WEEKLY MAGAZINE, JANUARY 12, 2014 Free with your copy of Hindustan Times
NEPAL’S OUT OF THE CLOSET
Not only has it legalised homosexuality, it might be on its way to recognising same-sex marriage. A look at an alternative reality in a land just across the border
4
BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS
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Photo: NIRANJAN SHRESTHA
school mess. I took to Twitter, and helpful suggestions of ‘an outing to Pokhara valley’, ‘a trip to the casino’ and ‘must visit to Rum-Doodle’ poured in. But two different propositions from a man from Bangladesh and another from Tibet later, my enthusiasm was wiped out. On my last evening there, I decided to look for at least one memorable lonelytraveller experience. A turn away was a tiny eating joint, sunk slightly in the ground and lit by candles, owing to 10-hour power cuts. That moment, sitting at the edge of the road, listening to Florence And The Machine in a darkness made ethereal by candlelight, came to define Nepal for me.
Said The Men In White Coats
LOVE IT
n All those #100DaysofHappi-
ness photos
n When Tokyo’s envoy to
London compared Beijing to Lord Voldemort n Watching Sholay on the big screen (and listening to all middle-aged people outside the movie theatre say, "Maine toh college mein, Sholay dus baar hall mein dekhi thi!") n When non-geeks understand science jokes n Masters of Sex
by @HTBrunch
Party food we never want to see again n Insipid chicken kebab (or paneer tikka) with a capsicum stuck in front on the toothpick, because it’s rarely made well. And no one has eaten it since the Nineties. n Biryani as the only main course with paper plates and plastic forks. Picnicware and
one-dish parties are for college kids and potheads. Grow up, people! n Potato smileys and other fried aloo snacks. Especially when they’re the only thing for vegetarians. n Virgin Mojito Make up your mind, whether you want to drink or fake it!
Shortcut To Smart
SHOVE IT by Neyaz Farooquee
Are you reading as much as you’d like? Even if you read for 15 minutes befor before bedtime, or a couple of hours ev every weekend, or every time you’re in the metro metr or local, you can easily read two books a month. So how about aiming for 24 books this year?
Presenting BOOK CHALLENGE NCH BRU THE The idea is to read 24 books in 2014. And tweet the about your progress. Tag @HTBrunch using hashtag #BrunchBookChallenge (which was trending on Twitter last Sunday!) and join the challenge (we already have more than 200 people participating)!
n Bizarre New Year resolutions
(an American woman ate and drank nothing but Starbucks for all of 2013) n Veena Malik making news n The idea of Salman Khan hosting a social causes show on TV (expected next year) n Candy Crush Saga requests on Facebook n Multiple birthday phone calls at midnight (unless of course there are none)
CH B O UN
SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTL LITTLE TIME...
HOW TO READ HA LLENG 24 BOOKS ) (OR MORE AR E Y IN ONE C
Nepal is as easy to travel alone as it’s difficult. I had trouble hailing cabs at night and felt terribly alone as I spent Christmas in a café. The days would go eating dust in the bylanes of Kathmandu; the evenings became a challenge. The first evening, our photographer Niranjan Shrestha took me out, the second escalated into me having dinner in a restaurant that served excellent steak but looked like a
by Saudamini Jain
OK
A LESSON ON TRAVELLING SOLO
On The Brunch Radar
E
by Yashica Dutt
BR
Brunch Opinion
Read anything you like – bestsellers, critically acclaimed titles, indie books, classics, self-help, self-published, old favourites or even racy trash – just keep us posted. And we’re in this together. We’ll tell you what we’re reading, what’s new, and if it’s a good time to revisit something old. We’ll tweet about our progress and you tweet about yours. (Tag @ HTBrunch using the hashtag #BrunchBookChallenge). Tell us what you’re reading, whether it’s any good, if a character is getting on your nerves or even how to make the perfect reading cuppa... Follow @ We’re trying to put together some goodies for those who HTBrunch can keep up with the challenge. So here’s to a year with some great books. Happy reading!
Woo the ladies with these cheesy Urdu lines
Photos: THINKSTOCK, SHUTTERSTOCK
Awful, we know. But something about the most charming language of the subcontinent makes ’em giggle
“Waqt kuch aisa hai ki Google Maps bhi kaafi nahi hai aapki aankho se bahar aane ke liye”
“Ye kya dekh raha hoon main yahaan? Mohtarma, main jannat me aa gaya hoon kya?”
“Suna hai aapka dil bahut bada hai. Is khoye hue musafir ko agar jageh mil jaye, mohtarma, toh ...?”
“Kahin meri nigaah jawab na de de, maalik ki iss naqqashi ko dekh ke”
“Maaf kijiyega, aapki aankhon mein kuch hai. Aah, fir se maafi chahta hoon, yeh to sitara chamak raha hai”
“Aaj main ek gunaah karna chah raha hoon. Aapka dil churana hai”
“Is jaam ki kasam, maikhana sharma jaaye apko dekh ke” “Apni jaan toh main jannat ki un hooron ke liye de doon, lekin mujhe yakeen hai unmain woh baat nahi hogi”
“Apki muskurahat sardiyon ke aftab maanind hai” “Maine aaj shayari ki ahemiyat seekh li”
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Cover photo: NIRANJAN SHRESTHA Location: DURBAR SQUARE, KATHMANDU Cover design: MONICA GUPTA
JANUARY 12, 2014
Stuff You Said Last Sunday
men have had Wow! These wo had no idea!!! I ! es quite the liv – Nishi Gupta
Loved the whole issue of today #HTBRUNCHMak! MyDay :) @HTB esrunch <3 – @ShivaniManek 31
INTERVIEWING BLESS YOU FOR l Agenda)!!! na rso Pe ( IR NB RA dair – @finnickwoah
Who finds Arjun Kap oor hot?? Kya yaar? – @aradhikamehta
["Arre, Aradhika! That beard, beard!" – Shreya, Brunch stafthat fer and Arjun Kapoor fan girl]
EDITORIAL: Poonam Saxena (Editor), Aasheesh Sharma, Rachel Lopez, Tavishi Paitandy Rastogi, Mignonne Dsouza, Veenu Singh, Parul Khanna, Yashica Dutt, Amrah Ashraf, Saudamini Jain, Shreya Sethuraman
DESIGN: Ashutosh Sapru (National Editor, Design), Monica Gupta, Swati Chakrabarti, Payal Dighe Karkhanis, Rakesh Kumar, Ajay Aggarwal
@HTBrunch lists its bets for the cast if ever a remake of #Sholay was made. Some thoughtful choices indeed! – Archit Sareen
Psst, send us an email, find us on on Facebook or tweet to @HTBrunch
Drop us a line at: brunchletters@hindustantimes. com or to 18-20 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001
6
WELLNESS
MIND BODY SOUL For any worries related to unplanned pregnancy: Write to us at consumercare@piramal.com or call us at 1800-22-0502 (toll free) or sms ICAN to 56070 Website: www.i-canhelp.in
1 . D e a r D o c t o r, I h a d intercourse on the 20th day of my cycle and took an emergency contraceptive pill the next day. My periods are delayed by 3 days. Am I pregnant? Is there a chance that these pills fail if we take them little late? Moreover, can pregnancy occur on 20th Day? A period delay is common after taking emergency contraceptive pills. You should wait for couple of more days for your periods to start. Generally, periods should begin on the expected date or around a week’s time from the expected date. In the event that you do not get your period even after 10 days from the expected date, we suggest you contact a gynaecologist. If you have a short cycle of less than 28 days, then chances of pregnancy is quite low on the 20th day. If you have a cycle longer than 30 days, then there is a possibility that you ovulated on the 20th day. As a rule tracking safe days is not a reliable or recommended contraception method. However, chances of pregnancy are low as you took the emergency contraceptive pill within the prescribed 72 hours. Please use regular contraception and have safe sex if you are not planning for pregnancy. 2. Dear Doctor, I am getting married next month and would like to know that can I opt for withdrawal method as a safe contraceptive measure? Withdrawal method is not a
very effective method of contraception as even a tiny bit of fluid carries the potential to cause pregnancy. It is always better that one opt for regular contraception if they are not planning for a baby. When you have a plethora of contraceptive options available with you, then why take risks? We recommend that you consult a gynaecologist and discuss family planning options with her. She will surely be able to prescribe the best contraceptive option suitable for you and your wife. 3. Dear Doctor, my husband had a condom failure recently, but since we both had not climaxed there was no ejaculation. In this situation should I have consumed an emergency contraceptive pill? Do you think I am safe? Emergency contraceptive pills can be consumed when you suspect a condom failure. If taken within 72 hours, emergency contraceptive pills are effective. In your case, even if you did not reach the end of intercourse, it would have been a good decision to take an emergency contraceptive pill as the pre-ejaculate semen may also contain sperms. Please do follow the instruction of using a condom as mentioned on the pack to eliminate condom failures.
SHIKHA SHARMA
THE NEW ‘NORMAL’ Why should we rely on foods high on toxins and low on nutrition?
M
ANY TIMES I have heard people ask when they can return to their ‘normajority mal diets’. This essentially of orders in means they wish to eat certain restaurants were hamburgers types of food they’re used to – (annual consumption 13 billion), food that is normal for them. French fries and pizza (almost This makes me curious. 23 pounds a year, per person). What is normal, after all? Is a Today, even in our cities, balanced eating pattern that most lunches in corporate cafés gives nourishment, health and or institutes are instant taste to the body, ‘normal’? Or, noodles. is it the cultural The next legacy of eating unhealthy level is habits dictated by our when convenience marfamilies, culture and ries low cost. Superdemography? markets have a host of To highlight the benefits, but the flip side problem with ‘normal’, is that the majority of let me take you through products are low-cost, eating patterns over the years. The ‘normal’ two USE YOUR NOODLE convenient and readydecades ago was eating Many people opt to eat to-eat. far less sugar, far more instant noodles despite their low nutritive value BREAK THE NORM fibre and natural foods, So, it appears, the new ‘normal’ and very little trans fats. Most is foods having high-calorie meals were cooked at home and density, low fibre, low nutrition were the main source of nutrivalue, high unhealthy fats, very tion. Today in metros, fewer high sugar, high amount of hormeals are cooked at home and mones, chemicals and preservathe majority of nutrition comes tives and low water levels. from noodles, soft drinks and These foods create toxins biscuits. The hidden forces in the body and in the environguiding decisions are convenment. Exercise is now counted ience, cost and price. in minutes and steps and not IS IT HEALTHY? hours. So in the new ‘normal’ A US study came up with a starscheme of things, the human tling fact that despite a host of of the future will have a large gourmet cuisines being brain, weak and lean availmuscles, no hair, BAN THE BUN Despite many choices, able, disproportionately most Americans still the big backs and bulging choose hamburgers abdomens. It’s time to reflect if the new normal is the normal we desire. Or the normal we end up with. ask@drshikha.com
Queries answered by Dr Nirmala Rao MBBS, MD, DPM; a well known psychiatrist who heads Mumbai based Aavishkar - a multifaceted team of expert doctors and health professionals. Aavishkar has a comprehensive approach to mental and physical health, with an emphasis scan this QR code to visit website on counselling and psychotherapy. Supported by:
Photos: THINKSTOCK
MORE ON THE WEB For more columns by Dr Shikha Sharma and other wellness stories, log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch JANUARY 12, 2014
8
COVER STORY
The success of Nepal’s rainbow movement has made it the sub-continent’s most gay-friendly destination by Yashica Dutt, photos by Niranjan Shrestha
H
IS EYES are tiny and piercing, with a gaze that doesn’t trust easily. Shadowed by the pink mask covering his mouth, they are all one sees of his face. “This is Balram.” The inky dusk spills around his long, straight hair and settles under his eyes in dark pools. His eyes dart between Mahesh and me. “He works for Pink Triangle and distributes condoms to people who come to Ratna Park on Saturdays,” Mahesh tells me. Mahesh is a gay university student and we are at Ratna Park, which is located smack in the middle of a busy, polluted street in Kathmandu, and is a well-known ‘cruising spot’ for gays, transgenders and rarely, lesbians. Couples, single men, and groups of young boys feverishly and unremittingly pace the length and breadth of the park, looking for companionship, dates or sex. “Hi, you are from India? I have been there, stayed in Pune for three years. Much easier to find boys there. They approached me all the time,” says Balram as Mahesh and I settle down on the cemented railings that border the park. “We come here to meet new people and hang out. There is no other place for us to go, no gay bars or parties.” A small group has gathered around us, coaxed by Mahesh, who works for the Blue Diamond Society – Nepal’s pioneering LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) rights organisation, which has played a central role in giving this small country of approximately 27 million one of the most successful LGBT movements in the world.
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Queen of hills is also the queen of many a heart. We spoke to some prominent people to find out what makes them call Mussoorie home by Prachi Raturi Misra
GBT rights are not the most accessible in our part of the world. While India re-criminalised homosexuality with the Supreme Court upholding Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code last December, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives don’t recognise same-sex sexual activity either. Nepal is the only country in the region which not only permits homosexuality but whose Supreme Court has also ruled against archaic laws that discriminate against homosexuals. It is even considering the formulation of laws to legalise same-sex marriage. No mean feat for a fledgling democracy which is still languishing somewhere near the bottom end of the human development index. In 2007, the Nepal Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling when it mandated that the government abolish laws that discriminate on
NOTHING TO HIDE HERE
Biswaraj (left) and Yuvraj (right) are gay but not a couple. Durbar Square, Kathmandu, where the shoot took place, is often filled with same-sex couples JANUARY 12, 2014
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RAKISH CHARM WINS ALL
Bishnu Adhikari is a 25-year-old transgender man – born a woman, he now has the gender identity of a man – who loves it when his friends address him as ‘oye hero!’ He is seen here at the roof of the Blue Diamond Society’s (Nepal’s pioneering LGBT rights organisation) building, where he hosts a radio show on LGBT relationships the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, instituted the formation of a committee to study same-sex marriage laws across the world and recognised a self-identified third gender category, marked as ‘other’ on official documents. A watershed moment in the struggle for LGBT rights in the region and across the world, it made Nepal something of a haven for sexual minorities. The much-publicised lesbian wedding of a couple from the US took place in the Himalayan nation in 2011. There have been a few Hindu gay weddings here too, where grooms have travelled from across the world, including India. Manvendra Singh Gohil, a royal from Rajpipla, Gujarat, was reportedly planning to get married in Nepal, as published in The Sydney Morning Herald. From being India’s once-favourite honeymoon destination, the country is possibly now our favourite gay destination.
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s silhouettes turn greyer, the chatter of people around us settles down to a steady hum. A fruity laugh penetrates the darkness, and a boyish, slim figure in jeans and hooded sweatshirt comes up. “Main Mohini hoon… You can call me Mohan also. I have come here to date boys, not to find a boyfriend, only boys.” He sits a few railings away from us, fishes out a half-squeezed tube of Fair and Handsome and a gilded hand mirror, and begins applying the cream carefully on his face. “You’ll see… in a few minutes, I’ll become beautiful like Mohini,” he says with a smile that refuses to leave his face. “We call her Mohini mummy, she is very strong. Fights with the cops or men if she has to. But right now, it’s not unsafe here.
In 2007, the Supreme Court of Nepal established a third gender identity, which appeared as an option in the recent 2011 census You should not be scared,” a couple from the group says, probably noticing my apprehensive expression. By the time she finishes applying the shiny pink lipstick and coats her lashes expertly with mascara, Mohan does become Mohini, and a stunning Mohini at that. One man passing by slows down in response to her singing Tu Mera Hero and inches up to her. That’s our cue to exit. Mahesh nudges me, indicating that we should leave before it gets completely dark. “She runs a small business, a hostel I think. She doesn’t need to get paid for sex. But maybe she sees nothing wrong with it. It’s a great way to date, have fun and get paid for it too,” he says as we step onto the dusty, crowded streets of Kathmandu.
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epal, a one-time Hindu monarchy, became a secular democracy only in 2006, following a revolutionary decade-long Jan Aandolan. “It was the most inclusive time of our nation’s history. The agenda of inclusion and representation of all minorities – ethnic,
PINK AND POLITICS DO MIX
Bhumika Shrestha, born a boy, was teased for being a feminine child. She grew up to win Miss Pink, a transgender beauty contest, and recently joined politics JANUARY 12, 2014
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COVER STORY
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HEY GOOD LOOKING!
Simran Sherchan, a transgender woman, has recently started dating a man, who she thinks is bisexual. Very much in love, she is willing to ‘jump from a water tank’ for him. Her medicine cabinet is filled with hormones and pills to make her skin glow like a woman’s. She is preparing to enroll for a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology
THEY CALL HER PINKY ‘MUMMY’
Pinky Gurung is a transgender woman (born a man, identifies as a woman) and the current president of Blue Diamond Society. Her family loves and accepts her for who she is but she reveals that it’s been a tough struggle for her and her country to accept sexual minorities
Photo: CORBIS
religious, linguistic and sexual – became embedded in the mainstream political narrative of the country,” says Akhilesh Upadhyay, editorin-chief of Kathmandu Post, one of the largest English dailies in the country. “Everyone – be it the Dalits, the Muslims, women or sexual minorities – came forward to demand their due place in the country.” Riding on the liberal wave that had swept the nation, Sunil Babu Pant, the founder of the Blue Diamond Society, became Nepal’s first openly gay member of parliament in 2008. “When I walked into parliament, quite a few were shocked. They didn’t know how I looked so normal. I would often give presentations on gender identity and sexuality and there was a lot of curiosity about the issues. They would ask me if transgender individuals had genitals or what was the use of sex which couldn’t lead to procreation. It was all discussed very openly,” said Pant, in an interview over Skype (he was in England at the time).
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f Pant gave presentations to ministers, Bhumika Shrestha, a 27-year-old transgender woman (men who identify as women), was elected as a representative of the Nepali Congress Party in the last election. Post the historic ruling of 2007, the 2011 census was conducted with an option that allowed people to identify themselves as a third gender. Shrestha has identified herself a woman since she was 14. Dressed in a leopard print dress, kneelength boots, on-trend orange lipstick, metallic eyeshadow and hair in a chic topknot, she looks straight out of a Nepali street-style blog. With a slight Mean Girls edge – a Hollywood film based on a pack of high school queen bees – to her personality, it’s easy to see why she was crowned the first Miss Pink Nepal in 2007, a beauty contest for transgender individuals organised by the Blue Diamond Society. “I always felt like a girl, even though my passport
JANUARY 12, 2014
It was in 2008, that Sunil Babu Pant, the founder of Blue Diamond Society, became the first openly gay member of parliament
LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX-UALITY
Sunil Babu Pant, Nepal’s first openly gay lawmaker, shocked many members of parliament. He would often give them ad-lib presentations on gender issues
said Kailash till some time ago,” she says. “I didn’t understand issues like gender identity back then. I was constantly teased with names like hijra and I felt very alone. Then I joined the Blue Diamond Society where I understood my rights and got recognition. My mother was initially confused about my identity but now understands me and has helped sensitise people around us, once even on national television.” With silicone breast implants from Thailand, daily doses of hormones and Liv-52 and a weekly roster of facials and massages, Shrestha is a mini celebrity in her country. Apart from several television interviews and articles, she was in the Nepali film Highway, similar to Bollywood’s Bombay Talkies, with a storyline revolving around a homosexual relationship. Miss Pink is not the only event on the LGBT annual calendar. Mr Handsome (a beauty pageant for gay men), the LGBT Olympics (an
event of multi-sport games for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community), along with the Gay Parade are events that encourage the community’s visibility on social platforms. Biswaraj Adhikari, a 24-year-old gay man who lives with his boyfriend and his mother in Kathmandu, won Mr Handsome in 2013. “I am male, not a girl. I just like boys,” he says staring unblinkingly into the eye of the photographer’s camera when I inquire about his gender identity. This stone-cold confidence, which perhaps won him the crown, came after years of depression and loneliness, when he was forced to leave his home town Hetauda and settle in Kathmandu, even though his parents had accepted his sexual orientation. “I wasn’t out of the closet then and was almost raped by a man. I couldn’t go to the police for help and somehow everyone around came to know about it. My family was constantly traumatised with hurtful comments. I had to leave town for their peace of mind.” He visits them sometimes, but is careful to stay indoors even though things are different now. “I am lucky to be in Nepal, where it’s not a crime to like someone from your own sex. But the society still needs to understand that.” Biswaraj
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COVER STORY
Photo: GETTY IMAGES
WHO IS THE HANDSOMEST OF THEM ALL?
Mr Handsome is an annual beauty pageant organised for gay men. The contenstants are judged on the basis of their looks, confidence, ramp walk and diction wants to move to Australia, where his Zumba trainer boyfriend will be working soon.
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epal’s rainbow stripes are leaving footprints across the globe, but its deep-rooted patriarchal mindset makes the struggle for LGBT women that much more arduous. Lesbians face struggles of education, employment and forced marriages more than men. Transgender men (women who identify as men) are also bitterly opposed when they assume male identities. When Bishnu Adhikari, a 25-year-old transgender man, identified with the identity of a man, his family was vehemently against it. “I wanted to play with boys, since I felt like one of them. But after I attained puberty, my family forbade me from hanging out with them, even though I wasn’t attracted to men and wouldn’t get pregnant.” A few years ago, he fell in love with a girl, but her family forcibly got her married elsewhere. She contacted him recently through a radio programme run by the Blue Diamond Society – Geetikatha: success stories of gay, lesbian and transgender couples – which Bishnu hosts. “She said she was happy for me and that I was finally getting to live the way I wanted to. My family is now okay with my gender identity. They even call me ‘chora’, ‘babu’, and my friends often address me as, ‘oye hero’. It feels nice.” Reticent to speak about his current love life, he later admitted to dating a girl but disclosed that her family thinks it’s just a close friendship between two women.
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esbian love remains the most forbidden of all LGBT relationships, even in Nepal. Reports of mental torture, physical abuse and threats to their life and safety routinely crop up in local newspapers. As a result, most of them reportedly choose to not come out. While some are forcibly wed into unhappy un-
JANUARY 12, 2014
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Photo: AP
ions rife with domestic violence, a few resort to a life of drugs and depression with little control over their finances or circumstances. Eight years ago, Deepa (name changed on request) was 20 when she was tried for being a lesbian in the army and maintaining a relationship with a transgender man, who was her senior officer. “My crime was my sexual orientation. My partner and I were charged for a petty offense and jailed for 45 days without adequate access to food, water or sunlight and tortured mentally to verify whether I was a lesbian. My parents got to know of my sexuality from the newspaper reports, and that time they were just concerned about our safety.” Extending the relationship, she now lives in with her partner and her family has finally approved of their couplehood. They routinely visit each other’s parents for dinners and lead a normal couple’s life. “I often get teased by his family, like a girl would get from a boy’s. We are happy. But I want to get married now and I am certain that the new law will get passed soon, after which we’ll be able to wed legally.” With separate toilets for its third gender, a box that says ‘other’ on some documents (such as the application form for a mobile phone connection or papers to rent trekking gear) and the official census, a portion of its economic budget allocated to LGBT rights, and detailed manifestos on their rights included in the agendas of most political parties, Nepal’s rainbow movement is already the most successful in South Asia. But much is lost in translation.
“I am lucky to be in Nepal, where it’s not a crime to like someone from your own sex. But society still needs to understand that”
THE GIRL IN THE RED DRESS
Transgender women wait through the year to participate in Miss Pink, a beauty contest for the community. Dresses are specially brought for it from Thailand Progressive laws alone don’t ensure change and society needs to catch up more, even though a chain reaction is already in process. Vienna, an Austrian woman who owns a bar in the popular tourist area, Thamel in Kathmandu, says the difference is palpable. “A few years ago, it was rare to see transgenders, gays and lesbians out openly. Now they are increasingly surer of themselves and that’s great.” With little education and limited skills, earning a livelihood is difficult. Though nonprofit organisations like the Blue Diamond Society provide considerable employment to the community (almost five lakh LGBT individuals are directly involved with the organisation across the country), there is an estimated unofficial count of 35 lakh plus LGBT individuals in Nepal according to some reports. Prostitution becomes the only resort for many transgender individuals. Vulnerable to threats, some individuals are still subject to arbitrary violence and attacks. According to the Human Rights Watch, “An uptick in police crackdowns on LGBT people has resulted in expensive fines and prolonged detention.”
I
t’s my last day in Nepal and we are at Durbar Square, Kathmandu, shooting our cover picture. The two gay men posing for us are in a corner, giggling at their phones. “This is his boyfriend, cute no? But not my type,” says one. “Who’s your type?” I was curious. “I like John Abraham and Salman Khan. Maybe I’ll come to India to meet them. But they need to make us legal first.” Their nervous laughter hangs thicker than mist in the cold air, long after they have left. yashica.dutt@hindustantimes.com. Follow @YashicaDutt on Twitter
MORE ON THE WEB For more images of Nepal’s LGBT movement, log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch
14
FINE PRINT
Booked & Hooked
THE BIG DADDY
The litfest season is here. Jaipur set the ball rolling, now there are more than 50 litfests in the country. What accounts for this rash of literary carnivals? by Jaya Bhattacharji Rose
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ATTEND LITERARY festivals to meet authors, introduce my four-year-old twin sons to famous people, and inculcate a sense of reading culture in them,” says Umesh Dubey, a first-generation entrepreneur who began taking his family to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) last year. A literary festival can be defined as a space where writers and readers meet, usually an annual event in a city or as “literature in performance”. Must-have elements include panel discussions with a healthy mix of new and seasoned writers, Q&As with the audience, author signing sessions, workshops related to writing and publishing, book launches, bookstores, a food court, and entertainment in the evenings. And – hopefully – intellectually stimulating conversations, a relaxed ambience, picturesque setting, good weather (no dry days!), and networking possibilities. In India, literary festivals came into vogue with the astounding success of Jaipur Literature Festival, which began in 2007. The timing was right, soon after the
SHARP FOCUS
Niche litfests such as Bookaroo (below) and ComicCon (right) have taken the litfest concept a step further
Christmas holidays/ winter break, in January, when Rajasthan is a favourite tourist destination. Attending the festival in the Diggi Palace Grounds, chatting with authors most readers have only admired from afar while sipping the hot Diggi chai in earthen cups, listening to crackling good conversations, and as darkness descends, hearing the musicians who will perform... it made for quite a heady experience. And if at any point you got weary of the crowds and the conversations, you could always step out as a tourist and explore Jaipur. This basic template has begun to be emulated across the country. According to the Jaipur Litfest producer, Sanjoy Roy, the intention is to create “a democratic access system of first-come-first-seated where we treat everyone as our guests and do not make a fuss over VIPs. The colour and design create a sense of an Indian mela.” Of course prior to JLF, India did have a fair share of literary “festivals” like Ajeet Caur’s SAARC Literature Festivals, but admittedly none were on a fabu-
lous scale, nor were they open to the public. So what explains the runaway success of today’s literature festivals? Says poet K Satchidanadan, “There is a whole urban and semi-urban middle class youth eager to meet authors and listen to them in a festive atmosphere. The publishers are interested in releasing their books there and having their authors on the platform. The authors are interested in meeting other authors and also readers. Cities also get to be on the literary map of India with such celebrations.” Ananth Padmanabhan, senior vice-president, sales, Penguin India, says, “With social media dominating mind space, festivals are a great place to sit back and connect readers to writers; such an engagement opportunity was lacking.” In fact, festival-hopping has resulted in a modernday phenomenon of the festival junkie: People who move from festival to festival.
Litfests are great for authors and readers. But do they help in pushing sales?
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f late the Indian economy may have been in the doldrums but there is no denying that post-liberalisation, more and more people have disposable income, they want to invest in culture and what better way than to make it a family outing? It is a democratic patronage of the arts. It is also a reflection of how much India is becoming a writing culture rather than a reading culture. Arshia Sattar, who through San-
The Jaipur Litfest (above and far right), which began in 2007, set the trend for literary festivals across the country gam House organises the Lekhana Literary Weekend near Bangalore and is also jury member, DSC Award for Literature 2014, says, “My concern is that we are moving further away from ‘literature’ and closer to writing. I think if we had fewer ‘festivals’ and if they had a focus rather than being all things to all people (which is probably what their sponsors want in terms of ‘footfalls’) . . .we might see people stepping out to literary events with dedication.” Thomas Abraham, CEO, Hachette India, says, “There is not a single real benefit any festival brings to a publisher. And there are a number of cons – it costs a lot to get your author up there for almost no returns on investment, and zero promotional benefit. “Yes, if you switch off the business aspect, for the audience it’s a great platform to see your favourite authors, and for authors a great platform to cross-commune with other writers. For editors it’s a good networking and ideas engagement opportunity. But in terms of sales or author brand building, go back to every single festival and put down the authors and their titles and see the impact of either media coverage or sales, and you’ll see not one has moved beyond their earlier levels. Some very successful (read great stage performances) sessions do result in immediate brisker sales at the venue bookshop, but even those are minimal – anything between 30 copies to 100 copies.” Adds Diya Kar Hazra, publisher, trade, Bloomsbury, “There are so many literary festivals these days. Writers are expected to do more than just write these days – they blog, they tweet, they have pages on FB. They appear at festivals and events reading from their books and having conversations with fellow writers. The reader–writer relationship has changed, as a result. Authors are much more accessible than they ever were.”
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STAR VALUE
Actress Sharmila Tagore in conversation with journalist and author Rauf Ahmed at the Taj Literary Festival (above)
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uthor Shovon Chowdhury who released his debut novel, The Competent Authority, earlier this year says that attending literary festivals “feels good. You feel special. I’m not jaded yet, so I enjoy it. I also love meeting lots of interesting people, including some super-intelligent ones. It gives me a dose of much needed perspective and humility. Plus there’s free meals.” An attractive feature of a literary festival is the free entry. This requires the festival management to scour for private sponsors, funds and collaborations that will help in putting together the extravaganza and these could be either in money or in kind. In many cases, corporate houses are willing to assist with sponsorship for the brand visibility and media
coverage. Recently tourism departments and state governments have partnered with festivals which is understandable given the positive impact festivals can have on the local economy. For instance, in a dipstick survey the JLF management did last year, it was estimated that approximately `20 crores of additional spend could be attributed to JLF in Jaipur on account of accommodation, restaurant and shopping. Even this is set to change. The inaugural edition of the Pune International Literature Festival had ticketed entry. Comic Con too proposes to sell tickets in 2014. The buzz around festivals is tremendous. But the bubble may soon burst as has happened with book launches. People will get weary of them if they happen too often. They will lose their charm for various reasons. As writer Ravi Subramanian points out, “The divisions between the literary and
commercial authors are becoming apparent at these festivals.” Second, most of the festivals are conducted predominantly in English, though slowly this too is changing, to reflect and represent the local languages and the international participants. Many writers have begun to feel bored and disillusioned with these festivals that often sustain and strengthen the hierarchies among writers, dividing them into “stars” and ordinary writers. Even the most ordinary Indian English writers acquire “stardom” while the best of language writers are often timefillers invited most often to show that they too are represented. Over the years the festivals have come to align themselves before and after the December/ Christmas holidays, making it easier for authors to mark their presence at more than one event. The length and dates of the festivals are also determined by collaborating partners. In fact Surya Rao, director, Hyderabad Literary Festival, says, “We avoid a clash of dates with other major lit festivals because we check the dates of other fests.” Maybe Indian festival organisers will collaborate with each other as happens in other countries like Australia. brunchletters@hindustantimes.com
SEPTEMBER 26, 2014
JUST HOW MANY KINDS OF LITFESTS ARE THERE? There are so many literary festivals being organised in India that one has to create some sort of “classification”. For instance, festivals that have stood the test of time of a minimum period of three years, grown in popularity (as measured by increasing audience participation), established a brand in their name and proven to be sustainable in terms of sponsorship would probably be at the top of the list. These would be the major milestones in the festival calendar – Jaipur, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and the Sahitya Akademi’s Festival of Letters. Then there is what could be termed as a “sub-genre” – that is, equally strong brands, dealing with genres of literature which are not necessarily given sufficient space for intense engagement, such as Bookaroo (children’s literature), ComicCon (comics and graphic novels), Samanvay (Indian languages), Cultures of Peace: Festival of the Northeast (Women and Human Rights), Poetry with Prakriti (poems), Mussoorie Writers Festival (mountain and travel writing) and Lekhana (a long literary weekend). Finally there are the relatively new festivals that are as yet to establish themselves, but people are already familiar with them – Bangalore, Kasauli, Shillong, Agra, Lucknow, Benaras, Patna, Bhubhaneswar, Chandigarh and Pune. And there are still more being organised.
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BRUNCH DATE
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IMON SINGH is one of the most well-known science writers in the world. The 49-year-old has a PhD in Particle Physics from Cambridge, he’s a former CERN physicist, he’s made fantastic documentaries (his 1996 film Fermat’s Last Theorem, about one of the most difficult mathematical problems, won a BAFTA for the best documentary). He then wrote his bestselling book, Fermat’s Last Theorem (1997). He co-authored Trick or Treatment?: Alternative Medicine on Trial (2008), which, interestingly, got him sued for libel – but he won. His latest book, The Simpsons And Their Mathematical Secrets is about advanced mathematics in The Simpsons (that’s right, the hilarious animated series about the dysfunctional American fictional family, the Simpsons). Turns out, some of the writers of the series are math geeks and have been smuggling complex mathematics into the show more often than you would believe. Even more interestingly, he’s Indian. His grandfather – originally from a village in Punjab – migrated to Britain in 1938. (His parents moved there in 1950). England is where he was born and grew up. He came to India the first time when he was eight – they couldn’t afford to visit sooner. We met him earlier this week. Excerpts from the interview:
Simon Says
Simon Singh has written bestselling books on maths and science. In his latest, he points out how The Simpsons is full of advanced mathematics by Saudamini Jain
They wanted you to apologise. But you spent £3,00,000 on the case! Why didn’t you just say sorry?
I won the case, so the other side had to pay nearly all my costs. But for a very long time, I thought I was going to lose because the initial judge said I was wrong. And I had to appeal three times. Chiropractors, they believe that the health of everything in your body is dictated by your spine, so if your spine is slightly wrong it will give you asthma, diabetes, ear infections. It’s the most ridiculous thing! So I said it is stupid and irresponsible. They target children! So if I apologise, then I’m saying that “Oh, actually this does work.” And that’s not true.
What made you write the book?
But that’s still a lot of money to risk!
I tried to identify all the examples of mathematics in The Simpsons. So I had a big database. I tried to pick the most interesting parts, something about the history of mathematics, something about the future, something about the show. I went to America to visit the writers. I spent a week with them and that was great, they gave me new ideas. They’d read some of my books, they knew what I did, I obviously knew what they did. I sat through one of their recordings, what they call a read-through. They write a script, go through it about six times, changing it. And just when they think it’s perfect, they do the read-through with the actors and they always want someone in the room because that tells them whether it’s really funny. It was great, great fun. The Simpsons is a great show and very humorous, but there’s real maths in it! Some of the maths in the book is more complicated than the maths I’ve done in my other books!
JANUARY 12, 2014
When did you get the idea?
Ten years ago, I saw an episode of The Simpsons that featured an equation from Fermat’s Last Theorem and I thought, wow! Somebody on this team knows some mathematics. Then I realised it was David X Cohen, and that there are lots of people [writers on the show interested in maths] and they’re all doing it. And when you realise that you have mathematics and The Simpsons, it’s an obvious idea for a book and I couldn’t resist it! Then, I got angry about alternative medicine... I co-authored a book with a professor of alternate medicine and then I got sued for libel [by the British Chiropractic Association].
By that stage I had written three international bestsellers, so I knew I wouldn’t be destroyed. I had enough money; I knew this is right so you can’t bully me. My wife is a journalist as well, and she understood. That was very important, because this is the kind of thing that wrecks marriages. So for me, it seemed like an obvious thing to do.
You and your wife, Anita Anand, are seen as a ‘power couple’ in the UK – how Indian are you two?
(Looks embarrassed at being called a power couple) Well, we both work in television and radio. And we’re the very first generation to have done that. We met at a literary festival, we just got chatting... and we’re very similar in some ways, our parents were born in India, we both grew up in England. We both feel very British but Indian as well. England is our home, it’s where our child [their four-yearPhoto: RAJ K RAJ
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old son] will grow up. We’ve brought him to India twice already and we want him to build a relationship with India and his relatives here.
Your family has lived in England for a very long time. What was growing up like?
in England about the history of my family, and one woman wrote to me and said, “I remember when your grandfather came to my house when I was five.” This was 50 years ago, she could still remember because one: she got socks! It was a big deal, getting socks was a special day! And this was a brown man. A big brown man at the door was very memorable for lots of reasons for her.
When you have maths and The Simpsons, it’s an obvious idea for a book!
My grandfather was one of the very first Indians to go to England. At that stage because it was such a small number; they really had to assimilate. My father cut his hair, my grandfather cut his hair [the Singh family is Sikh]. I think they even had English names so it was easier for people to remember their names. My mother can’t read. My father left school when he was about 13-14. They grew up in a small village in Punjab, very much a farming family. So they realised that the reason they came to England was to have their children educated. It was always emphasised how important education was. They worked incredibly hard because they were immigrants. They wanted us to work hard so we could have the security they never had.
What did they do for a living?
They used to sell things. The villages in England – this is 1938 – had no shops, if people had to buy a dress, they had to travel 20 miles. My father and grandfather would travel on a bicycle with a big basket of things and they would sell door to door and in markets. Then they bought a shop and then two shops. Eventually they built a successful fashion retail business. But to start with, they sold Wellington boots. I remember, I wrote an article
JANUARY 12, 2014
When did you decide you were going to be a science writer?
I think when I was finishing my PhD, I could see other people finishing their PhD and they were better than me. So I thought, those people are going to be real scientists, I can be a scientist but not a great scientist. So what else can I do? I loved science. I wanted to talk about science, teach science [he taught at Doon School for two months in 1987]. And I loved television. I grew up watching science on television. So I worked with the BBC for six years. Then I made the film about Fermat’s Last Theorem... I was always complaining that a film is a very short medium. Someone suggested I write a book, so I just gave it a go.
Do you ever wonder what your life would’ve been if you were in India?
For 50 generations, we must have been farmers, so I would have been a farmer. But I’m a terrible gardener, so...
saudamini.jain@hindustantimes.com Follow @SaudaminiJain on Twitter
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indulge Land Of The Rising sin PART- I
A ground report of the eye-popping technology at the Consumer Electronics Show 2014
SAMSUNG BENDABLE TV
The excitement behind this curved TV can’t be fathomed
Panasonic’s 4K wearable camcorder can shoot vidoes MORE ON THE WEB For previous columns by Rajiv Makhni, log on to hindustantimes. com/brunch. Follow Rajiv on Twitter at twitter.com/ RajivMakhni
The views expressed by the columnist are personal
STEEL YOURSELF
Pebble’s smartwatches look dramatic
Fi built in, can play movies on smartphones and Ultra HD TVs, and shoots S YOU read this, CES 2014, the mecca of technolin awesome 4K resolution. This may be ogy in super sin city, will be over. I am happy to Panasonic throwing down the gauntlet to report that this year blew the collective socks and a market monopolised by GoPro. And judging by the little time minds off of all attending. If forced to come up with I spent with it, I would say “GoPro, you have a problem”. PEBBLE GOES ALL STEELY: The Pebble is credited with a true underlying theme for this year, I would go starting off the whole smartwatch revolution, but its biggest with OTT. Yes, almost every company went over criticism was that it looked cheap and plasticky, and too much the top in showcasing and grandstanding. In the like a watch only a nerd would wear. Well, that’s exactly what world of technology, devices that are exhilaratPebble has changed dramatically. The all-new Steel Pebble is ing and jaw-dropping are always welcome and are smaller, looks good and has some added functionality. And by much needed in a sea of sameness. I’m dividing my added functionality, I mean very little for a lot more. Besides CES journey into two columns. Best OTT technolbetter looks and an added app store, this is pretty much the ogy is part one of my reports from the land of the same watch, but for an extra $100. At $250, with rising sin. SAMSUNG BENDABLE TV: KeanuReevesmay no touchscreen or added hardware feature have bent a spoon in The Matrix, but Samsung sets, this isn’t going to be taking the already has bent a whole TV. It seems like your normal hard-hit smartwatch category very far ahead. LG GETS INTO FITNESS BANDS: LG has 85-inch display, till you press a button on the taken a different approach to two hot categoremote. Motors inside the TV start to bend and ries: fitness bands and smartwatches. Merge curve the TV in a way that makes the two and out pops the Lifeband Touch. This blood rush to all parts of your body. ALL ENDURANCE band has a curved OLED display, is open from one Advantage of this awesome feature? Panasonic’s Toughside, can track most of your activities and A big fat zero. Total exhilaration felt? Pad is indestructible can also control your music on your phone, FITNESS WATCH Off the charts! PANASONIC’S INDESTRUCTIBLE TOUGHPAD: send call notifications, volume control and LG’s Lifeband Panasonic has always been known for their Toughbook call silencing. Pair it with its ‘heart beat Touch is a great notebooks, but this time they’ve brought that ‘I can’t be tracking’ headphones and this is quite a multitasker destroyed’ technology to a 7-inch tablet. And to demo good start for LG in this all-new category. RAZER NABU GOES DUAL SCREEN ON TRACKERS: that in true showman style, a Panasonic executive threw From a company not known for any fitness other than the tablet off the stage and onto the floor and it making you sit on a couch and play games, comes a band that’ll tell you how unfit you Rajiv Makhni are. This one does all the fitness tracking thingies you expect on the top ON MY FIT WRIST screen, and then adds mobile The Razer Nabu can phone notifications on a much tell how unfit you are bigger screen at the bottom. You can read full tweets, see who’s calling you and even read email headers. Plus if you shake hands with someone, theoretically you can exchange information with each other. Nabu may be the one to watch as it may be priced still worked. That’s a 10-foot drop! It may right at $69. ROKU GETS INTO TVS TOO: You may not be able to be tough on the outside, but it’s no slouch buy an Apple TV this year, but Roku is making sure that on the inside. It runs on Windows 8.1 you have something better already. After the phenomenal Pro, a fanless Intel Core i5 Processor, can success of their Roku media streaming boxes, they’ve got be used with gloves and can be dropped TVs with the whole Roku experience built right in. Roku has and washed to your heart’s content. Plus, PRINT IN 3D partnered with Hisense and TCL for the TV hardware, but the batteries can be hot-swapped despite The MakerBot these are Roku TVs from the word go. In India we haven’t all this ruggedness. Try all that with your Replicator Z18 can really seen the Roku magic do much, as all the streaming iPad. print large objects MICHAEL BAY BOMBS OUT: He’s content is locked to the US. Maybe these TVs could unlock blown our mind with his movies, special effects and big explothat potential too. 3D PRINTERS GO ‘EPICALLY’ BIG: If the 3D printing sions. And that’s exactly what he did on stage at the Samsung revolution has left you cold, then showman and the very-overpress conference too – totally bombed out. Asked to introduce the-top MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis has something ‘epic’ for you. the curved TV, Michael Bay came strutting in, fluffed his lines, The Replicator Z18 is a giant 3D printing machine that can went off the teleprompter feed, looked like a helpless little boy print seriously large objects – up to 12x18 inches tall. While who had lost his lollipop and finally fumed out and off the this does get things nice and serious, the cost is a stage. Samsung got him to make headlines for the TV. They got exactly that, except it wasn’t for the TV OUTSIDE THE BOX whopping $6,500. As soon as it’s down to $500, they Roku wants to be have my money. but Michael Bay himself – as the story and the video the platform for TV Well, with that I’ve covered about one went super viral. PANASONIC’S 4K WEARABLE CAMper cent of CES 2014. Next week the BEST CORDER: This one gets into Google Glass and the WORST of this giant technology as well as GoPro territory. A camcorder party. Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Technology, NDTV, worn around your ear that can shoot all and the anchor of Gadget Guru, Cell Guru and Newsnet 3 kinds of action movies and clips, has Wi-
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techilicious
WEAR YOUR CAMERA
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JANUARY 12, 2014
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PhiliPPines Diary It’s time you included this beautiful Asian destination in your holiday plans
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HINK ABOUT it: when there isn’t a typhoon or some natural calamity do we, in India, ever hear of the Philippines? Does it even cross our minds that it is a beautiful Asian destination that we could pick for our holidays? The honest answer is: no. The Philippines is simply not part of the Indian consciousness even though there is a prosperous and flourishing expatriate Indian community. When we do talk about the country it is in the context of Typhoon Yolanda, the Asian Development Bank, which is headquartered in Manila, and – if you are part of a certain generation – Imelda Marcos’ shoe collection. At first I thought that the reason for our mental block
Vir Sanghvi
rude travel
SING ME A SONG
Filipinos are happy, laidback people, and music runs through their veins
when it came to the Philippines was the lack of direct flights. But that makes no sense: there are no direct flights to Bali from India either and that does not stop thousands of Indians from wanting to go there. Nor can distance be the issue. It takes less time to get to Manila from Delhi than it does to get to say, Hong Kong. The only explanation I can find is that the Philippines has never looked like a part of South East Asia. In many ways, it is a quasi-European society with strong Spanish roots and it tends to look to America for most of its reference points. The Asian tourists it does get tend to be wealthy Japanese and newly rich Chinese. From our point of view, this is India’s loss. Because the Philippines is really the great secret Asian destination. There are many, many reasons to go there. Firstly, it is nothing like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Bali. Because of the years of Spanish colonisation, the temperament of the Filipinos is more Latin and less East Asian. They are a happy, laid-back people who like to live it up with grand weddings that rival Punjabi weddings in their exuberance and music runs through their veins. Everybody seems to sing in the Philippines.
JANUARY 12, 2014
Then, there’s the English factor. The story goes that when the Americans moved into the Philippines, they sent teachers to every village to make sure that the people learned English and forgot their Spanish. Today, Filipinos laugh at the futility of this American endeavour. Americans may have stamped out Spanish from a faraway part of Asia but there are at least a dozen states in the US where much of the population speaks more Spanish than English. For Indians, the advantage is that language is never an issue. Shop assistants will speak English as well as we do and if you ever get lost, you can ask anybody on the street for directions and conduct a complex conversation in it. And there’s a third advantage: price. Ever since the rupee became, basically, worthless, Indians have felt even poorer everywhere in the world. Forget about Europe where bell boys now expect tips of `800 to `1,000, even such Asian destinations as Singapore and Hong Kong now seem prohibitively expensive. In the Philippines, however your money goes a long way. The peso is around 42 or so to the dollar (roughly where the rupee was in the last decade) and each peso buys far more, in terms of food, taxis, shopping or hotels than the rupee does in India. Those are the arguments for going to the Philippines. The argument against going is that the big cities are not plush and glamorous like say, Shanghai or Singapore. You will see poverty and beggars will come up to your car. In many ways, it is just like India and each time I’ve gone to Manila, it has reminded me of Bombay. This is fine by me because I love Bombay. But if you want glitz and glamour, go to New York instead. Just like India, there are enclaves within Manila that seem modern and First World. On my first trip to the city, I was at the grand old Manila Hotel where General Douglas MacArthur stayed in the last century and which has neither been cleaned nor renovated since he left. (Okay, that’s a bit harsh. But think of the old Great Eastern in Calcutta before the Lalit group took it over. It has that kind of dubious charm.) Makati is a new, modern part of Manila (it’s Gurgaon or Bandra-Kurla Complex if you want an Indian parallel). It is full of tall office buildings, malls and top hotels (the Mandarin Oriental, the Dusit Thani, the Fairmont etc). So it is vaguely reminiscent of Singapore. I stayed at the Shangri-La, usually regarded as the best hotel in Manila,
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THE NEW TOWN
Makati (above) is a new, modern part of Manila (it’s Gurgaon or Bandra-Kurla Complex if you want an Indian parallel). It is full of tall office buildings, malls and top hotels
JUST LIKE HOME
In the Philippines, big cities are not plush and glamorous, like say, Shanghai or Singapore. In many ways, it is just like India and thought that the food and service were exceptional. But Manila was a transit halt. I was on my way to Boracay which you’ve probably never heard of, but is, in fact, the top resort destination in the Philippines. It is a 50-minutes flight from Manila and then you take a speedboat to your hotel. Mine was the Shangri-La Boracay Resort which is managed by Amit Oberoi, who many Delhiwallas will remember fondly from his stint at the Imperial during its glory days. I knew very little about Boracay before I got there but the island is a sort of cleaner, more upmarket version of Goa: same lazy Latin feel but no drug-dealers or sleaze. The Shangri-La has two beaches, one of which is entirely private, and many of the villas open directly on to the sea. The sand is unusual, a soft white powder that crinkles gently beneath your feet as you walk to the sea. The hotel itself is large (over 200 rooms) and caters to all tastes with huge standard rooms on a cliff, giant suites and 36 villas, some on the beach and some high above the ground, touching the trees. (They call them treetop villas, naturally). Unlike most Far Eastern resorts I’ve been to, at least half the guests were wealthy Filipinos, many of whom had come here again and again, hosted weddings here and had their favourite villas. It is the sort of relationship that many Indians have with Goa except that this resort is much nicer than any Goa hotel I can think of. There are many, many restaurants and bars on Boracay, all serving good food. There are lots of hotel options as well. But I liked the Shangri-La resort because it had an air of peace and quiet about it. Most days, I stayed in my villa or sat in the garden, relaxing and unwinding. In many ways I had the best of all worlds: a hotel where everybody speaks perfect English and yet, there is no chance of running into anyone who knows you. (There were no Indian guests at the resort.) You can, if you like, engage in water-based activities like diving, snorkelling, jet-skiing etc, and because the landscape is so beautiful, it is advisable to rent a boat and cruise the sea around the island. But as you may have guessed, I chose to do none of these things and just enjoyed the solitude. I asked Amit if they got many Indian guests. He said around two or three couples a season was the norm. Most Indians regard Boracay as being too far. You need to change
Boracay is targeted at the experienced traveller, not the novice
planes to get to Manila and then there’s another short plane ride. On the other hand, you can bypass Manila completely and fly to Boracay directly from Singapore (a three-hour flight), which makes the resort as accessible as your average Bali hotel. But I don’t think enough Indians have worked out that this is even possible. And most don’t think of the Philippines as an option anyway. The Shangri-La is the top resort in the country so it costs around `18,000 per night which puts it in the same range as top Bali hotels or even the better properties in Goa. Amit concedes that some Thai beach resorts can be cheaper but his position is that Boracay is not for everyone. It is the sort of place you go to once you’ve done Phuket, Koh Samui or Nusa Dua. It is targeted at the experienced traveller not the novice. I don’t know how many Indians will head for Boracay (though I imagine that it would be a great location for a rich Indian wedding now that the usual places have been done) but I do think that you should include the Philippines in any future holiday plans you may make. You don’t have to stay at top-end hotels like the Shangri-La, as wonderful as they are: there’s a fair range of mid-priced accommodation. But once you’ve got your hotel out of the way, there’s nothing else that’s very expensive, not the food, not the bars, not the shopping and as for the music, well you always get that for free in the Philippines.
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OASIS OF PEACE
The Shangri-La Resort (above and below) had an air of peace and quiet about it. Most days, I stayed in my villa or sat in the garden, relaxing and unwinding
MORE ON THE WEB For more columns by Vir Sanghvi, log on to hindustantimes. com/brunch The views expressed by the columnist are personal
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No offeNce, But… Yes, we all say that on occasion, but rarely, if ever, do we mean it – and maybe that’s not such a bad thing
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AVE YOU noticed how, whenever someone wants to say something offensive, they start off with, “No offence, but…”? How, when they mean to sound really disrespectful, they preface their remarks with, “With due respect…”? And that, when they want to pass judgement on you, they kick off with, “Not to be judgemental, but…”? We’ve all done this little dance before being offensive, disrespectful or judgemental (or all three) and on the whole we tend to get away with it, because most people are too shamed, scared or polite to call us out. But, more to the point, what all of this assumes is that being offensive, disrespectful or judgemental about people is plain wrong and we need to put in a quick disclaimer before saying anything that falls in those categories. Well, I am beginning to think that this is where we go wrong; in getting all defensive about our opinions because we feel that might cause offence, be deemed rude or come across as plain judgemental. There really is no need to apologise for any of the above. If we believe in a moral code, and live by
Seema Goswami
spectator MORE ON THE WEB For more SPECTATOR columns by Seema Goswami, log on to hindustantimes.com/ brunch. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ seemagoswami. Write to her at seema_ ht@ rediffmail.com The views expressed by the columnist are personal
MANNERS PLEASE
It is super-annoying when people driving über-expensive cars, roll down the window to throw out litter
certain principles, then there will always be times when we are offended by some people or by certain situations, and it is far from disrespectful to sit in judgement on such occasions. Speaking for myself, these are just some of the situations in which I reserve the right to be judgemental about people – without caring whether I am offending anyone or, indeed, being less than respectful. ■ If I see another family party sitting down to enjoy an expensive meal in a fancy restaurant while the maid/nanny stands beside the table trying to restore order among the fractious children at the table. Ditto, lazy, feckless parents who refuse to discipline their children as they run around and create mayhem in public spaces. Or those who bring their bawling infants out for a late-night movie when the little mites should be tucked up in bed and fast asleep. ■ I know money can’t buy class, but there is something super-annoying when those who drive in über-expensive cars, roll down the window at the traffic light to throw out litter, spit on the road, and then shout at
COVER IT UP
One assumes that being offensive, disrespectful or judgemental is plain wrong and we need to put in a quick disclaimer before saying anything that falls in those categories the street children, who are begging for some money to buy dinner, for dirtying their lovely car with their grimy hands. ■ Men who think that they are paying you a huge compliment when they call you ‘sweetie’ ‘honey’ ‘darling’ ‘babe’ or those who refer to grown-up women as ‘girls’. It’s not cute. It’s not endearing. It’s not acceptable. And you really need to stop, or else… ■ When people are queueing up in an orderly fashion at a bank, at airport check-in, or at security, you need to join the queue. Not at any point where you can squeeze yourself in but right at the back where the queue ends. Don’t tell me that you stepped out to make a quick phone call. Stop insisting that you were always standing behind that woman in the red kurta. And don’t claim that your flight is leaving and you need to be let through NOW. You are lying, you lying scumbag. Now get yourself right at the back, and wait like the rest of us. ■ Surely by now, you’ve seen enough hospital dramas on television to know that you are not supposed to use mobile phones in and around intensive care areas in a hospital. It’s not just about preserving peace and quiet for the patients but also to ensure that the phone signals don’t interfere with the life-saving equipment that is in use. So, while it won’t kill you to turn off your mobile, you may well end up killing someone if you don’t. If you really need to make – or take – that call, step outside. ■ I am all for praying to your particular god, but must you do so in the dead of night or at the crack of dawn, while using a loudspeaker for good measure? You do know that He (or She) can hear you perfectly well without those amplified sound waves, don’t you? But if you turn off that infernal loudspeaker, you may earn the blessings of your neighbours as well. ■ If you are above the age of 10, there really is no excuse for kicking the back of my seat throughout the flight. Or waiting till I doze off before you put your entire weight on my backrest, as you propel yourself out of your seat, so that you can wake me up on your way to the loo. There is a special place in hell for folks like you. And I hope you get a taste of it at the baggage belt itself, when you discover that your suitcase has been dispatched to the wrong destination.
Your god can hear you perfectly well without those amplified sound waves
JANUARY 12, 2014
PERSONAL AGENDA
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twitter.com/HTBrunch
Boxer
MC Mary Kom BIRTHDAY SUN SIGN PLACE OF HOMETOWN SCHOOL/COLLEGE St Xavier Catholic School, BIRTH March 1 Pisces Manipur Manipur
FIRST BREAK HIGH POINT OF It happened in YOUR LIFE 2000 when I won the Manipur state women’s boxing championship
Photo: THINKSTOCK
If you weren’t a boxer you would have been... Perhaps a singer, though I don’t think I can sing better than the punch I pack! Who would you like to punch? Those who irritate me unnecessarily. And sometimes when I’m out shopping and my kids trouble me, I also feel like punching them! Your all-time favourite boxer? I have always been a big fan of Muhammad Ali. I like his moves and punches. Are you superstitious about boxing – do you do anything special before a bout? Not exactly, though I would love to wear my own boxing xing shoes if allowed to do so. What was your first impression about Priyanka Chopra playing you in
the upcoming biopic? I really felt very happy about Priyanka being chosen to play my role. She is very talented and very fit too. Do you plan to teach your kids how to box? They are too young at the moment, but I plan to do so soon. The best thing about motherhood is… That I have got a chance to make my kids better human beings. The most touching thing that your kids have done for you? They always have lots of ideas for my birthday. This time they had a huge cartoon saying ‘I love you and happy birthday mom’.
YOUR FAVOURITE DESTINATION.
My home and London
LOW POINT OF CURRENTLY YOUR LIFE I AM...
Winning a medal at the Whenever I’m away Just released my Olympics, besides being from my kids and autobiography a mother and managing a they are missing me Unbreakable family too
If you had to play a Bollywood heroine in a biopic, who would you like to play? I can play anyone as I like all of them. I’m quite fond of Bollywood. The biggest risk that you have taken? Continuing with boxing when my family and kids needed me. One piece of advice you wish someone had given you 10 years ago? I wish someone had asked me to start boxing in my childhood itself. One song that describes your current state of mind. Aaj main upar, aasman neeche (Khamoshi). If you were a singer, which song would you love to sing? Something that my husband would have composed. Your fitness secret. Complete fitness is when you are physically, emotionally and mentally fit. This happens when you stay happy and content. We hear you never cut your nails for boxing. Why? I like them long and pretty. What makes your day? Wh my Spending time with m family and a smile on my famil kids’ ffaces. What ruins it? Wh The thought of going away Th from them. You destress with... Yo My husband. Your strategy in a crisis. Yo Keep your mind cool and Ke listen to music. — Interviewed by Veenu Singh
DECEMBER 15, 2013
Moirang, Churachandpur College, Manipur
my movies ONE FILM YOU HAVE SEEN MORE THAN FIVE TIMES.
Rocky
MOST PAISA VASOOL FILM.
Mary Kom, The film (upcoming) THE MOST OVERRATED FILM.
Every film is nice in its own way THE FILM THAT WAS A PART OF YOUR CHILDHOOD.
Jeet (1996)
THE FIRST FILM YOU SAW ON THE BIG SCREEN.
Pyaar Jhukta Nahin (1985)