock told the management. He only calmed down when he realised that the photographers were there for the wedding. They had no idea who Alfred Hitchcock was. As far as they were concerned, he was just another guest at the Villa d’Este.

Even though the place was crawling with millionaires, the rest of us got the same attention from the staff

JUNE 10, 2012

QUEEN’S EVIDENCE

Caroline of Brunswick, the Queen of England (below) bought the villa in 1815. A newer building (above) is sometimes called the Queen’s Pavilion in her honour

HAPPY MEAL

Elton John sent his cook to the chef at the hotel to learn how to make perfect pasta

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TECH RUMOUR ROUNDUP

BIG, BOLD, BLACK

Is this what the next Nokia Lumia with PureView technology will look like?

Rajiv Makhni

Is a Facebook phone coming? What about that 41 megapixel Lumia? And will Windows 8 kill Android Tablets?

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DO YOU ‘LIKE’?

A built-from-the-ground-up Facebook phone sounds like a great idea – but what would it really do?

ES, I’M back with technology. After some truly heady days in the world of glamour and blood-red carpets, it’s time to get back to reality. And nothing makes you hit the ground faster than future devices. The world of technology has big-time rumours popping up with alarming regularity. Away from the regular run-of-the mill rumours of the ‘confirmed’ iPhone 5 specs, the ‘about-to-be-released’ iPad 7-inch Mini and the persistent story about BlackBerry being bought

by Samsung, let’s take a look at the top three rumours that have most people salivating.

RUMOUR #1: THE FACEBOOK PHONE

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Apparently Facebook has already ‘hired more than half a dozen former Apple software and hardware engineers who worked on the iPhone’. The only reason they would have done that would be to make a Facebook phone. It’s important for Facebook to have control over hardware and solidify their position on mobiles or else, they could end up just being another app on a phone. A built-from-the-ground-up Facebook phone is just months away.

The Reality: While the chances are high, I’m not really sure what a Facebook phone would do. Other than taking people to their Facebook accounts (exactly what other phones do), what else can it possibly offer? It has to have some awesome add-on features and very compelling reasons for a person to want to switch from their Apples and Samsungs. Facebook can’t afford to make these features exclusive to their own phone. That would alienate them from the other phone manufacturers who may boycott them completely. Plus, the mobile business is a tough place (Nokia, BlackBerry, Motorola will confirm). Markie, don’t do it, dude. I firmly believe that a Facebook phone will be debacle number two for you, after the IPO. Remember – three strikes and you’re out!

RUMOUR #2: THE NOKIA LUMIA PUREVIEW

OPEN UP TO WINDOWS

Every major hardware maker has made multiple Windows 8 announcements. 90 per cent of them are hybrids (Notebooks with detachable Tablets)

The PureView phone (that’s the Nokia 808 with the unbelievable 41.0 megapixel camera – a little nugget of info for those who have been in a coma for the last few months) shocked the world. It’s an amazing bit of technology, it lives up to the hype and delivers on the optical performance expectations.

And now from Nokia, the PureView technology will be the main feature in the next set of Lumia Windows phones. The new Nokia Lumia 1000 will come with JUNE 10, 2012

the 41.0 megapixel camera and even more optical tricks up its sleeve than the 808.

The Reality: The PureView 41.0 megapixel technology is magical but it is unfortunately stuffed into a phone that isn’t as magical. Thus, harnessing the power of all that optical wizardry and putting it into what I believe is a good series of phones is a no-brainer (I am astounded how many people are pleasantly surprised to find the entire first-time experience of Windows Phone really good). Nokia needs a ‘shaker upper’, a true differentiator and Lumia with PureView could be just that. Stephen, buddy (that’s Stephen Elop, Nokia CEO – once again for those in a coma), you’ve got to do this. You’ve jumped as far away from the ‘burning platform’ as possible. Time to swim away from the sharks!

RUMOUR #3: WINDOWS 8 WILL KILL ANDROID AS A TABLET OS

Android is king! But only in the world of mobiles.

As a Tablet OS, its numbers are dismal, its performance is inadequate and it is just not the OS of choice. To take on the might of the iOS-based iPad, a new warrior must take birth. And that dark horse combatant shall be Windows 8. It’s perfect, it’s built to be on Tablet, it works brilliantly as a crossover between a Notebook and a Tablet and there is more innovation on Windows 8 devices than any other platform. Goodbye, Android on Tablets.

The Reality: First, let’s get our facts right. Android isn’t a failure as a Tablet OS. It just lacks a single champion. Amazon, Samsung, Asus... all have successful Android-based Tablets. Add to that the million other companies that churn out economy Android Tablets on a daily basis. But not having a single brand winner hurts and leaves a gap. That’s where the Windows 8 onslaught will begin. There’s already a shift in the air. Asus, Acer, Lenovo, HP, Dell and in fact every single large hardware vendor has made multiple Windows 8 announcements. Nearly 90 per cent of them are hybrids (a Notebook with detachable Tablet) and the other 10 per cent are pure Tablet devices. Would you buy an extra Tablet if a perfectly adequate one comes built into your Notebook? You wouldn’t. And that’s the game and number changer: If Windows 8 truly delivers as a Tablet cum laptop platform, the numbers it will automatically pickup in each category can be mind-boggling and can hurt both iOS and Android.

Ballmer, my man, you’ve dropped the ball many times. This is your single ticket to true success and can seriously demolish everybody else in the Tablet field. Don’t screw this one up.

What are your thoughts on these three big rumours?

Can a Facebook phone work? Will a Nokia Lumia PureView be a runaway success? Can Windows 8 destroy the Android and the iPad? Any other big rumours that I missed out on that aren’t just run-ofthe-mill? Tweet in and let’s make the rumours fly. :)

Let’s face it: Android isn’t a failure as a Tablet OS. It just lacks a single champion

Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Technology, NDTV, and the anchor of Gadget Guru, Cell Guru and Newsnet 3. Follow Rajiv on Twitter at twitter.com/RajivMakhni

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PLAYS OF THE WEEK

A Californian duo helped me ease into the beginning of the week – and a legend from New Orleans promised to rock it!

DOUBLE THE FUN

Best Coast is a duo that makes music that is easy on the ears. The Only Place (below) is their second full-length album

On Best Coast’s second album, The Only Place, the general mood is sunny

Sanjoy Narayan

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WHAT’S UP, DOC?

Dr John is known for his Mardi Gras-tinged flamboyance and his music is stamped with good time spirit

resonates warmly and – this one’s good for a Monday morning – you still don’t have to use your head too much to make sense of the lyrics (viz We’ve got the ocean, got the babes/ Got the sun, we’ve got the waves/ This is the only place for me. Nary a cerebral syllable there!).

And yet, I was bored by the time the 11-song, 34-minute album wound down. There is a certain same-ness in the new Best Coast album that gets to you despite its short duration. The sunniness is fine but the lyrics can suck over time. That’s when I opted for another new album. This time it was Dr John’s latest, Locked Down. Dr John (real name: Mac Rebbenack) is a legendary New Orleans boogie-woogie, R&B and soul singing pianist whose career peaked many years back but has plateaued since then. Till the Ohio-based The Black Keys’ guitarist Dan Auerbach decided to collaborate and produce his latest album.

The collaboration began earlier, really, when Auerbach and Dr John played together at last year’s Bonnaroo OMORROW IS Monday. No matter how good or bad your festival. This was followed by Auerbach persuading the Nola weekend was, tomorrow is Monday. It’s been too many musician to get into the studio with him. It is an odd collaboradecades – far more than I would care to mention – since I tion – Dr John is known for his Mardi Gras-tinged flamboyance left school, but the tendency to malinger on Monday mornings still and his music is stamped with the typically New Orleans’ flavoured lingers in me every time that first working day of the week looms good-time spirit, while Auerbach is known for his anti-rock star ahead, precisely, invariably and without exception. So to dull the low profile and his band plays minimalist blues. Besides, Dr John blow of Monday mornings, I try to put together a playlist for my is 71 and Auerbach 32. commute to work, something to make it easier to But what an album they’ve created together! get back to the grind. Last week, I surveyed my According to the accounts that I’ve read, The latest haul of albums, songs and podcasts and Black Keys’ guitarist prevailed upon the zeroed in on something that I hoped would be a veteran musician to adopt a slightly more good antidote to the Monday morning blues, the improvisational approach to making the album new Best Coast album, The Only Place. rather than coming for recordings with his usual It was a good choice. Best Coast are a band practice of bringing in pre-written music and from Los Angeles, California, who make music songs. This has resulted in a deliciously unprethat is easy on the ears. I’d heard their first album, dictable collection of 10 songs on which both the Crazy for You, a couple of years back and had quite musicians depart from what they do in their liked the somewhat fuzzy, lo-fi sound and catchy day jobs. Auerbach’s low fidelity minimal blues songs with lyrics that weren’t taxing or profound. COME TOGETHER Crazy for You was full of endearing songs, sung Dr John collaborated with The Black rock and Dr John’s New Orleanian boogie-woovery well by Bethany Consentino in her nice and Keys’ guitarist Dan Auerbach to pro- gie are replaced with a polished, multi-layered warm-sounding voice. The other member of the duce his latest album, Locked Down sound that involves old organs, vibraphones, often muted yet occasionally flashy guitar riffs band, Bobb Bruno, is a multi-instrumentalist who and lyrics that address everything – from post-Katrina New creates music that may not put the band in the virtuoso category Orleans to downright political issues, as on the song Revolution. but makes it quite pleasing to listen to. On that first album, togethLocked Down is a funky, gritty, blues and R&B album that will er (the duo enlists other musicians, notably a drummer to comkeep you asking for more. On a Monday morning commute, it’s plete the band) they made music that was instantly appealing. what paired beautifully with what I started with, Best Coast. If On The Only Place, the second full-length album from Best Coast, the Californians helped ease me into the beginning of the week, the band’s songs are still catchy, the general mood sunny – on songs the Ohio bluesman and the legend from New Orleans such as the eponymous The Only Place, of course, which makes a promised to make the week a rocker. Now, to wait and see how case for California (I presume) as being, um, the only place to be, the next seven days unfold. but even on songs that have sadder lyrics, such as Why I Cry. Choosing Best Coast’s new album for the Monday morning playlist To give feedback, stream or download the music mentioned in was a good idea. This time around they have changed things a bit. this column, go to http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/ The music is less fuzzy and sharper. Consentino’s voice still download-central, follow argus48 on Twitter

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HOLDING BACK THE YEARS? I

T WAS William Shakespeare who famously wrote about the seven ages of man. “All the world’s a stage,” he proclaimed, “And all the men and women merely players.” To paraphrase the bard, we all start off as mewling infants, go on to become grubby schoolchildren, play lusty lovers, then become soldiers or men (and women) of business, until finally we descend into our second childhood “sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything”.

I know, depressing stuff, isn’t it? The thought that our best years will inevitably slip away from us; that life will eventually come full circle and we will end up as the mewling, helpless, dribbling creatures that we started off as (except that now instead of being petted and cosseted by our proud parents, we will be nursed by our resentful children and grandchildren).

Honestly, it doesn’t bear thinking about. And yet, that is the manifest destiny of each one of us, however much we try to hide from it. All of us are pre-ordained to recreate the seven stages of man (unless we are unfortunate enough to be struck down in our prime). We will have our chance to enjoy the carefree days of our childhood, where we don’t have to worry about anything other than the annual exams and a bit of schoolyard bullying. We will all have a crack at being teenagers, being ruled by our hormones and tormented by the occasional zit that will crop up at the worst possible time. We will have our youth, when we set out to conquer the world, with that fresh optimism and energy that only the very young possess. We will go on to marry, raise families, see them grow up, rejoice in their successes even as we mourn the loss of our own youth.

Ah, there’s the rub right there, isn’t it? The loss of our youth.

The only age that we seem to treasure these days is that time when our adult life is just unfurling in front of us, alive with possibilities and the promise of a better future. When our skin glows, our figures stay in shape with everything pointing in the right direction without any real effort on our part, and we have all our teeth. When we can read newspapers and menus without having to slip on a pair of glasses. When we can party late into the night and still make it to work early next day, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. When we have the belief that we can take on the world and win.

And such is our celebration of this period of our lives that we seem to have lost the ability to appreciate the other six stages as we focus all our attention on recapturing the one in which we were at our physical and mental prime.

Think about it. We were all blissfully happy as babies; oblivious to the cares of the world as children; our every need antici-

SEE THE BIG PICTURE

The only age that we seem to treasure is our youth... when we can read without a pair of glasses

We don’t really look young. We just look as if we are trying very hard (and oh yes, we are)

FOREVER YOUNG?

How long do you think it’s going to be before we realise that trying to cling on to our youth is rendering us ridiculous?

JUNE 10, 2012

Photos: THINKSTOCK

It’s time to say it out loud: We’re middle-aged and proud

Seema Goswami

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FACTS OF LIFE

We will have our chance to enjoy the carefree days of childhood, being ruled by hormones as teenagers; and our youth with energy that only the very young possess

pated; our every need fulfilled. Would we like to be transported back to the safe, secure world in which we believed that our parents could keep us from all harm? Of course we would.

But does that make us revert to pigtails and bloomers and run out into the playground, to see just how high we can make that swing really go? Of course not; we know that would make us seem ridiculous. As rational adults we recognise that clinging on to our childhood is just not a feasible enterprise. So, how long do you think it’s going to be before we realise that trying to cling on to our youth is rendering us just as ridiculous?

Well, I wouldn’t hold my breath, if I were you. Wherever I look around me, in my world of 30- and 40-somethings, I see a manic desire to slow down time, to hold back the years, to somehow freeze frame so that we always appear the way we want to: With the bloom of early youth just segueing into the wisdom and serenity of early middle age.

Of course, we don’t call it that. Middle age? Perish the thought.

We are in what we like to call our late youth, where 40 is the new 30 and everyone shies away from the prospect of turning 50 (or at the very least, admitting to it).

So, instead of embracing the changes that nature bestows upon us as we move into another stage of our lives, we try and hold back its ravages with every weapon at our command.

We colour our hair; we starve ourselves back into pre-pubescent shape; we exercise maniacally so that we have the toned bodies of the very young; we slather on the anti-ageing creams, the anti-cellulite potions and the under-eye serums; we Botox away the wrinkles that might give away just how far we have journeyed through life; we inject fillers to recreate the plump faces of our youth; and we dress as hip as we can possibly can. And yet, you know what? We don’t really look young. We just look as if we are trying very hard (and oh yes, we are).

So, it is really worth it in the end? Should we keep up the savage resistance against the worst depredations of nature? Or is it time to say it out loud: We are middle-aged and proud? seema_ht@rediffmail.com. Follow Seema on Twitter at twitter.com/seemagoswami

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HIGH NOTES

by Hoihnu Hauzel

Photo: M ZHAZO

‘Music Is Not The End Of Everything’

Shillong Chamber Choir founder Neil Nongkynrih imparts lessons in music and life

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HE SAPPING June heat doesn’t seem to perturb Neil Nongkynrih and his choir members as they perfect their octaves in Gurgaon’s plush Heritage City apartments, close to a mall.

Occasionally they walk across to catch evening shows at the multiplex.

Comfortable in tee and shorts, Nongkynrih, 42, has discovered an indulgence other than music. He plays tennis every evening. “It’s to get back to being fit,” he says with smile, even as he chews on a mouthful of organic betelnut called kwai in Khasi.

His kwai fix, packed neatly in a steel container, is kept right next to him so that he can easily reach out for it every now and then. In the same room, stacks of sheet music and music books are piled up on tables.

The choir members are busy. The girls are preparing lunch while the

boys are tidying up their rooms.

Nongkynrih has just been invited to represent India at the World Choir Council, an apex body of choral music made up of delegates from more than 70 countries representing at least 1,20,000 choirs.

And the man who founded and conducts the Shillong Chamber Choir, India’s most popular choir, is clear about his agenda. “In some ways, my role will be to make sure that India, at some stage, hosts the World Choir Games, considered the Olympics of choir music,” he says.

This July, the Shillong Chamber Choir has been invited to sing at the closing ceremony of the Games, in Cincinnati, USA. “Nothing would

have been possible without our prayers,” he says. The choir members, by the way, pray together every Wednesday and Sunday.

These days the choir is also working on four albums. Despite the heat, they make regular trips to the recording studio in Noida, and don’t miss a single practice session.

The four albums include Gospel (in six languages: English, Hindi, Khasi, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil); a patriotic album that will incorporate Nongkynrih’s version of Vande Mataram; a Khasi album with their famous song inspired by Indian trains; and a 60-minute album of his compositions.

Musically, Nongkynrih loves to

“Recording live with an audience adds to the soul of music”

JUNE 10, 2012

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

Neil Nongkynrih (in blue) with members of the Shillong Chamber Choir. They have now been invited to sing at the World Choir Games in the United States experiment. He is recording live with an audience to bring out the soul of music. “The beauty of music is to hear a slice of humaneness.

Recording with a live audience has its charm,” says Nongkynrih, “Otherwise, what you get is synthetic.”

MUSIC IN HIS VEINS

Born in Shillong in 1970, Nongkynrih learnt to play the piano at three. The youngest of five siblings, he grew up watching his sisters play the piano and took to playing the instrument without formal training.

He was considered a child prodigy and he made his musical debut in Shillong in 1976 at age six. (One of the

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OTHERS WHO WON THE WEST ■ Vishwa Mohan Bhatt: Best known as the creator of the Mohan Veena, he won a Grammy in 1994. The slide guitarist’s winning album was A Meeting By the River with American guitarist and composer Ry Cooder.

■ Zubin Mehta: The pioneer. He conducted the Vienna New Year’s Concert in 1990, 1995, 1998 and 2007.

He has also made a

people in the audience was Bhupen Hazarika, the late musical legend from Assam). After studying at St Edmunds School in Shillong till 1984, followed by two years at the British School in Delhi, Nongkynrih attended the Delhi School of Music to learn how to read notes. There, he jumped grades and in one year was promoted from grade one to eight.

At 15, Nongkynrih won a national level piano competition in Pune. He went to the venue to listen to contestants and had no intention of participating. But a friend wrote down his name as a contestant and he was called in to play. All that he remembers after being called on stage was that he played badly. The next day, he was surprised to discover that he had been declared the winner. It was then that his bureaucrat father was finally convinced that Nongkynrih needed a piano to practice in Delhi.

In London, Nongkynrih studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Trinity College, between 1988 and 2001. “I started with St James Piccadilly with a solo recital but I was never happy just playing the piano,” says Nongkynrih who even scripted a musical that was staged. “But one thing was clear: I never envisaged myself as a choral conductor,” he adds.

In 2001, the choir was formed and it grew organically over the years. “I never imagined that we would go this far. It has been a blessing,” he says.

Having performed in many parts of the world, including singing for the visiting American president Barack Obama in 2010, the choir’s journey has been remarkable; 2010 is also the year the choir won the television reality show India’s Got Talent, their first national-level victory.

recording of Ravi Shankar’s Sitar Concerto No. 2, with Shankar and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

■ AR Rahman: The composer, singer-songwriter and musician has won two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe and four National Film awards. This includes the Best Compilation soundtrack Grammy for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009 and best song written for a motion picture – Jai Ho – in the same film.

MENTOR AT WORK

Nongkynrih’s role isn’t limited to showing choir members the right musical path. “I can’t stand arrogance and I can smell it from a distance. Music is not the end of everything,” he says. “They must grow up to be good human beings. I have to be their example. I cannot say one thing and not do it. I take the role of their parents. My concern is also to get the elder ones married off.”

His seven-bedroom Shillong home resembles a gurukul where students learn a holistic way of life. Ask soprano singer Ibarisha Lyngdoh, one of the youngest members. She came as a nervous 12-year-old who gave her audition on a rainy day.

Today, at 19, she has travelled the world singing under her mentor’s guidance in different Indian languages as well as in foreign tongues.

Similarly Ryan Lamin, 17, who joined the group at 14, is now a prominent bass singer with his deep voice.

With success, the choir has grown in confidence. Though the members are from a non-Hindi speaking region, they took audiences by storm when they sang in Hindi. “In the beginning, I was unwilling to try it,” says Nongkynrih. “But once I did, there was no problem,” he admits.

Interestingly, the experiment took place during India’s Got Talent. They had come prepared with English and Khasi songs and were told to sing in Hindi. “We learnt in an hour’s time.

Then I realised that we could do wellknown Hindi songs. But I took that as a leitmotif to create a choral sound around it,” says Nongkynrih. “I would never do anything just like that. You have to go deep into the subject.”

It’s time for another round of kwai.

“I can’t stand arrogance and can smell it from a distance”

JUNE 10, 2012

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PERSONAL AGENDA

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Race car driver

Karun Chandhok if i could...

I’D FLY ON THE CONCORDE

SUN SIGN Capricorn

BIRTHDAY January 19

SCHOOL/ COLLEGE

Sishya Higher Secondary, Chennai

HOMETOWN PLACE OF BIRTH Chennai

Chennai

FIRST BREAK

HIGH POINT OF YOUR LIFE

National Racing Championship Racing in the 2000 Formula 1 in 2010

LOW POINT OF YOUR LIFE

Losing out on a victory in Monaco in 2009 when leading with eight laps to go

CURRENTLY DOING

Racing for JRM Racing in the World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24-hour race, driving the Honda Performance Development ARX-03a

RACE AT THE MONACO GP EVERY YEAR TILL I DIE

OWN A HOUSE IN ITALY

Photos: THINKSTOCK

HAVE ANOTHER GERMAN SHEPHERD AS A PET

Have you ever been given a speeding How would you explain Twitter to your ticket? grandmother?

Yes, in France, when I was a bit I did! People’s random late for a flight. thoughts, opinions and The last line of your autobiography ramblings in 140 characters. would read?

The one place where you would never A lesson from me: Assumption get yourself tattooed? is the mother of all Nowhere! I don’t screw ups! understand why WHAT ICE One song that describes people have tattoos.

CREAM WOULD If a spaceship landed in your current state of YOU BE? mind? your backyard, what It’s my life by Bon Jovi. would you do?

What would we find in Look for my old VHS your fridge right now? tapes of the TV show Alf and see what that Greek salad, apple family did! juice, milk, bread, The most clichéd answer eggs, Chinese chilli you’ve ever given in an paste, chicken curry interview? and leftover dal.

I don’t answer with You wouldn’t be caught cliches. dead wearing…

The most overrated Tight white jeans.

Coffee – something to wake you up!

JUNE 10, 2012

movie/book?

The Descendants.

Your most irrational fear…

Birds. I’m terrified of them.

The one lie you got away with?

I was in a traffic jam – I use that way too often when I am late.

If you could peep into anyone’s house, whose house would it be?

Hugh Hefner’s.

What is your favourite drink?

Coffee in the morning, red wine at night and sparkling water for everything in between.

Where was your last vacation?

Our family home in the hills of Kodaikanal.

First racing car?

Formula Maruti.

Your favourite Bollywood actresses?

Kajol and Priyanka Chopra.

— Interviewed by Aasheesh Sharma