Hindustantimes Brunch 12th February 2012

WEEKLY MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 12, 2012 Free with your copy of Hindustan Times

Valentine’s Day Special IT’S FOR REAL: Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Khemu’s romance SAVE ME from V-Day! Author Advaita Kala’s rant LOVE & SEX: Young India opens up

Soha and Kunal raise a toast to togetherness

IT’S CRAZY. PASSIONATE. CHEESY. FUN. COSY. HEARTWARMING. HERE’S TO THE EMOTION THAT MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND

Y 5, 2012 E, FEBRUAR Times MAGAZIN WEEKLY of Hindustan your copy

Free with

1 2 . 0 2 . 1 2

I N

T H I S

I S S U E

valentine’s day special It’s Amoré!

Discover love that lasts forever and ways to find it no matter at which stage you are in your relationship.

Get anti if you want to or find out what romance means today. All for you, in our Valentine’s Day special!

facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch

Ankur Yadav This sunday it was an awsome edition of Brunch, but it seemed that “Shreyas Talpade” was not in mood of being interviewed.’.

Tony Bagga Such a nice concept . i always read Brunch to get some fresh topics.

Don’t love anything about February 14?

We’ve got ways to handle every situation

Oh No, It’s That Day Again!

Author Advaita Kala slips into her character Aisha Bhatia’s shoes for a reverse take on Valentine’s Day

INDULGE

Amber Kashyap I wanted specific and brief info on health which your cover story provided . I really liked the part on proteins as many of my friends who wanted to build muscles suddenly resorted to unregulated protein supplements which through this story I found is very harmful.

Surbhi Gupta Loved Mr.Sanghvi’s article. Truly stated that Indian Dining Entrepreneurs really need to realise how to serve their guests.

Calling All Tweeple twitter.com/HTBrunch @Ajaythetwit Loved this one! Thanks to Mr. Sanghvi for another informative article on ‘dining experiences’ which add to customer's delight @BhavnoorSB sitting at home, one man you can trust to get you best from CES is @RajivMakhni thanks, happy to have met n follow u @devtheclonie Finally a read on the Amitabh Bhattacharya on HTBrunch @KushangDholakia @RajivMakhni Wasn’t Intel’s first smartphone Lenovo K800 a part of #CES 2012’s Best Gadgets? @JMittermaniac Enjoyed Brunch’s piece on Amitabh Bhattacharya – one of the finest lyricists of today

Write to brunchletters@hindustantimes.com For marketing and ad-related queries, contact suresh.tripathi@hindustantimes.com

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Who’s Afraid of The Mush Fest?

Between tradition and modernity, sticking to their roots and being liberal: today’s youth seem trapped – and how

Kapil Dadhich I don’t know what to say about this outstanding Brunch. maybe this can say many things, OUT OF THE WORLD..

PLAY

LIVE

Tech Fuel

Married To The Job

America may obsess but in India, we don’t care about political spouses

Not the first of its kind, but the best so far – the Nike+ Fuelband may just end up making you fitter

EAT

LISTEN

Why are our chefs and managers so embarrassed to admit its existence?

Looking for new artists or those who do DIY-style publishing? Here you go!

Whose Goat Is It Anyway?

BRUNCH ON THE WEB

hindustantimes.com/brunch

Coupling All the Way! Love is all around us. And, if you can’t have enough of your favourite couples, Soha and Kunal and Isha and Timmy, log on for extra pictures and the complete stories of their eternal love.

COMPLET Awww...

E

V E R S IO N S

!

bites Reality your , about tch out virtuous Feeling r-you diet? War health good-fobe bad for you it could

Why the excess?

Is This A Confused Generation?

We’re Logged On

FEED BACK

Striking It Rich

Watch Out For The HT Brunch Totally Twisted, Ultra-Difficult Weekly Twitter Quiz!

Calling all quiz fiends! You think you know everything that there is to know about Bollywood, cricket and rock music? Then we challenge you to play our weekly quiz on Twitter, whose difficulty level will leave you gasping for breath and Google at the same time. Follow us on @HTBrunch for a warm-up round and rule reveal all through this week. And gear up for the megachallenge from the 19th. First up: Bollywood! Are you ready?

Have you seen our Brunch Quarterly photoshoot with Vidya Balan yet? Log on for this and an all-access pass to your favourite stories from this and previous Brunch Quarterly issues.

EDITORIAL: Poonam Saxena (Editor), Kushalrani Gulab (Deputy Editor); Tavishi Paitandy Rastogi, Mignonne Dsouza, Veenu Singh, Parul Khanna Tewari, Pranav Dixit, Yashica Dutt, Amrah Ashraf

THE COVER story is by far one of the best articles on diet that I’ve read (Too Much Is Too Bad, February 5). Moderation being the key is true not just for diet but for life itself!

I would lay part of the blame squarely on our education system – loads us with information and starves us of discretion! Well done.

— ANURADHA VENKATESH, via email YOUR COVER story was one that I had been eagerly waiting for! My friends often advise me to try the ‘water therapy’ and I’m forced to drink a minimum of six to seven litres of water every day. I don’t agree with this, my logic being that one’s body accepts only the amount of water it needs. The extra water is always rejected as waste.

Also, I have believed that the excess fibre in green vegetables like palak leads to bloating, abdominal cramps and formation of gas in stomach. A fact which my friends argue against as well. Now that the author Kavita Devgan, who’s a nutritionist, agrees with me, I hope that my friends will too. Thanks a lot to Brunch for supporting my views.

— MILIND PAVASKAR, Thane

Reverse racism

LOVED VIR Sanghvi’s article Serves You Right (Rude Food, February 5). His criticisms are long overdue and a must read for many restaurants and cafés in South Bombay, where I live. I would like to add another outrageous habit some restaurants have, to his list. I’ve never been able to book a table at a popular high end restaurant near Gateway, since they always claim to be full. Once, I tried to a book a table as usual and got the same response. Then, it so happened, that a German friend who was over at my home offered to call and check.

Calling immediately after me, and speaking in a heavy German accent, she was granted the booking at once! Not only did we not show up for the dinner, but I have stopped going there completely and make it a point to tell everyone about their indignance! Thanks Mr Sanghvi for this brilliant article.

— ANITA SHROFF, via email

DESIGN: Ashutosh Sapru (National Editor Design), Cover design: Ashutosh Sapru Cover photo: Aparna Jayakumar Swati Chakrabarti, Rakesh Kumar, Ashish Singh, Location: Bungalow 9, Mumbai Saket Misra, Suhas Kale, Shailendra Mirgal

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 12, 2012

valentine’s day special

Who’s Afraid of I THE MUSH FEST? Don’t love anything about February 14?

We’ve got ways to handle every situation

by Mignonne Dsouza The Single Situation

F

eeling singled out as the only person in the world who doesn't have a date for V-Day? Don’t resort to the usual strategy of pretending the day doesn’t exist or that you don’t believe in it (when you secretly do). Rather, come out with all guns blazing, so you can look forward to it.

Our recommendation? A ‘one plus one’ party, where a group of single people who are friends bring along at least one single person to a party

F

rom the point of view of everyone else, you are sitting pretty. But this year, take a cue from the studies that show that an injection of fun and adventure is the best way to fall in love with your partner all over again. Spend the day discovering an adventure activity that you have always wanted to pursue. That’s what homemaker, Maya D’Souza and her husband Akshay did when they went on a day trek last year.

“Struggling up the hill together, and massaging each other’s feet later was certainly an unusual way to spend February 14,” laughs Maya.

that is well-planned and rocks the night away. Find the friend with the largest living room, book a caterer and bartender, set up a romance-neutral but cheery ambience, devise fun games and prepare to enjoy Valentine’s Day. You never know, someone may just find their soulmate.

Across The Seven Seas

e know it’s particularly annoyW ing to celebrate Valentine’s Day when you have a significant other

who is physically absent, but there are ways to salvage the situation.

Sure, there’s the option of sending flowers, gifts and tokens via the mail, but that is so last century. Instead,

Or so we thought, till we realised that there are ways of celebrating.

Take a leaf from American preschoolers who mark Valentine’s Day by handing out cards to teachers and classmates, or the people of Finland, who include parents and siblings in this celebration of love, and learn to commemorate the day no matter what stage of relationship happiness (or misery) you are in. mignonne.dsouza@hindustantimes.com

try and teleport yourself into your loved one’s home via the Internet.

Celebrity blogger Malini Agarwal didn’t let a two-year separation from her boyfriend Nowshad stop her from making Valentine’s Day

special. “One year, we both dressed up for dinner, despite being in two different time zones (India and the US) and ate a meal together via Skype,” she recalls.

ILLUSTRATIONS: TEJAS MODAK

Long-Term Shaadi or Relationship

S THERE any other day that makes you feel as big a loser as Valentine’s Day? After extensive research, we’ve come to the conclusion that February 14 is only eagerly awaited by a person in the first flush of love, when the chemical imbalance in her / his brain is matched by the same imbalance in the mind of the desired other. For all others, it is a day to be endured, ignored and quickly forgotten.

Just Broken Up

o what if s/he just wasn’t into S you? There’s no reason to let a break-up derail your right to a hap-

py Valentine’s Day, even if you can’t celebrate it conventionally. If you are not up to joining the singletons at a ‘one plus one’ party, Feb 14 can still be about the most important person in your life – you.

Five years ago, banker Tripti Purohit didn’t let the fact of her break-up seven months before Valentine’s Day ruin the moment for her. “I went to the spa and got a pedicure and manicure – then I spent the day shopping for clothes and books – and in the evening read a Robin Cook novel all

night,” she confides.

If you’re a guy who has just let go of a relationship, jump into the driving seat of your car or bike, sign up some friends, and take off on a road trip to a destination that’s very (ahem) wet. A great night out with old friends is just the ticket to put yourself in a positive frame of mind.

At Break Point

his is perhaps the stickiest situaT tion to be in. After all, how can you celebrate a day dedicated to love

if you are pretty sure you are going to be breaking up and are only hanging on because you don’t want to do it before or on Valentine’s Day? If you are facing this dilemma, we suggest hanging out with the person, but in as neutral a situation as possible.

Software professional Rahul Barua’s solution was to invite the girlfriend to a movie that was “not mushy. I didn’t choose a violent one, but it was a dramatic plot, and kept her eyes glued to the screen rather than on me,” he recalls. Renuka Ramachandran, an advertising professional, delivered a gift to her boyfriend at work. “This way, we avoided any awkward romantic moments,” she confides.

valentine’s day special

Sex & Relationships Age group

Survey conducted by MaRS Sample size: 7,021

BAFFLED FLUMMOXED

Cities covered in the survey

18-25

In questions where the option ‘Can’t Say’ has less than 1% respondents, the option has not been mentioned

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BEFUDDLED

DISCOMBOBULATED

DISCONCERTED BEWILDERED

PRE-MARITAL SEX IS NO LONGER A BIG ISSUE IN INDIA

IS THIS A CONFUSED

GENERATION? D

EAR YOUNGSTERS of India, if you’re reading this and are between the ages of 18 and 25, chances are that you’re slightly muddled in the head. Not when it comes to picking out your wardrobe or choosing a career – most of you are doing a peachy job on those fronts. But in things like falling in love, getting hitched and rolling in the hay, you seem to be thoroughly bewildered.

Hey, we’re not being preachy. Nor are we pulling these accusations out of our hats. In fact, this is what YOU’VE told us, 7,021 of you, in a survey we conducted across 15 cities over the last few weeks.

Don’t get us wrong. We know that in many ways, the times that you happen to be born into are both the best and worst to be young. It must be disconcerting to trade that red low-cut dress for a daddy’s-good-girl salwar kameez

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Male Female

42.4% 52%

Disagree

44.5% Male Female

Hyderabad appears to be most progressive with 96.8% respondents agreeing. Chandigarh comes last with only 3% agreeing

HOMOSEXUALITY IS AN ACCEPTABLE SEXUAL PREFERENCE

DIVORCE IS NOT AN OPTION

Agree

Agree

23.1% Male Female

26.5% 19.6%

Disagree

76% Male Female

73% 79%

41.8% 46.9%

47.4% Male Female

49.9% 45%

Disagree

51.9% Male Female

49.8% 54.1%

Almost 100% of Chandigarh respondents are against homosexuality, followed by 91.5% each in Indore and Ahmedabad

Interestingly, 63.4% respondents did not consider divorce as an option in 2010. So more people seem to be opening up to the idea

I EXPECT MY HUSBAND/ WIFE TO BE A VIRGIN

HAVE YOU EVER CHEATED ON YOUR GIRLFRIEND/ BOYFRIEND?

Agree

Yes

62.3%

Male Female

62% 62.6%

Disagree

37% Male Female

37.5% 36.4%

Almost all the respondents in Ahmedabad want their spouses to be virgins! Chandigarh tops the liberal list with 99.5% disagreeing

27.7% Male Female

30.2% 25.3%

No

54.2% Male Female

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

When it comes to matters of the heart (and body), today’s youth seem trapped between tradition and modernity

by Pranav Dixit

Agree

54.9%

Can’t say

18.1%

51.2% 57.2%

At 73.5%, Jaipur has the highest number of cheaters.

Delhi stood at a little over 50%. Kochi had the maximum number of faithful respondents at 75.4%

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 12, 2012

valentine’s day special WHICH OF THESE STATEMENTS APPLY TO YOU? Had sex before 18

6.2% Male Female

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT WHEN LOOKING FOR A SPOUSE? Looks

9.8% Male Female

Wealth 12.7% 7%

10.1% Male Female

8.4% 11.8%

Family background

40.6%

8.8% 3.6%

Had sex after 18

Still a virgin (18-25)

Male Female

Male Female

44.9%

48.9%

IN PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIPS, DO YOU ALWAYS USE PROTECTION (CONDOMS), SOMETIMES OR NEVER? Always

Sometimes

Male 33.83% Female 31.29%

Male Female

32.7%

42.7% 55.1%

Never

Almost half the respondents are virgins despite being okay with premarital sex. More men had sex before 18 than women in 2011

Male Female

48.5% 41.4%

15%

38.9%

40% 37.53%

Can’t say 14.9% 15.1%

13.2% Male Female

11.2% 16%

LIVE-IN RELATIONSHIPS ARE ACCEPTABLE

Male 40.6%, Female 40.5%

Intelligence

23.8% Male Female

22.3% 25.3%

Kindness

15.7%

Male Female

Agree 16% 15.4%

Not surprisingly, men ranked looks higher than weath while women ranked wealth higher. Some things don’t change!

39.5% Male Female

45.5% 33.5%

Disagree

59.7% Male Female

54% 65.3%

Funnily, 80% of Patna respondents are okay with live-in relationships, but 98% of Chandigarh respondents are not. Small town values?

The number of respondents who always use condoms dropped from 42.5% in 2010.

A disturbing revelation

Methodology:

Youth Survey 2012 was was carried out by MaRS Monitoring and Research Systems among 7,021 urban youth in 15 state capitals and major towns in India – Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur and Chandigarh in the North; Kolkata, Patna, Guwahati in the East; Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bhopal and Indore in the West; and Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi in the South. Target respondents were both males and females aged between 18-25 years. The respondents were either currently undergraduate students (or above) or employed with graduate education (and above). Respondents were selected at the household level.

because that nice boy that your parents like is coming to, er, ‘see’ you. We understand that.

But – and this is on the basis on what YOU have told us – we think you’re, well, confused. How else would you explain these glaring contradictions? More than half of you are fine with premarital sex – hallelujah for being progressive – but over 60 per cent of you still want a virgin for a spouse. You think nothing of jiving to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, but homosexuality is unacceptable. To the world, you are the epitome of the independent girl or guy, but secretly, you want your folks to choose the person you’ll marry. Because over 40 per cent of you care about ‘family background’ (whatever that is) when looking for a spouse.

Excuse me – just what did we miss here??

We racked our brains till we almost missed the deadline for this story but couldn’t come up with anything to explain your double standards. So we turned to some people to explain this better.

“This may be a time of transition but I am not sure that being so confused is a healthy trend,” says social analyst Dr Syed Mubin Zehra. “You will see that despite the seemingly minor differences between male and female opinions, the chastity

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‘IN INDIA, EVEN

AT 25, PEOPLE DON’T QUESTION THINGS. THEY JUST ACCEPT WHAT THEY’RE TOLD BY THEIR PARENTS’ belt still lies with girls.”

And so, we have a couple of bones to pick with you.

First off, getting hitched: “In our society, marriage is still seen as a bond between two families and not just two individuals,” Pankaj Shastri, a marriage broker told us.

“Family background is the number one demand of my clients.”

Standing up for your gay buddy (do you have one at all?) too is clearly not the hip thing to do (though you spent a thousand bucks on tickets, popcorn and cola when you watched Dostana). Seventy-six per cent of you say that homosexuality is just not acceptable. Which shows you’re not independent, says Anjali Gopalan of the Naz Foundation, an NGO that works on HIV/AIDS and sexual health. “In India, even at the age of 25, people don’t question

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE

things around them,” she says. “They simply accept what’s been passed on to them by their parents.”

We get it – being stuck in that chasm between East and West must be hard. But you know what’s heartening? That you’re at least thinking of these things.

Advaita Kala, author of Almost Single blames your confusion on the way you’ve been raised.

“How do you explain urban, educated parents opposing sex education in schools?” she asks.

“We get hypocritical messages as we’re raised.”

So hear us out: we’re not saying you should forget your roots. But if you were to think for yourselves, you’d make us all happy. All you need (and author Ira Trivedi agrees with us) is some direction.

If we find you’re still unchanged after a few years, however, we’ll brand you immature. Remember, this survey is an annual feature – we’re coming back for you next year!

With love, Brunch pranav.dixit@ hindustantimes.com

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

valentine’s day special

Advaita is the writer of a novel, Almost Single. She has also written scripts for films like Anjaana Anjaani and the forthcoming Kahani

H

ERE IS my problem with Valentine’s Day. It needs to be celebrated.

I get why one would celebrate birthdays or promotions or even weddings but Valentine’s Day? A day to celebrate love. Please! More like a day to rub it in every single gal’s face that she doesn’t have love.

I mean Valentine’s Day totally brings out the activist in me, it makes me want to march down the street in some sort of awful khaki long

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

I AM GOING TO WRITE TO THE UN AND ASK THEM TO RECHRISTEN FEBRUARY 14 AS ‘INTERNATIONAL INADEQUACY DAY’

john thingie with a cricket bat in one hand and a knitting needle in the other, bashing store windows and puncturing heart shaped balloons!

Glad I got that out, you can leave the chocolates on the dresser and take the flowers, that’s if anyone is delivering anything to me this year.

Hope lies eternal, sigh.

I mention this because that’s what I need this Valentine’s Day – a BIG box of chocolates. And I am not getting cutesy philosophical about life being a box of chocolates… blah, blah! I just need something to put in my mouth so I don’t drunk-dial the

Ex as I watch the umpteenth re-run of Casablanca on the classics movie channel, while snuffing wine.

Let’s truly celebrate what needs to be celebrated. But instead we need a little fat cherub sporting a bow and arrow with a really bad aim to mark the day. Guess what, his aim sucks!

This guy is never going to be up for any Arjuna Award, not now, not ever.

The thing that exacerbates all this for me is the fact that I work in a hotel. So not only do I not have a Valentine but I have to – as a matter of duty – partake in this love fest.

And you think the Indian Tibetan

ALMOST SINGLE V-DAY WIPE OUT 30 ml Absinthe 30 ml Midori ■ 30 ml Martini Rosso ■ Pour in tall glass ■ Top with soda (optional)

■

■

Garnish with a lemon twirl or two ■ Stick in a straw (I recommend two). I’m not being romantic here, it’s just quicker ■

Disclaimer: Even though this knockout drink will merrily carry you past V-Day blues, try it at your own risk! We take no responsibility for what it might do to you (climbing walls? Trying to walk on your hands? Who knows...)

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HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Aisha Bhatia and the Almost Single series return as novellas later this year

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

Author Advaita Kala slips into the shoes of Aisha Bhatia, the lead character from her novel Almost Single, for a reverse take on the big day of marshmallow love

V V

Oh no, it’s that day again!

Border Police have it tough! I would rather stand on a glacier than a marble-floored lobby gazing at these love polyps. But Marquis de Sade, aka my boss, insists that my grinning, solicitous presence is a must for The Grand Orchid Hotel.

As we speak, I stare into the mirror and rework the instinctive “Oww” into an “Awww”. Do you know what that does to one’s jaws, not to mention love life? That last minute twisting of the jaw and the speaking from the corner of the mouth – last year, I was speaking like John Wayne for a week after.

I am going to write to the United Nations and ask them to rechristen the 14th of February as ‘International Inadequacy Day’. The one day when being single or not doesn’t matter, because everyone feels inadequate. Whether you have a Valentine or not, whether you were proposed to or not, someone else is always having a more special time.

And therein lies my freedom. Everyone is miserable on the inside. Ha! But my friend Misha calls. It’s a leap year, you see, which means that girls can ask boys out. Where? In the UK she tells me. But naturally. Misha is only physically here. Mentally and spiritually she is an NRI. But the truth is the only thing I want to leap over is Valentine’s Day and I have the perfect antidote – The Almost Single V-Day Wipeout, specially crafted by my friend and bar chef, Arindam Basu. For maximum impact, drink at midnight on the 13th and rise, fresh as a daisy at 6 am on the 15th, and it will be like V Day never happened. Of course the fact that it never does happen for some of us is a moot point!

valentine’s day special

Two faces of love

Completely different and completely in love.

You can actually see it. Actors Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Khemu are like chalk and cheese.

But that’s what keeps the spark burning

by Amrah Ashraf photos by Aparna Jayakumar What annoys you about Soha?

She bites her lip from the inside and gets scars and ulcers

What annoys you about Kunal?

Mood swings – violent 14

T

LOCATION: THIS EXC LUSIVE BRUNCH SH OOT WAS DONE AT BUNGALOW

HEY CAN talk for hours but prefer hard-core debates to sweet nothings.

She loves him but loves Scrabble a little more. He accepts he can’t beat her at it but puts up a fight just to agonise her. He loves mindless action films which put her to sleep. She loves salads and soups which he considers ghaas-phoos.

She cringes every time she sees him indulge in fats and carbs. She is true blue royalty and he is a Kashmiri migrant in Mumbai. They are opposite ends of the spectrum and yet Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Khemu can’t get enough of each other.

The couple have been together for over two years now. In an exclusive interview and photo shoot over lunch at Bandra’s swish restaurant, Bungalow 9, they opened up about their love story.

How did you guys meet?

Kunal: We actually met on the sets of Dhoondte Reh Jaoge but we didn’t connect at that time. I didn’t even have her number after we finished shooting the film. I thought she was too intelligent for me.

Soha: I didn’t really feel like we had much in common. I asked him how he liked to spend his free time, and he said he preferred staying in and watching movies. And I thought to myself, what a bore!

So how did that perception change?

Kunal: When we worked on 99, we spent more time together. I had heard of the Soha Ali Khan but I didn’t think she would be this quickwitted person. I knew of her blood line, that she studied at Oxford and was a banker. I felt she would only be interested in people with a high IQ (I’m not saying I don’t have one).

But she’s a very humble person.

Soha: I was very attracted to

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 12, 2012

9, BANDRA, MUMB AI

Kunal – his eyes and smile. I knew he was someone I would want to spend a few evenings with. He is very complex while I am more on the surface. I was very intrigued.

Some days he was extremely introverted, other days he would chat you up. He kept me on my toes all the time and I like that in a man.

What attracted you to each other?

Kunal: Had we had the same stories to share, we wouldn’t have much to talk about. Soha still finds my stories extremely funny, especially the one where my friends and I barged into a wedding just so we could eat.

Soha: For me, he is someone who has lived life on his own terms and is a self-made man. It’s not just the stories. He’s an interesting person who is sensitive towards other people and has the ability to deal with different and tough circumstances.

I draw comfort from the fact that no matter what happens tomorrow, good or bad, he will be grounded because he has seen it all. That gives me a sense of security.

What was your first date like?

Kunal: We actually don’t remember our first date and neither do we believe in remembering dates. We just started hanging out and one thing led to another and soon we were seeing each other.

Soha: The first time Kunal and I went out together was for The Dark Knight. And he arrived 20 minutes late. So I don’t think that qualifies as a date. Another time, he took me out for dinner but we chose a restaurant with super swift service and the meal got over in 15 minutes flat. And even during that joke of a dinner date, he didn’t talk to me much. I was upset because I

Know thy partner

Soha and Kunal guess each other’s likes and dislikes

FAVOURITE FOOD

Soha: He likes Rogan Josh.

(Correct)

Kunal: Salads and cereal bar for

lunch. Dinner is grilled chicken, vegetables and dal. But if she is out, she has a salad with no carrots or babycorn. Maybe fillet fish and diet Coke. (Correct)

FAVOURITE PERFUME

Kunal: She hardly wears perfume.

(Correct)

Soha: D&G. (Wrong)

MOUNTAINS OR BEACHES

thought he wasn’t interested in me but after more dinner dates, I realised it’s impossible to talk to Kunal over a meal because he loves his food more than his woman.

You are surrounded by good looking people all the time. How do you deal with attraction?

Soha: You will always find men and women attractive but there’s a difference between thinking and acting. It’s impossible to control what you think but it is possible to control your action and that’s the important thing.

One thing you love about Soha?

The fact that she hardly ever wears makeup and still looks so beautiful

Kunal: I have generally never committed to things in my life but I am very committed to this relationship.

Soha is one of my best friends and sometimes I treat her like a friend more than a girlfriend. Sometimes I even talk about other women to her.

Even though I appreciate other beautiful women, what gives me more happiness is to have Soha in my life and the thought that she is the woman I will go back home to.

Where does your relationship stand today?

Soha: We communicate very well.

On days when we’re feeling insecure, vulnerable or possessive, we manage to talk things through. And even when we fight, we talk it out immediately. People ask us when we’re planning to take it to the next level but we don’t need to take this relationship anywhere. We’re already committed to each other. I don’t think more is required.

Kunal: It’s in a beautiful place. We communicate well and trust each other. I think we’re also very used to each other by now.

One thing you love about Kunal?

That he is a man!

He is rugged and very handsome

Is infidelity a deal breaker?

Kunal: Yes.

Soha: I’d like to believe that I am someone who can forgive a random fling. If Kunal was to fall in love with someone else and cheat on me then of course it’s a deal breaker. But I feel I could forgive a temporary fling.

How do you deal with insecurities?

Soha: It’s natural to have insecurities but I can’t make his life miserable just because I am feeling insecure about a scene he is doing with another actress. I have to deal with it myself and my only expectation from him would be that he is kind to me.

Kunal: I admit that I am very possessive. She doesn’t admit it, but she is. I am yet to discover how I would deal with insecurity. I do know there is a lot of pain sometimes but you need to deal with it and communicate what you’re feeling.

What makes you jealous?

Soha: If I am in an insecure place, I will be jealous as well. So if Kunal finds a woman attractive and I don’t, I wouldn’t be jealous of him having dinner with her. But if I find a woman attractive and so does Kunal, then him even commenting on her hair drives me up the wall.

Kunal: I am a Gemini so I deal with situations differently.

Sometimes even if a common friend holds Soha’s hand, I get jealous. But other days, she can go out for dinner and dancing with someone and I wouldn’t think much about it. So I don’t know actually. I am cool and painful at the same time.

Kunal: Beaches. (Wrong) Soha: Beaches. (Correct)

Perfect 10?

We asked Soha and Kunal to rate each other on a scale of 1 to 10. Here’s what they said…

Kunal: I’ll give Soha

7.5 8.5

Soha: Over the years, we have slowly understood our relationship’s threshold. I have seen that for some people, it is fine if their partner goes for vacations or parties with another person. We are not that couple.

Neither are we the your-ex-cancrash-on-your-couch sort. And it took me a while to adhere to these limits because I used to do things without caring for how he’d feel.

But now I understand him.

Soha: Definitely an

Are you die-hard romantics?

Kunal: Well, we are definitely not the I-can-do-anything-for-you type romantics. We are a lot more practical than that. And we’re not the let’s-buy-fancy-gifts kind either.

Just because I don’t buy her the best diamond doesn’t mean I don’t love her and she knows that.

WHO HAS MORE SHOES?

Soha: All I know is that I wouldn’t give this up for anything in the world. True love is about finding someone who accepts you with your flaws and doesn’t try to change you.

Future plans?

Kunal: We’re in a happy place and don’t want that to change as of now.

Soha: I don’t believe in planning. I live in the moment and when I feel the time is right, Kunal and I will take a step ahead. But right now, I like where the relationship is and don’t want things to change at all.

amrah.ashraf@hindustantimes.com

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Private practice WHO TAKES LONGER TO GET DRESSED?

Kunal: Soha, obviously.

Soha: Kunal takes longer to decide what he wants to wear.

Soha: Me. Kunal: I am not far behind.

WHO HOGS THE BATHROOM MORE?

Kunal: She hardly ever uses it!

Soha: (Blushes) I bathe on a regu-

lar basis, thank you very much.

WHO TURNS OFF THE LIGHTS? Kunal: Me… Soha: (Laughs).

MAKE-UP TACTIC AFTER A FIGHT...

Kunal: Be funny and make her

laugh.

Soha: I haven’t learnt it. Maybe, go and hold the person and hope he doesn’t hit you back.

MORE ON THE WEB For the full interview and more pictures of Soha and Kunal, log on to hindustantimes.com/sohakunal

■

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valentine’s day special

Hooked for life

Isha Koppikar and Timmy Narang’s love story has all the trappings of a textbook romance.

They even ended up ‘happily ever after’

by Amrah Ashraf

A

FTER ACTRESS Isha Koppikar’s long relationship with actor Inder Kumar went kaput, she never thought she’d find love again. But one man knew she was the woman he’d been waiting for. She stood him up on one occasion and they met only twice in two years. But restaurateur (and recently Survivor India participant) Timmy Narang persisted and finally married her in 2009. And now, he can’t stop talking about their marriage.

a hard day’s work. Now someone is always there by my side.

Timmy: I have to look pretty all the time to match Isha’s good looks!

The pressures of a marriage are...

Isha: The biggest challenge for me was space. But Timmy and I are mostly travelling for work. So when we happen to be in Mumbai together, we love being with each other.

Timmy: Mostly we are away with work commitments and don’t have much time together.

Was it love at first sight?

Isha: We met at the gym in 2005 but I was just out of a tumultuous relaIf you’re attracted to someone else? tionship so we Timmy: It’s okay to be remained friends. attracted to people. It’s Also, I was bothered healthy as long as it because Timmy was stays for the moment so rich. I usually don’t and doesn’t threaten The fact that like rich men because your marriage.

I feel they believe they we are such can buy love but Isha: Timmy is a good friends.

Timmy wasn’t like harmless flirt and I that. On June 21, like that about him. I We were 2008, we started datwork in an industry friends and ing and on November full of good looking 29, 2009, we married. men and it would’ve then lovers been difficult for me Timmy: Isha took me had he not given me as a close friend and I my space as well. respected that. But I How do you deal with also told her how I felt insecurities? about her and in 2008 He is so funny Isha: Timmy is rich, it happened. good looking and well Did sparks fly on the first date? spoken. He’s had his share of affairs.

Isha: My first date with Timmy was I’m not threatened by his past. with 20 other people! I was supposed to meet him alone but he didTimmy: It’s an effort both partners n’t call, so I made plans with my have to make and once you have friends. But he called and I landed that understanding, it’s easy to overup with 20 people. That day I felt come small insecurities. really, really good about Timmy.

Is infidelity a deal breaker?

Who proposed and what was it like?

Isha: Yes. I wouldn’t even forgive a Isha: Timmy got down on his knees meaningless drunk night escapade. and asked me to marry him.

Coming from a guy who lives in a Timmy: Yes, definitely. Marriage is a Mr Bean, Mickey Mouse world, it deep commitment and can’t be was romantic. For him, champagne, demeaned by infidelity. candles and flowers is not a romantic setting, Disneyland is!

Plans for the future?

Both: Have babies.

Timmy: I was on my knees! How amrah.ashraf@hindustantimes.com much more romantic can it get?

One thing you love about Isha?

Know thy partner

Isha and Timmy try and guess each other’s likes and dislikes.

FAVOURITE FOOD

Isha: Eggs (Correct) Timmy: Fish and eggs (Correct)

FAVOURITE PERFUME

WHO TAKES LONGER TO GET DRESSED?

Isha: Timmy. Anything between an hour or two.

Isha: Creed by Creed (Correct) Timmy: Burberry (Correct)

Timmy: I do. Isha takes less than

MOUNTAINS OR BEACHES

WHO HAS MORE SHOES?

20 minutes.

Isha: Beaches (Correct) Timmy: Both. She loves travelling

(Correct)

Perfect 10?

We asked Isha and Timmy to rate each other on a scale of 1 to 10. Here's what they said…

Timmy: She’s a perfect Isha: I’ll give him a because he still needs to match up to my level of cleanliness

16

‘Private’ practice

10 9

Isha: Timmy definitely.

Timmy: Me.

WHO HOGS THE BATHROOM MORE?

Timmy: It is a tie for that spot.

Isha: Timmy for sure.

WHO TURNS OFF THE LIGHT?

Timmy: Whoever is closer to the switchboard.

Isha: We take turns. Mostly,

whoever is closest to the board.

One thing you love about Timmy?

Did marriage change you?

Isha: Oh yes. In this industry, you need someone to comfort you after

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 12, 2012

MORE ON THE WEB For the full interview of Isha and Timmy, log on to hindustantimes.com/ishatimmy ■

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MARRIED TO THE JOB

America may obsess about its First Lady but in India, we simply don’t care about political spouses

spectator

Seema Goswami

PRIVATE, KEEP OUT We see Gursharan Kaur, wife of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, only when she accompanies her husband on some foreign trip

L

AST WEEK I devoured the controversial new book, The Obamas, by New York Times correspondent Jodi Kantor, in one greedy gulp. But even at the half-way mark I could understand why the book had so upset the White House.

The story may ostensibly be about the Obamas as a couple and the dynamics of their relationship but its focus is undoubtedly the First Lady – her resistance to her husband’s joining politics; her difficulties in adjusting to life in the White House; her extravagance; her stormy relationship with her husband’s staffers; her struggle to find a meaningful role for herself other than that of First Mum; and so on.

But what intrigued me was not so much that Kantor had spun a book – and a very readable one at that – out of meeting the Obamas for about half an hour several years ago (as the White House bitterly pointed out). What really leapt out at me as I raced through the chapters is how important spouses are in American politics.

They may not be running for office themselves but political wives are subjected to much the same media scrutiny as their husbands.

Their every move is analysed, every statement mined for sub-text, and every wardrobe choice picked over. Whatever the merits of the men, they inevitably end up being judged by the women they married – and if they managed to stay married to them. And wives can often make or break a political career.

Remember how Hillary Clinton was pilloried for making dismissive remarks about stay-at-home moms who baked cookies when her husband was running for President? Such was the backlash that she had to turn up on a television show with some home-baked cookies she had rustled up herself to prove that she – a highflying lawyer – was a regular mom like any other. When the ‘bimbo eruptions’ hit Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign, it was Hillary who gave a joint interview with her husband to shore up his image. And again, when the Monica Lewinsky story hit the headlines, it was Hillary who came up with the infamous phrase, ‘a giant rightwing conspiracy’ to defend her beleaguered husband.

Yes, wives have the power to shore up their husbands’ political careers if they so choose. President George W Bush’s image as a warmonger was softened by the gentle presence of his wife, Laura, the school-teacher turned librarian, who spent all her time doing good works and reading to children.

And more recently, when Barack Obama’s ratings plummeted to abysmal levels, his wife’s soaring popularity helped to even the score a bit.

Now, as the scrimmage over the Republican nomination for the next US Presidential election continues, political wives merit more coverage than ever. Mitt Romney scores by the simple expedient of staying married to his high school sweetheart, Ann, with whom he has five strapping sons. Newt Gingrich hasn’t been so lucky. Last week, Maureen Dowd devoted her entire New York Times column to eviscerating Gingrich’s current wife, Callista. Describing the third Mrs Gingrich as a ‘tranformational wife’ who wants her husband to go out there and

IN DEFENCE! When the ‘bimbo eruptions’ hit Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, Hillary gave a joint interview with her husband to shore up his image

LEADING LADY The book The Obamas may ostensibly be about the Obamas as a couple and the dynamics of their relationship, but its focus is undoubtedly the First Lady

conquer the world, Dowd wrote, “Draped in Tiffany diamonds, Callista is the embodiment of the divide between Gingrich’s public piety and private immorality.” Ouch!

This American-style spotlight on political wives has now even spread across the Atlantic, with the wives of British Prime Ministers playing a more visible public role. Nobody either heard or saw Norma Major when her husband was Prime Minister. But you couldn’t possibly say that about Cherie Blair now, could you? Even the more low profile Sarah Brown was pulled out at the Labour Party conference to introduce her husband Gordon to the delegates in a speech aimed at ‘humanising’ him.

Now Samantha Cameron is a visible presence on the British political scene, supporting her husband at political events, flying the flag for British fashion, or hosting a gaggle of political spouses on the sidelines of major conferences. On the Continent, it is Carla Bruni who is flying the flag for the political wife, making joint appearances with her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy, to give his image a much-needed dose of glamour.

Thankfully, we in India are still holding out against this trend of making political spouses part of the political narrative. The only time we see Gursharan Kaur, wife of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in the papers is when she accompanies her husband on some foreign trip. Otherwise, she stays very much in the shadows, preserving her privacy behind the ramparts of Race Course Road.

Of the putative Prime Ministerial candidates on offer, Rahul Gandhi does not have a spouse (though it’s probably fair to say that she would get a fair amount of media attention if she did, in fact, exist).

But even among the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidates, it is hard to put a face on the spouses of any of them.

It has been rumoured that Narendra Modi has a wife, but I can’t seem to recall a single picture of her being published in the media. And I doubt that most people could identify Arun Jaitley’s wife or Sushma Swaraj’s husband if their lives depended on it.

No, in India, political spouses are just not part of the political discourse. We don’t care what they think about the political issues of the day; what they do to earn a living; or even, what they wear. And long may it stay that way.

PHOTOS: REUTERS

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 12, 2012

seema_ht@rediffmail.com. Follow Seema on Twitter at twitter.com/seemagoswami

17

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Whose Goat Is It Anyway?

J Given that the cuisine of the sub-continent has developed around the meat of this animal, why are our chefs and restaurant managers so embarrassed to admit this?

Vir Sanghvi

rude food

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK

REALITY BITES A pound of goat meat (this image) has two-third the calories of a pound of beef (right) and half the saturated fat of chicken (top)

18

UST AS every MP begins his or her career with a lie – by saying that total electoral expenditure was under the limit – so every chef and restaurant manager who writes a menu usually starts out with a lie of his or her own.

The lie consists of a description of the red meat that is used in the kitchen. Often, the menu will simply say ‘mutton’. This is a term widely used in the culinary world to describe meat from a sheep. The term ‘lamb’ is restricted to young sheep. If the meat comes from an older animal then ‘mutton’ is used. It is the sort of distinction embodied by the phrase ‘mutton dressed as lamb’, commonly employed to describe older women who try and dress young.

The problem, of course, is that the kitchen does not use mutton, no matter what it says on the menu. The chances are that the chef is using goat, a meat for which the term mutton is never used outside of India.

Some chefs and menu writers go further with their evasions. In the descriptive line below such menu staples as seekh kebab and raan, they will use lamb instead of goat. So, a seekh kebab will be described as ‘minced lamb cooked on a skewer in the tandoor’ and a raan as ‘leg of lamb’.

Even as the menu is being written, the chefs and managers will know that they are telling big fat lies. But they will rationalise it, arguing, just as our MPs do when they file their election expenses, that everyone does it so it is perfectly acceptable to engage in such evasions or misstatements.

The one time Indian chefs don’t lie about the true nature of the meat they are using is at restaurants abroad. Indian restaurants in London will usually substitute lamb with goat so when they say that their seekh kebabs are made with minced lamb, they are not lying. But the consequence is that their meat dishes hardly ever taste exactly the same as the original dishes do in India – how could they, given that they are using a completely different animal?

Two mysteries remain. One: why do chefs in India use goat rather than lamb? The answer is simple enough. The dishes were invented for goat meat, not for lamb. Besides, many Indians much prefer the taste of goat to that of lamb. Indian chefs sometimes complain that lamb can be too fatty and customers occasionally protest that dishes made with lamb smell all wrong.

The second mystery is the more profound one. Given that the cuisine of the sub-continent has developed around the meat of the goat, then why are our chefs and managers so embarrassed to

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 12, 2012

indulge IN A STEW admit this? Why do they feel obliged to lie?

In most of EuOne answer, usually offered by chefs, is rope and Amerithat the term ‘mutton’ means goat meat ca, there is no in India. Well, yes, it does now after decades real tradition of of misuse but you can’t arbitrarily rename eating goat an animal or a bird or its meat. You can’t (right). Nobody say that it is perfectly legitimate to refer in the West reto a ‘duck’ as ‘chicken’ in India because gards it as a that is how we use the term. So it is with simple substitute mutton and goats.

The second answer – and I would argue for lamb (below) PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK that this one makes more sense – is that chefs treat this as a harmless evasion. Most Indians know that the meat they get served at restaurants (or the meat at home) is goat regardless of how it is described on the menu. So, when we order a seekh kebab at a restaurant, we expect to get goat meat even if the menu promises lamb.

Foreigners are not so understanding.

There is no real tradition of eating goat in much of the Western world. You find goat in Jamaican, Mexican and African food and some Greek dishes require goat meat.

But in most of Europe and America, the idea of eating goat is as repugnant as the idea of eating horse or ries of a pound of beef. And this is the astonishing bit: goat has half fox would be to you and me. (Though the French and the Italians the saturated fat of chicken. So, all those Indian doctors who read are quite happy to eat fox or horse, or even donkey, so why they American textbooks that tell people to give up red meat and switch should object to goat is strange.) to chicken for the sake of their hearts may be making a mistake.

I sometimes wonder if our chefs are being too careful about The American textbooks use red meat as a synonym for beef. But offending foreigners. Goat meat is actually gaining in popularity in the red meat we eat, goat, is actually better for your heart than the West. It is still hard to find, but shops that do sell it often charge chicken. more for goat than they do for lamb, treating it as an exotic and As goat becomes the trendy meat, Western chefs are creating a hard-to-find meat. caste system for goats similar to the one that is already employed What’s interesting though is that nobody in the West regards it for pork, chicken and beef. Most people in the food business know as a simple substitute for lamb. Most Western chefs and food writthat black-leg chickens or those from the French town of Bresse ers argue that the meat is very different. I was reading about the are the best. There is a classification of pork as well. Near the top rising popularity of goat in the Wall Street Journal last weekend, of the heap is Berkshire pork. (Berkshire pigs, bred in Japan, proand it intrigued me that the writer was struggling to describe the duce korobuta pork, which is also highly regarded.) When it comes flavour of goat to American readers. As the Journal said, “Goat is to beef, such breeds as Angus are highly prized and beef from the the ultimate mystery meat for American home cooks... it’s just not Japanese town of Kobe can be among the world’s most expensive part of our food culture.” meats.

A cook-book writer is quoted by the Journal as saying that goat The same sort of thing seems set to happen to goat meat. Chefs tastes like a cross between dark meat turkey and pork. Other look for goats from the Spanish, Kiko or Boer breeds. Goats from descriptions suggest that it is a cross between veal and lamb. lesser breeds command a lower price. They insist that a goat should American chefs also treat goat as a meat that is difficult to cook. not weigh more than 60 pounds. If it is older than nine months, Many suggestions are offered for softening the then its meat falls in value. Female goats are meat and taming what is described as its strong, preferred to male goats because their meat is gamey flavour. more tender.

Indian chefs have long recognised that goat Much of this will not surprise India’s requires special attention: that is one reason Quereshi chefs who come from a long tradiwhy marination is such an important part of tion of butchers and understand the goat best. the Indian culinary tradition. The process The Quereshis even understand goat fat, choosinvolved in making a raan, for instance, is so ing the fat from particular parts of the animal long and complicated that many for each dish. (For instance, while the meat Western chefs, used to simply roastfor a kakori can come from different parts of ing a leg of lamb, would faint at the the goat, the fat must come from the kidney prospect of turning a leg of goat into area.) a melt-in-the-mouth dish.

But Indian restaurants and hotels are relucBut what’s interesting – and I didtant to even admit that they serve goat, let n’t realise this till I read the Journal alone brag about the expertise of the chef in story – is that goat is being promotchoosing the right part of a goat from the best ed as the healthy and environmenbreed of a certain age and under a certain tally friendly alternative to beef, lamb weight. So while American and European chefs and pork. celebrate the goat and turn it into a trendy Bill Niman (the founder of Niman Ranch, gourmet delicacy, our contribution to goatwhose meat products are famous the world eating is to call the animal ‘lamb’ even though over) recommends goat because it is a susTHE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE we know we are lying. tainable meat from animals that thrive on pasWhile the meat for a kakori can come from But as the goat craze catches on, perhaps ture. The health argument is also compelling. different parts of the goat, the fat must Indian restaurants will finally overturn the lies A pound of goat meat has two-third the calocome from the kidney area and evasions of so many decades.

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

19

PHOTO: REUTERS

CHEW ON THIS Bill Niman (above, the founder of Niman Ranch) recommends goat because it is a sustainable meat from animals that thrive on pasture

TELL THE TRUTH In the descriptive line below such menu staples as seekh kebab and raan (above), chefs will use the word ‘lamb’ instead of ‘goat’

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Not the first of its kind, but the best so far – the Nike+ Fuelband may just end up making you fitter

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

techilicious

Rajiv Makhni

SMOOTH TREAD The band measures your activity – no matter where you are

BIG BAND THEORY The band tracks your activity levels and signals back to you using LED lights

On top of those coloured LEDs is a screen that displays steps, caloThwack! That was the sweet sound of the midries and fuel. An app pairs with an iPhone (Android and others comdle of the baseball bat making contact with the ing soon) for monitoring your progress on the go. And if you’re one pure leather of the ball. It was my first home run of those people who has this insatiable need to share everything ever and I was being coached by the New York Yankees coach himincluding your every activity – then your Fuelband data can be shared self at that time – but that wasn’t THE most amazing thing to happen on Facebook or Twitter. It also connects to a personal account on the to me in New York.

■ It’s huge – built on 24 acres. It’s expensive – it cost 1.5 billion US dolWeb where you can see your performance graphed out with visuals.

It’s nice, it does quite a bit and it’s a good gauge of your daily level lars to build – which makes it the third most expensive sports stadiof activity but there are other devices that do similar things (see um in the world. It’s at the iconic Yankee Stadium – home of baseball sidebar), maybe a bit less – but pretty similar. So why am I calling team the New York Yankees, where I hit my home run. Yet, it STILL this amazing? Because it has taken isn’t the most amazing thing in my the strengths of most of the others, NY adventures.

■ I spent about an hour with a man overcomes the weaknesses – and added one critical feature. who is pure legend. He’s won the Tour Let me explain. The very idea of de France a record seven consecutive THE STRIIV IS ALMOST IDIOT an all-day personal fitness tracker times despite being diagnosed with PROOF AND JUST WORKS: is that it must be ‘on you’ all day. And testicular cancer in 1996. Yes, Lance It counts steps, your run and that’s the crux of the problem.

Armstrong and I ‘chatted and hung’ other activities, plus gives you Almost every other device needs a for a while. And while that’s difficult challenges all day to keep you lot of extra effort from your side to to beat in emotional terms – there motivated. A slightly clunky intergive you results. Some need to was still MORE amazement in store face and it needs to be clasped strapped to your chest, some have for me. on – these are the main problems. an elastic band that must make hard contact with your skin, others need HAT WAS truly amazto be clipped onto your clothes and ing was that while I did THE FITBIT IS some need to be hung from a clasp. my whole baseball rouHUGE: Not in size Not very efficient, you need to tine, pranced around (it’s super small) remember to put it on and you have the gigantic Yankee stadium and spent but in terms of the to be very careful not to lose it (I’ve time in the company of a legend – I number of people used a Fitbit for the last six months was also able to to accumulate and that use it. It tracks and gave up when I lost two of them) track ‘fuel’. More than 2,000 fuel it all – your calowhile you go about living your life. points – and THAT is amazing! ries, steps, even With the Fuelband – you strap it Yes, fuel points were literally my sleep. It needs to onto your wrist, set a goal and forget life blood in New York. That's because be clipped on to about it. And as it monitors your life I had strapped on a Nike+ Fuelband your waist and and gives you real time feedback, you that was tracking my life at every that’s where it gets truly do understand just how sedenstage. My activity level – was I sitting lost very easily. tary certain phases of your day are. for too long, whether I took the stairs This isn’t the holy grail, it’s expenor the elevator, how much did I walk, JAWBONE UP: UP sive at $149, some will dismiss it as a was my run fast enough? It was pretwas a great idea but slickly packaged and marketed ty much a Big Brother on my wrist. dies within a week of pedometer – but that’s where the And I was in competition with about use. Never a comparisons stop. By packing in a 50 others. good lot of technology in a flexible screen Nike+ Fuelband is a flexible band thing band that literally becomes an unobmade of thermoplastic rubber and in a trusive part of your body – the polypropelene. It has a flexible LED device.

Fuelband automatically starts playscreen on it, it’s water resistant, you THE BODYMEDIA FIT: FIT is ing the role of a coach, mentor, trackcan shower with it, it weighs just 32 where it all started. Used er and motivator. It charges you to grams and it comes in three sizes. on the show Biggest Loser, move, to take the stairs, to go for a This is a device that turns your life, this armband has a sensor run, to not skip the gym – and may your actions, your fitness and activthat must touch your skin at just end up making you fitter, leaner ity into fuel. This is a personal all times. It’s very accurate and stronger. And boy, how we all accelerometer that measures your and tracks a lot, such as need that! activity in three dimensions – so whattemperature, how much Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Techever you’re doing will be tracked and you sweat, etc, but is imnology, NDTV and the anchor of Gadget signalled back to you with an array possible to keep on all day.

Guru, Cell Guru and Newsnet 3. Follow Rajiv of LED lights turning from red to It is also very expensive. green as goals are met. on Twitter at twitter.com/RajivMakhni ■

The FuelBand’s Competition

W

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HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 12, 2012

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Striking It Rich

Looking for new artists or those who do DIY-style publishing? There’s a go-to website just for you

download central

Sanjoy Narayan

A

FTER A week of overdosing on over-wrought music, you know the kind – complex arrangement of instruments, overwhelming synthesiser layers, deep bass, heavy drum lines, hardly discernible vocals – I was looking for some relief and it came in the form of a gent named Thomas Patrick Maguire. He’s based in Brooklyn, New York, and if you see a picture of Maguire – cleancut, fresh faced, short, slicked back hair – you’d probably get the wrong idea about the kind of music he makes.

But listen to any track from his just released, The Future’s Coming So Fast, and you’ll realise that what you see is not always what you get.

Maguire has been self-releasing his albums for a while and playing small clubs and tiny gigs. He’s a singer and songwriter whose music is redolent with emotion but also wit and humour and, best of all, a hugely appealing, jangly, garage-y feel. I discovered Maguire when I heard a single song from the new album on a podcast of this year’s new music thus far. The song was called What’s Your Malfunction. It’s a song of an indignant, confused lover with simple lyrics but sung in a manner that reminded me of the delightfully sloppy blues that another of my favourite singers, G Love, makes. I haven’t heard G Love and his deliciously named band, Special Sauce, in years but on the song that I heard, there was something about Maguire’s laid-back vocals, emotion-laden yet witty lyrics and rough, slap-dash recording quality that was endearing enough for me to look for the album.

I found it on Bandcamp (http://bandcamp.com/), the website that allows musicians and bands to directly sell their music and merchandise to their fans. It’s a virtual treasure trove for musiclovers, specially if they’re looking for new artists and virtually unknown ones such as Maguire who prefer to do DIY-style publishing. I found The Future’s Coming So Fast on Maguire’s page and for, roughly, R350, I downloaded the album and even got a couple of mp4 formatted high definition videos of his songs for free. It was well worth it.

Maguire’s music has a recording quality that reminds me of my father’s old Bush valve radio that used to wheeze and snarl and make noises that your stomach makes sometimes. I do hope he doesn’t change that when he gets really popular, which I think he certainly will, because that’s the charm of the album. Besides, of course, the irony of his songs. I’m guessing Maguire is, like our Prime Minister, an introvert (I didn’t say it; Time magazine recently did!) because his songs have a certain “leave-me-alone-please” emotion about them. One of them is even called Avoiding People.

In fact, reading through the song titles itself is a treat. Besides the two songs I’ve mentioned, you get Beer in the Fridge, Instruction Manual, Negative Hill, Unemployment Dreams, Nothing that Stitches Can’t Sew… you get the drift?

ON HIS OWN TRIP (Top) Thomas Patrick Maguire has been self-releasing albums and playing tiny gigs MEET THE MAKER (Above) Jeph Jacques is the creator of Deathmole, a virtual post-metal band FREE SPIRIT (Left) You can find albums by Amanda Palmer on the Bandcamp website

Bandcamp is a place worth hanging about in. You can get almost everything that former Dresden Dolls’ singer, pianist and songwriter, Amanda Palmer, has released on her own steam and even some Dresden Dolls albums. Her husband and star graphic novelist Neil Gaiman’s readings are also on sale – you can name your price for them, by the way. You can browse genres, browse by location (India as well) and get music free. Or better still, pay the artist directly for the music he makes.

After Maguire’s album, I wanted more of less, so I browsed Bandcamp’s acoustic section and found Tin Cans On String, a band that makes happy, humour-filled folk music and uses mandolins, banjos, harmonicas and lots of clapping. They seemed promising and I may just think of forking out some cash for their album.

Or not. Because, as I am writing this, something else just caught my eye – a virtual post-metal band called Deathmole, whose creator is a web-comic book illustrator called Jeph Jacques and whose band has a sound that is exactly the opposite of what I started talking about in this column. Deathmole are everything you want metal to be, loud, droning and high-amped. I’m listening to Meade’s Army, their new album on Bandcamp, and I may just change my mind about listening to peaceful, under-wrought, less complicated stuff. Am I being fickle? Well, probably, yes. Oh, and do check out Jacques’ web-comic. It’s called Questionable Content.

To give feedback, stream or download the music mentioned in this column, go to http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/ download-central, follow argus48 on Twitter or visit our website:www.hindustantimes.com/brunch

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 12, 2012

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PERSONALAGENDA AGENDA PERSONAL

PHOTO: DEBRA LOPEZ

POORNA JAGANNATHAN Sun sign

Cusp between Sagittarius and Capricorn

Birthday December 22

Hometown Tunis, Tunisia

School/college Occupation First break Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Delhi Actor University of Maryland, USA

High point of your life

The birth of my son and being part of The Barrow Group (a NY theatre group)

Low point What are of your life you doing currently?

When I moved to

LA and there was no theatre there

Which character from Sholay do you most resemble and why?

I feel the character of Gabbar Singh always stood out from the rest.

The last line of your autobiography would read…

“And she came undone…”

Your darkest fantasy?

Pulling a Bollywood star’s toupé off.

The one place where you would never get yourself tattooed?

On my neck. Would definitely never get anything done there.

One song that describes your current state of mind?

8 Mile by Eminem, which

is about taking chances.

Something I relate to, as I’ve just moved to Mumbai from New York.

Your most irrational fear…

I have a huge fear of water.

The one lie you got away with?

Telling my mom I was sick during my pre-Boards. I mixed Parle-G and water and

THE MOST OVERRATED MOVIE / BOOK?

THE BOOK, THE SATANIC VERSES

Delhi Belly

pretended to throw up.

You wouldn’t be caught dead wearing…

Ripped, stonewashed jeans.

If you were an ice-cream, what flavour would you be?

Pistachio. I am very much an Indian at heart.

Where did you spend your last summer?

In Central Park in New York, devouring the city before I moved to Mumbai.

If an alien spaceship landed in your backyard, what would you do?

Buy a ticket and get on.

How many pairs of blue jeans do you have?

Too many.

What’s the biggest surprise you’ve ever given your husband?

Skydiving. He’s scared of heights, but I took him for a birthday surprise and he ended up loving it.

IF YOU COULD PEEP INTO SOMEONE’S HOUSE, WHOSE HOUSE WOULD IT BE?

— Interviewed by Veenu Singh

THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT FOR UNDER `10?

EITHER SALMAN KHAN OR SHAH RUKH KHAN, TO CHECK HOW THEY LIVE

COCONUT WATER

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK

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Acting sessions at Cafe Coffee Day’s Lounge Journals, reading scripts

HINDUSTAN TIMES WEEKLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 12, 2012