Hindustantimes Brunch 24 February 2013

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WEEKLY MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 24, 2013 Free with your copy of Hindustan Times

Norah Jones opens up about her music, lyrics and her famous family in an exclusive interview with Karsh Kale

indulge

VIR SANGHVI

The new order

SANJOY NARAYAN

Keller Williams: Piano man

RAJIV MAKHNI

One tablet, five ways

SEEMA GOSWAMI

In person is more personal




B R E A K FA S T O F C H A M P I O N S Oscar Special

by Parul Khanna, Abhijit Patnaik, Rachel Lopez

Today is movie marathon day!

Tomorrow are the Oscars. Some of us – the ones who spent the last few weeks watching the year’s best films – will wake up in the morning to cheer for our favourites. Some (who believe that Gangs of Wasseypur and Paan Singh Tomar deserve more talktime) will cluck disapprovingly. For the rest, here’s a primer to the films nominated in the Best Film category for the 85th Academy Awards. Because whether you like it or not, your family, friends and colleagues will be obsessed with the Oscars for the next two weeks. This will help you hold your own. What is it about?

Seeti (whistle) moments

LIFE OF PI

The journey of a boy on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger for company Loo break: You need to read the book to completely get it.

The amazing cinematography, Irrfan Khan

DJANGO UNCHAINED

In the antebellum years, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a plantation owner, with the help of a German bounty hunter

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

ARGO

A top CIA ‘exfil’ guy sets up Ben a bogus film shoot in Tehran Affleck is to rescue six American the rabri diplomats on jalebi Loo break: A few clichéd scenes, but what the hell, we enjoyed them anyway.

Pat has bipolar disorder – he moves in with his parents. Tiffany is a nymphomaniac. Romance with a twist!

All of it for Tarantino fans – lots of aesthetically shot blood Loo break: Leonardo DiCaprio is just average, and so is Thandie Newton. When Pat wakes his parents in the middle of the night to tell them how bleak Hemingway is

Loo break: You’re just waiting throughout the film for them to do it! ZERO DARK THIRTY

A CIA agent’s decade-long effort to hunt down Osama Bin Laden

The actual mission to kill Osama, and when the bomb goes off at the CIA site

LINCOLN

Loo break: The films screams, loud and clear, ‘We Americans are just so cool’. Also, it feels like a documentary. The opening scene – in a battlefield, Lincoln talking to soldiers – is probably fictitious, but sets the mood

President Lincoln’s struggle to abolish slavery

Loo break: Zilch. Pee before you start watching. AMOUR

A poignant tale of love between an ageing French couple

The beautiful Emmanuelle Riva, the 85-year-old star; and Isabelle Huppert, who plays the daughter

Loo break: A few difficult-to-watch scenes, like when the husband literally has to take his stricken wife to the loo, but captivating nonetheless. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Incredible moments during and right after the hurricane and newcomer Quvenzhané Wallis’ screaming scenes Loo break: Scenes in the post-hurricane medical camp are a bit stretched. LES MISÉRABLES

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A hard drinker living in a collapsing shack with his 6-year-old daughter, Hushpuppy, in Bayou territory

A thief, a policeman, a bad haircut, death, love, songs and revolution in 18th century France

hindustantimes.com/brunch

Brunch Opinion

by Rachel Lopez

Five people who should totally attend the Norah Jones concert

Anyone who’s had their heart broken and feels worse after listening to Adele. The BBC said it, and we agree: Norah Jones makes breakups sound good. ■ Lana Del Rey. The young lady needs to learn how to sound numb without sounding dumb. ■ The ‘Indian’ guy from Goodness Gracious Me. Remember, he thought everything awesome HAD to have an Indian connection? Well, we’re taking credit for at least half of Jones’s talent. ■ Kids learning to play the piano. Beta, Jones practises like a maniac to produce music that sounds deceptively simple. Easy doesn’t mean lazy! ■ Reality singing contest hopefuls, so they can learn how to keep it real. Jones’s voice is simple and pure, but that kind of easiness takes years of control and practice. ■

Photos: THINKSTOCK

On The Brunch Radar

LOVE IT

by Saudamini Jain

“It could be swine flu, you know” ■ Appraisal forms ■ Fussing over Katju ■ Soggy croutons ■ Cake as a birthday present

Front Row

by Amrah Ashraf

We have a good feeling about Kai Po Che Could this be the next 3 Idiots? We don’t know yet, but it’s got potential. The men: Sushant Singh Rajput is no longer the soppy Manav from Pavitra Rishta. He’s ripped (gorgeously oiled), sports a stubble and those piercing eyes… And look, babyface Amit Sadh finally grew up! Let’s not forget Raj Kumar Yadav. He may not have the abs, but he sure has our attention. The music: Amit Trivedi and Swanand Kirkire have got it right, again! Listen to Maanjha and tell me if I am wrong. The movie: Abhishek Kapoor’s second movie after Rock On! is about cricket, religion, politics and love – what’s not to love? It even manages to make Chetan Bhagat look good.

■ Borrowing his leather jacket ■ Toasting with cough syrup ■ Hrithik dancing ■ College debating ■ Mad Men reruns (Season 6 is six weeks away!)

SHOVE IT

This week, on the Web We’re uploading the stories in BrunchQ. So if you didn’t buy the last issue, you can just log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch. While you’re online, follow @HTBrunch on Be Your Own Bartender Champagne’s a sparkling, crisp liquid gold that’s Twitter. On Facebook, already the best that money can buy. So how do you make it even more special? Simple. You get we’re quoting our Douglas Ankrah. Well, that’s what we did for the last issue of BrunchQ. The cocktail supremo gave favourite books – so, us a bunch of recipes. Old Cuban is on his list like Hindustan Times of favourite drinks to make. It’s also the Brunch drink of the week. Brunch and then like OLD CUBAN Ingredients: 30-40ml Havana Club Rum; our posts. Oh, and 2 bar spoons caster sugar; 8 leaves fresh we’re reviewing restau- mint; 10ml sugar syrup; 15ml freshly pressed lime juice rants on Tumblr – it’s Glassware: Champagne flute Method: Shake all ingredients for about 2-3 htbrunch.tumblr.com. minutes, allowing the fresh mint to bruise.

Anne Hathaway doing I Dreamed A Dream and all those sweeping shots of Paris

Then, fill the rest of the glass with chilled champagne. Garnish: Fresh mint coated with caster sugar! For more champagne cocktail recipes, log on to:

Loo break: Half the songs are dull. Unlike Chicago and Sweeney Todd, there is very little spoken word, and most songs are shot in close-up, without choreography. And Sacha Baron Cohen is just no fun Cover Design: MONICA GUPTA

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

FEBRUARY 24, 2013

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

Drop us a line at: brunchletters@

hindustantimes.com or to 18-20 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 110001



T R AV E L

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The One Thing You Must Do

… is visit New Zealand. Its beauty is awe-inspiring, the energy infectious. And there’s something for everyone! by Parul Khanna

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GET THE BIG CITY FEEL

Auckland rocks

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Photo: THINKSTOCK

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DID LEARN a thing or three Good food, great locales, activities for about life on my trip to lush, specchildren – Auckland has it all tacular, beautiful New Zealand. and are mad about rugby too. The And I finally realised what they say day I landed, their team, the All about travel truly opening up your Blacks, had lost a match. So there mind. The country is such a revelawas a feeling of ‘we lost’ in the air. tion that my fellow travellers and I New Zealand is so remote, it was had to coin a new term to describe one of the last lands to be settled by every new place we’d visit. We couldhumans (hence the name). The n’t parrot, ‘it’s beautiful, it’s beaucountry is divided into North tiful’ each time our jaws Ride Island and South Island dropped. It is common If there’s anyknowledge that this is where in the world and 70 per cent of its where Lord of The Rings you can ride a horse inhabitants are European and The Hobbit were shot and feel free (like they and the rest, indigenous Maoris and Polynesians. (and it is as beautiful as it show in the movies), it is Though, as I was informed looks on-screen). The man here by my Brazilian guide (there who directed these movies, are many South Americans, Peter Jackson, is also from here. especially Brazilians and Asians New Zealand is the land of sheep settled there too), there are hardly and wool (there are six sheep to one any pure-bred Maoris left, because person) and the country’s rolling hills, Europeans and Maoris intermarried. clear blue skies, glaciers, lakes, mounIt’s similar to big cities like Delhi, very tains and clean air are as raw and cosmopolitan. People are proud of unspoilt as any land with human their roots, and are happy here. habitation can be. People love cricket FEBRUARY 24, 2013

ne of every six New Zealanders stays in Auckland (it is more heavily populated than the capital Wellington). It frequently figures in the top 10 most livable cities in the world. That statistic didn’t surprise me. With undulating hills, the sea on three sides, posh bars and cafés, wide roads, a thriving culinary culture (name a cuisine and you’ll find a restaurant) and ample opportunity for everyone to indulge in some sport or the other, it’s a great mix of calm of pastoral spaces with the glamour and energy of urban living. As offices shut, you can see peoGO WITH THE FLOW ple jogging along the harbourfront Auckland is a great mix of green (a popular fad is to run barefoot), or spaces and the energy of urban living walking and cycling. On holidays, Aucklanders take off to the sea; they fun watching sharks and other fish surf, kayak or swim (on rare good from the moving walkway. summer days). The three places I We saved the best for last: a 35ate in Auckland didn’t disappoint. minute ferry ride to Waiheke Island. At Kermadec (a posh place next to Its permanent population is around the harbour), I had a gigantic oyster 8,000, but it is a weekend destination platter and it was amazingly fresh. for Aucklanders and the richest peoDepot, a bistro run by ple of the country have beauJump celebrity chef Al Brown, tiful houses here overFrom the Auckland was buzzy, and spelooking the sea. Its bridge, or the Nevis plat- vine-covered hills dip cialised in Kiwiana form in Queenstown (at 134 down to the beaches. fare. It serves great bite-sized platters. At metres, the third highest jump A wine tasting sesin the world) or from the SPQR, in upmarket, sion at Mudbrick – a artsy Ponsonby Road, Kawarau river bridge, also in boutique restaurantQueenstown (one of the cum-winery, with an we spotted a few Kiwi safest skydiving spots unbelievable view of the TV actors. We explored in the world) the street lined with eclechills and sea – was an tic bookshops, home stores (the interesting experience. It’s a city is an architect’s delight), old popular place for destination wedrecord shops and antique stores dings. A good way to come to A pleasant walk later, I was taken Waiheke is by ferry or boat (one out to the iconic Sky Tower. It is 192 of every eight people in Auckland metres high and is the pride of own a boat) or helicopter. While in Auckland. You can see it from everyMudrick, I saw four men having an where and you can see the entire city extended lunch and drink session, and its neighbouring islands from it. with their helicopter parked a few A must-visit is Kelly Tarlton’s aquarimetres away. A game of archery and um, where you can get up close and laser clay bird shooting followed. personal with penguins. It was also After a heady tasting session (of boutique wines and locally-brewed WE’LL DRINK TO THAT beer), we were ferried back to The beaches of Waiheke island are Auckland. just a ferry ride away from Auckland



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Sauna-hopping in Rotorua

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he first thing that hits you on streams inside, lit up by thousands of entering Rotorua is the stink of glowworms. Despite being claustroeggs gone bad. The next thing phobic, I couldn’t give this a miss and you notice are parks with miniso went in. A narrow staircase leads craters spewing clouds of steam. to a cathedral-like area with a high Rotorua is home to many lakes and ceiling (a popular place for weddings). has live fields of geothermal activity People love getting married in inter(you see sulphur and steam escaping esting locations in New Zealand. You from holes in the ground). The sulare transported in a boat and rowed phur explains the smell. But that to a pitch dark place (I was praying doesn’t deter people from visiting all through) and just when I was this popular tourist going to cry out, I saw lights Explore destination. in the water. Looking up, I Go on jeep safaris, The drive from saw thousands of glowzip through rainforests, Auckland to Rotorua worms. go kayaking and sailing in was a delight. Next, we went to the country’s lakes and sea, Summer rain, accom- go rock climbing or swim in Matamata, a private panied by The caves. Some travel operators farm, part of which Beatles on the car even take you deep into the was used by Peter stereo, Murakami for Jackson for the sets for rainforests for an company, with spectacuthe Lord Of The Rings and extreme survival lar views of green hills, The Hobbit trilogies. course swaying grass, and imposing The Hobbiton Village is a pretmountains speckled with sheep made ty, fairy tale-like place that instantly me wish the journey wouldn’t end. transports you to the movie. There Waitomo Caves on the way is a mustare little Hobbit homes, some with stop. The limestone caves in the small doors, pots and pans and little midst of a thick forest feel alive, with niches. Our guide was Ian Brodie, a

TRAVEL INFO

Currency: New Zealand dollar (1 NZ$ = R45 approx.) Getting there: Malaysia Airlines flies to NZ six times a week. A 5 hr 30 min flight to Kuala Lumpur, and then a 10 hr 15 min to Auckland. Check other airlines for options too. Best time to go: Their summer (December- February) is the best time, but if you are fond of winter sports, go during June-August. Travelling around: ‘Naked’ buses (so called because they are cheap), cars, taxis and planes can be hired. Shopping: It’s not really a shopping destination. Look for Maori crafts For more info: www.newzealand.com/in

DON’T SHY FROM THE SHIRE

The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies were shot in Hobbiton Village celebrity writer and photographer of the bestselling Lord Of The Rings Location Guidebook. After a nice walk, we ended up in the Shire’s Rest Café (you can have a wedding here too), drinking locally-brewed beer in front of a fireplace, with a Hobbiton cat curled up at our feet. In Rotorua, taking a leisurely dip in a hot pool is a must-do. The Polynesian spa we went to had pools with temperatures up to 52 degrees. The temperature takes a little time to get used to but once you dip in, it

starts to soothe your body. Rotorua has mountain biking trails running past lakes and into forests. My guide said I could become very good at it (after I came hurtling down a slope). At Te Whakarewarewa Valley, it was unnerving to be 50 metres away from a live, steam-emitting geyser. I had the Maori Hangi dinner, which is vegetables steamed using hot earth. Those who dig farm life can watch the sheep show (the children are going to love this), feed the ostriches and emus and Angus cattle (which may soon be on your table).

Queenstown’s adrenaline rush

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ueenstown’s beauty is very raw and New Zealanders make sure it stays that way. For the first 15 minutes, all I did was stare. And, for the next four days, I explored every little part of the town by foot. I ran next to the lake, into the forest. I ran without a care, because nobody stares or watches. In New Zealand, there are walking and biking trails everywhere, even in the midst of breathtakingly beautiful glacial mountains in Fiordland. Queenstown is arguably the

Bike

Go mountain biking, up beautiful hills and then down to blue lakes

Walk, walk, walk

There are walking tracks in forests (in Rotorua and Queenstown), and in remote mountains in Milford Sound PEDAL HARD

Queenstown is a perfect cycling destination

adventure capital of the world. I was a little nervous about the 45-metre jump from the Kawarau Bridge. It is here that entrepreneur AJ Hackett started the first commercial bungee in the world. With Tom Petty’s Free Falling playing in the backgound, I waited for my turn. But as I looked down, I froze. Every self-preserving cell in my body was telling me to run away. But I shut my eyes and jumped. All I heard was screaming. Wait, that was me screaming. The rush was astounding and my heart shifted from its original place; but I learnt a life lesson. It is okay to be fearful of the unknown, but it’s important to get over those fears. So jump from a bridge or plane. You’ll be surprised at how it will change you – for the better. Unlike bungee jumping, the prospect of skydiving was not as nerve-wracking. We boarded a tiny plane (that seats 12 to 16 people). I was going to jump from 15,000 ft, strapped to an instructor who had done hundreds of such jumps. During the 60-second freefall, there was an indescribable adrenaline rush. Then, as the parachute opened,

GET ADVENTUROUS AND HIGH

Kawarau river bridge in Queenstown features a 45-metre bungee jump everything went silent. I floated down, past white cotton wool clouds. Then I hit the ground. I am glad I did both the jumps. Adventure sport sceptics say it’s a death wish; enthusiasts counter, “It’s a life wish. The body and heart never feel more alive”. parul.khanna@hindustantimes.com

The writer’s trip was sponsored by Tourism New Zealand MORE ON THE WEB

For more pictures and the skydiving video, log on to hindustantimes.com /brunch

“They say New Zealand is beautiful... because after 22 hours on a plane any landmass would be beautiful – Lewis Black, comedian FEBRUARY 24, 2013



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“Coming to India

is bittersweet”

Come away with Norah Jones, the daughter of Ravi Shankar, as she performs for the first time in the country this month

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HE REUNITED with her father, the sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, only at the age of 18. Still, Norah Jones stood alongside her half-sister Anoushka Shankar on February 9 as they accepted the Lifetime Achievement Grammy award conferred posthumously on their father, who passed away in December. The move indicates just how far she’s come in her her musical and personal life. She was born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar in New York City on March 30, 1979, as a result of Ravi Shankar’s nine-year relationship with New York concert producer Sue Jones. She grew up in Texas, growing close to her mum but seeing her father only a few times a year till she was nine. Always interested in music, Norah played her first gig at 16, in a Dallas coffee shop where she performed I’ll Be Seeing You. By 2001, she was signed on by Blue Note Records, but nowhere near as famous as Ravi Shankar. “At the time I was scraping a living by playing gigs for change in New York’s Greenwich Village,” she said in an interview to The Daily Mail, London. Then, Norah released her debut album Come Away With Me, in 2002. To say that the album did well is an understatement. Norah was nominated for eight Grammy awards, winning five. But she did not enjoy the time at all. “If there’s one period of my life I wouldn’t wish to return to, it’s that time,” said the determinedly low-key singer in the same interview. “Being pulled in so many different directions was unbearably stressful.” Norah continued to produce albums: Feels Like Home (2004) earned her three Grammy nominations, and one win. She also made her acting debut with Wong Kar Wai’s 2007 film My Blueberry Nights. Her album Not Too Late (2007) was produced by Lee Alexander, her boyfriend at the time. Their breakup resulted in The Fall (2009), for which some of the songs were written in Delhi, while Norah was visiting her father and the family. Norah and Anoushka collaborated with Indian musician Karsh Kale on a song titled Easy in 2007. The sisters’ relationship now is on an even keel, Norah has said that Anoushka once even tried to teach her the sitar. Now out with Little Broken Hearts, Norah is also finally at ease discussing her famous father and said to the Grammy audience: “We really miss him. He lived and breathed music.” FEBRUARY 24, 2013


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Karsh Kale interviews Norah Jones

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arsh Kale, the Indian-American musician, producer and composer, is the first person to work with both Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones when they collaborated on his 2007 album Breathing Under Water. Kale, who has worked across such disparate genres as electronic fusion, Indian classical, rock, hip hop and Indian folk, gets the singer to open up, musician-to-musician

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

I’ve always felt that the music we grow up with plays a huge role on the music we make as adults. What music made the biggest impression on you as a child? Probably the music of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson… stuff like that. I didn’t get into jazz until high school and then that played a huge role in the music that has influenced me. And then in college, I got into Bob Dylan and Neil Young and Joni Mitchell and all that stuff, so definitely all that kind of music. With your music, it never feels like you’re just making stuff up. How much of your own life is in your sound and your lyrics? It’s always hit and miss. It’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I think an honest lyric is the best lyric but it doesn’t have to be completely autobiographical, to be honest. It just has to be heartfelt. Definitely, a lot of my songs are autobiographical, and a lot of them have poetic licence. That’s the best part about songwriting – you’re not writing an autobiography, you’re trying to make the most interesting song or story, so there are a lot of bends in there that aren’t necessarily true to life; and I think that’s what makes more interesting songs. For Indians around the world, your success brings a sense of pride. Has your connection to India, its music and its culture, evolved over the years? It’s definitely evolved over the years. I grew up with less knowledge of it and over the years, going to visit, getting to know my family, I have more knowledge of it now. I think it’s very sweet that people feel a sense of pride because of my nationality. And I’m excited to come to

How she unwinds

NOTES FROM OUR FATHER

Norah Anoushka Shankar (right) and ievement Ach e tim Life the ed ept acc Jones nkar, at the Award for their father, Ravi Sha cial Spe s ard 55th Annual Grammy Aw February 9 Merit Awards Ceremony on India and sort of feel that kinship with the audience. I hope that we have a good time, you know. It’s very interesting to me and it’s also just an interesting thing about me personally – my background and my history, and my family history and all that – it’s a bit of an interesting family story, so for me it’s going to be fun to be in India.

What was it like finally working with Anoushka? Was the fact that you were sisters help bridge the gap between your disparate music styles? You’re working with Anoushka on her next album too... It was really fun. We actually did it again this month and it was much more intense – it was more involved this time, so it was really nice. Yeah, I think being sisters, that’s the whole reason we’re working together even though we admire each other’s music – sort of wanting to work together is partly because we’re family. It was really fun, and I think it brings us closer – I under-

In all kinds of ways. I love to cook, I love to hang out, I love to go on walks, I love to listen to music. I have this violin that a fan gave me a long time ago from

stand where she’s coming from and she understands where I’m coming from, even though we play very different styles, and so it’s nice.

Working with you and Anoushka, I remember being most impressed with how well you knew your way around the recording process. What is your history with studios as a recording artist? I think I just picked things up on the way. I mean, I learned from everyone I’ve worked with. I know in the studio, I get really tired easily, so for me, I know myself, it’s best to work fast and just get it done, and then you can enjoy lunch and hanging out in the studio. That’s my preference always – to not mess around too much. But I’ve learned from everyone I’ve worked with, from all the great engineers to the other artists I’ve collaborated with. I know what I like, and I know what I don’t like sonically as well – sometimes it’s hard to put that into words, but you learn the terminology over the years. How do you feel about your first tour in India? I’m excited to come. It’s also bittersweet because my dad just passed away. I’ve never played in India, so that’s one reason to do it, and also my dad has always wanted me to play there. It’s always just been a matter of timing, and adding on to tours. It’s just never worked out in the past. I’m usually so tired by the end of the tour that I never want to add the faraway places because I’d be tired. This time I planned it a while ago and my dad was really asking me to do it, and I thought it would be nice for him and nice for me. So it’s very sad that he’s gone now, but I know he was very excited that I was going to be playing in India, so that’s a nice thing. Norah Jones will kick off her three-city tour with a headlining performance at A Summer’s Day in Mumbai on March 3 at the Turf Club, Mahalaxmi; in New Delhi on March 5 and 6 at the Siri Fort Auditorium; and Bangalore on March 8 at Nice Grounds.

Korea – a beautiful instrument that they made, and I've been learning how to play country fiddle on it, and that’s been kind of a fun random thing.

JOURNEY THROUGH MUSIC 1996: Norah Jones wins the Down Beat Student Music Awards for best jazz vocalist. Next year, she earns the second best jazz vocalist award. She starts writing songs and appears regularly with the trip-hop electronica band, Wax Poetic. 2000: She assembles her own group with Jesse Harris, Lee Alexander and Dan Rieser. The group goes on to record a handful of demos for Blue Note Records and on the strength of these recordings, Norah is signed by a jazz label the next year. 2002: Norah Jones debuts with Come Away With Me, which goes multiplatinum, selling 18 million copies and winning Jones five Grammy trophies. 2004: Jones releases her follow-up album, the very country Feels Like Home. The album sells more than one million copies in its first week in the US. 2006: Jones launches her next album, Not Too Late, which debuts at No 1 on the Billboard 200. 2009: Her next studio album, The Fall, is her second lowest first week for a Jones album after Come Away with Me. 2010: Jones does vocals for Danger Mouse’s (aka Brian Burton) project, Rome. 2012: Burton then returns the favour by producing and co-writing the songs on Jones’ fifth studio album, Little Broken Hearts. The album does not do well commercially, but is appreciated by music critics.

Brian Burton with Norah Jones

“I got stood up by the letter Y, he was hanging around with his X” – Norah Jones FEBRUARY 24, 2013


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Norah and me, off the record A couple of hours and some coffee... that’s all Anoushka, Norah and I needed to compose Easy, says Karsh Kale

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REMEMBER TALKING about collaborating with Norah with her sister Anoushka as we made plans for our Breathing Under Water album. This collaboration had been in the works for a long time, but nothing had happened yet because they operate in such different musical spheres. This album however was already throwing me in different situations, working with artists such as Shankar Mahadevan, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Sunidhi Chauhan, Salim Merchant, Sting, Ravi Shankar and a host of great artists from around the world, so this proved to be the perfect opportunity. Anoushka and I had worked on an instrumental piece that we had titled Mercedez (a working title) that we had put aside for a moment. This was going to be the piece of music that we would bring to Norah. At the time, there seemed to be a lot of press focusing on the family story and trying to stir up some drama, so there were many reasons why this collaboration needed to work. I already knew from my experience with the family that all was

I was initially a bit apprehensive about this collaboration as Norah came off to me like a bit of a snob, refusing our cameras to be in the studio etc. good in the world of the Shankars, but the press didn’t want to hear that. I was initially a bit apprehensive about this collaboration as Norah came off to me like a bit of a snob, refusing to allow our cameras to be in the studio (we were filming Karsh Kale

I already knew from my experience with the family that all was good in the world of the Shankars, but the press didn’t want to hear that

Photo: ANJA MATTHES

the making of the album) etc. I thought she might prove to be difficult to work with, you know, a new diva on the scene making demands.

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owever my experience was quite the opposite. We went to Norah’s home then in the East Village of Manhattan to see what we could do. A couple of hours and a few cups of coffee later, we already had a song. Anoushka had penned some lyrics a few nights before and we had a structure and a musical space to start from, so the piece just flowed out. A couple of hours later we had a piece titled Easy. The next day, we went to Right Track Studio in Manhattan to lay down the track. I have always been cautious of artists who have gotten too much too soon, and an artist who upon releasing her first album received 8 Grammys made me a bit wary of the experience, but working

with Norah proved to be something else. Not only did she have an amazing command of her craft as a singer, but she seemed to know exactly what and how she wanted to accomplish this in the studio. I remember being very impressed with how well she was able to make it happen, record harmonies, piano and all with such ease and grace. I have worked with countless singers in my day but the experience with Norah seemed to set a benchmark for future collaborations. She deserves all the accolades as she continues to push the boundaries of her own artistry. brunchletters@hindustantimes.com

MORE MUSIC ON THE WEB For pictures and links to videos of Norah Jones, log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch While you’re at it, check out our Grandpa’s Guide to Electronic Music, too!

“Nobody can tell you you’re wrong for writing a song about how you feel – even if you don’t really feel that way” – Norah Jones FEBRUARY 24, 2013



PROMOTION

EDUCATIONISTS WITH A DIFFERENCE

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ducation plays an important role in the life of every person because to put it simple words — ‘Knowledge is Power’. It’s the power to make one’s destiny and to be what you want to be. Education gives the youth the power to explore their potential to the fullest. It helps to lay a strong foundation for the development of adult life, guide them to take correct decisions, how to react in different situations, develop perspectives, build opinions, convert information into knowledge, open career opportunities, plan for the future and take right steps in that direction. Therefore, education is not just restricted to lessons taught in the classroom but in life as well.

When Benjamin Franklin said, “Genius without education is like silver in the mine”, he was right for education not only nurtures and cultivates talent but showcases it for the world to witness. A nation with an educated youths thus has the potential to grow into an economic powerhouse and foster the true meaning of equality and socialism. Today, the country’s education sector is buzzing with new ideas, concepts and thoughts. Despite the fact that a lot more needs to be done before every child gets access to primary education he/she should be provided with a conducive environment in which they become educated individuals. It is in this context that one

needs to bring to the fore the leaders of Indian education system who have taken upon themselves the task of bringing a new wave of

development and growth in education sector. They are working hard to do innovations and bring newer ideas into the sphere.

Online Education is the new mantra for MBA The online education model is the only practical solution to meet the growing educational needs of India says Dr. Arun Mohan Sherry, Director, Institute of Management Technology's (IMT) Centre for Distance Learning (CDL). According to him, it offers multiple benefits in comparison to traditional college education for a number of reasons — cost, convenience and efficiency. Dr. Sherry, who is a Ph.D. as well an M.Sc. (Gold Medalist) and M.Tech. (Computer Science, IIT Kharagpur) has tirelessly worked to put adequate processes so that the quality of education offered through distance mode can be as good, even better than regular full time education. In an exclusive interview to HT Brunch Dr. Sherry talks about the future and new trends of online education. Excerpts The advent of online educational innovations has been very impactful. What is its future?

Dr. Arun Mohan Sherry

Director, Institute of Management Technology Centre for Distance Learning 14 FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Online education is gradually being accepted as an alternate medium of study for many students and the demand has been growing exponentially. In a country like India where there is huge demand and supply gap, virtual learning is the way to go at all levels. India is standing at a crucial juncture where half the population is below 35 years of age. We cannot afford to ruin their lives by merely stating problems facing our system. In short span of time and without much investment, we can take education to masses at effective prices. Why can’t we have a national online library which can be accessed by one and all? Why can’t we have lectures of

renowned professors and teachers posted online? If we want to provide access to education on large scale at effective price, online education is the answer. This model has a great future as it crosses all barriers like location, budget, lack of quality faculty and infrastructure. With the advent of IT, the distance learning programme has become more sought after by means of internet, audio-video conferencing and online interaction in India.

What are the probable challenges in success of online education? Lack of awareness amongst students and parents is a major hurdle. The mindset has to be changed. The acceptance level of online education has to go up as there is no compromise on education. There are various means through which quality and stan-

dard in distance education can be maintained. The competent faculty can telecast or broadcast their lectures to students staying in any part of the world. In fact, at times, it is more rigorous than the traditional mode. It is a well-accepted model worldwide.

What management programmes are offered by IMT-CDL? IMT-CDL offers a wide spectrum of management and information technology programmes. The curriculum is constantly updated to be in touch with the dynamic global and Indian environment. The twoyear online PGDM through the distance mode is specially designed to equip the students with comprehensive management education. Our one-year online PGDM for CONTINUED ON PAGE 16



PROMOTION

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 executive is quite popular. We have host of specialised courses in cyber law and security, business administration, financial management, etc. We do offer Ph.D programmes.

What are the advantages a student gets? IMT-CDL believes that it is offering programmes that are at par with the best programmes. We use a unique combination of distance education, e-learning and personal contact programmes to create a

hybrid learning environment for students. Using e-Learning platform, we offer our students a rich digital library with which they access top international journals, books, recorded classroom teaching material and a lot more. IMTCDL organises personal contact programmes where classes are held at IMT campus and other locations to aid personal interaction. Its course curriculum and contents are updated every six months which keeps the contents fresh. Its exams are held by UPSC

which conducts exams for civil services also. IMT-CDL has corporate tie-ups with Airtel, IBM, Infosys, ONGC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Genpact, etc.

Please tell us something about Executive Programme offered at IMT-CDL and how are you managing quality of education here? PGDM (Executive) is powered entirely by online multimedia for delivery. The programme is inten-

sive on industry interaction, delivered entirely online and uses multimedia tools like extensive webinars and video conferencing by industry experts and faculty, for impactful delivery. IMT-CDL is the only distance learning organisation that has a dedicated full-time faculty. Apart from the 35 faculty members IMTCDL has a group of experts in the form of visiting faculty, alumni and industry representatives. As told to Rai Umraopati Ray

Ways to impart quality education Poonam Sharma, is the Group Director of Accurate Group of Institutions, Greater Noida. She has been honoured with numerous awards — Woman Leader in India Award-2010, Edupreneur of the Year Award-2010, Glory of India Gold Medal award-2011, Women Achiever Award 2011 — to name a few. She has been recently awarded Women Leader in Education Award 2011. Full of energy, commitment and dedication Sharma aims to take AIMT to the highest level of education

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he economic meltdown in last decade has made global leaders restless and they are busy in discovering means to improve economic condition of their country. Obviously this has introduced a lot of changes in the market dynamics as well as economic policies globally. This has also led to metamorphic change in the management education. The pedagogy hither to practiced and methodologies adopted has not been able to address the problems of the financial world. The greatest challenge which the industry had been facing in recent past is how to embrace the dynamic changes. The business environment is in constant flux and

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companies must accept the new realities. The backdrop of such changes has catalysed a reassesment of traditional management concepts and practices. If we look at the history, in past two decades there has been a remarkable growth in management education due to contribution of private sector. Today nearly 80 per cent of management institutes are in the private sectors. It is necessary to first define the aims and objective and then revamp the entire concept, content, purpose and pattern of management education. The important areas for improvements are course curriculum, pedagogy, faculty development programmes, development of cases and teaching notes, good

library, state of the art computing facilities, research, consulting, industry database, industry interface, adequate infrastructural facilities, quality placement, entrepreneurship development, justification of student's expectation, ethical values and sound governance. The mushrooming of the BSchools sans quality has added only the numbers without churning out any strategic leaders who can leverage the pace of sustainable development. Here comes the role of a faculty member. As a mentor it is the duty of faculty members to design and deliver course content that shall not only make student learn theories but at the same time inculcates the leadership quality. To make India an intellectual capital of the world, manage-

Poonam Sharma

Group Director, Accurate Group of Institutions ment education should not only aim to meet the needs of the students but it also should match the expectations of the whole community. For this business schools should focus on educational programme as well as the all around development of the students. Written by Poonam Sharma



PROMOTION

Transforming education system A great scholar, academician and administrator, Prof. (Dr) Dilip K. Bandyopadhyay, Vice Chancellor of Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi is a leader in India’s management education community in modern times. Prof. Bandyopadhyay has spent 36 years of his career doing what he does best: Inspiring students, academia, corporate / non-corporate heads and policy makers to raise their excellence to the next level. HT Brunch spoke to the veteran educationist on the future of higher education in India, his plans for the university and much more. Excerpts What are the new trends in the Indian education sector? This is an interesting phase of Indian education. Some of the new trends in Indian education are Public-Private Partnership (PPP), focus on quality education and impetus being given to research and development. According to me, the relevance of PPP model would grow in times to come. India is targeting to take its GER (gross enrollment ratio) to 30 per cent of students in 18 to 25 years of age, who go for higher education. So more new universities and institutes need to be constructed, nurtured and promoted. A higher enrollment ratio resulting in enhancement of human capital corresponds to an increase in the national wealth. Education demands quality orientation. Good academic institutions are built up by good faculty. This throws up an additional challenge of attracting the best brains, to academics.

What are the challenges for higher education? There is a crunch of quality fac-

ulty members. We need teachers who are credible and capable to transform students from one level to the next level of excellence. Teachers are agents of making that transformational change. Raising quality faculty is a serious challenge. Presently, there is no accountability on part of teachers. Only a handful of teachers are dedicated and passionate about teaching. There is little focus on research activities. For a high quality teaching, we need best brains to join the profession. Unless and until we take up this challenge, there will be no progress.

How can technology play an integral role? Technology will no doubt play a major role in times to come. The government is also of the view that information and communication technology (ICT) can be used to mitigate the crunch of quality faculty members. Under the National Mission of Education through ICT, the government is going pump around over Rs 20,000 crore in 12th Five Year Plan and is going to

develop the course in the form of video-clips, animations, probable questions and then self-evaluation by students. ICT will deliver the course content, best curriculum, and quality inputs in an effective way. It is one of the best interventions for enhancing quality of teaching. ICT has also popularised the distance mode of education. Through video-conferencing students can interact with professors, virtually making it as real as a real classroom. Distance education, enabled with ICT, can reach out to lot of people even in remote and inaccessible areas of the country. ICT enabled learning will emerge as the largest mode of education in the future. If we make these programmes popular among students, then the roles of teachers will drastically change. Their role will not be of information providers, but that of facilitators and mentors.

What are your future plans for GGSIU? Our vision is to turn GGSIPU into a world-class university where there would be a conglomeration

Prof. (Dr) Dilip K. Bandyopadhyay Vice Chancellor, Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University of students and faculty members from various places to generate new knowledge and at the same time creating an environment where confluence of ideas would take place. We want to take this institution to the next level by bringing in more quality, newer innovations, focus on industry-oriented professional education and enhancing our research activities. I am happy to share new developments like establishing Centre of Excellence in Pharmaceutical Technology, initiating new research activities in basic and applied sciences, bio sciences and IT and taking the number of Ph.D seats to 75 to 80 from next academic session. Our east campus at Surajmal Vihar is under construction where we plan to launch design courses in streams like architecture, manufacturing, instrumental science, textile etc. My immediate focus is to bring quality faculty members of national and international repute to our university. As told to Rai Umraopati Ray

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With so many sophisticated restaurants that recreate the world experience opening here, India is changing very quickly

It is hard to eat South Indian food that is as good as the food at Zambar (in the Vasant Kunj Ambience mall) at any hotel in Delhi

THE GAME CHANGERS I

rude food

Vir Sanghvi

T WAS while they were showing me to my table at Madras’ The Flying Elephant, that the thought struck me: has anyone noticed how much restaurants seem to be changing in India? The Flying Elephant is probably a breakthrough for restaurants in India – more about that later – but the magnificence of its conception is just one more example of how Indian hoteliers and restaurateurs are throwing away all the stereotypes and opening restaurants that are much more dramatic than ever before. The changes manifest themselves in several ways: décor, cuisine, ambience, ambition and size. There were, broadly, two stages in the development of restaurants in India. In the first stage, the best restaurants tended to be located outside of hotels. Each city had its own restaurant district: Bombay’s Churchgate Street, Delhi’s Connaught Place, Calcutta’s Park Street etc., and the bulk of the restaurants were either Chinese (sort of Cantonese, in that era) or multi-cuisine (lots of Punjabi-type food plus what passed for basic Continental) – the sort of cuisine epitomised by Gaylord, Sky Room and other such Sixties hotspots. Then came the invasion of the five-star hotels. Unlike hotels in most other countries, Indian hotels became food hubs for nonhotel guests to the extent that some earned as much money from their restaurants as they did from the rooms. Hotel coffee shops killed off the lure of old stand-alone multi-cuisine places and each new hotel prided itself on the authenticity of its specialty restau-

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FEBRUARY 24, 2013

rants: French, Italian, Thai, Spanish, Korean, American or whatever. And that is how the balance remained till about five years ago: the top specialty restaurants were in the hotels while the stand-alones tended to be second-rate places, reminders of a bygone age. But all of that is now changing. For a start, the stand-alone sector is vibrant, thriving and ready to give the hotels a run for their money. The most talked-about restaurants in Bombay, these days, tend to be places outside the hotels: Yauatcha, The Table, Ellipsis, Umame, Café Zoe, Hakkasan, etc. In Delhi, the malls have opened up real-estate possibilities and stand-alone restaurateurs have rushed in with sophisticated products: Mamagoto, Amici, Izakaya, etc. Some of these restaurants beat the hotels at their own game: it is hard to eat South Indian food that is as good as the food at Zambar (in the Vasant Kunj Ambience mall) at any hotel in Delhi. The second interesting change is that the multi-cuisine restaurant has now made a comeback. The Oberoi in Delhi launched the trend with 360° in the space previously occupied by the high-end, very French La Rochelle and has followed it up with the excellent 361° at the Gurgaon property. But now, everyone is doing it. Set’z is probably Delhi’s best and most successful stand-alone restaurant and much of its popularity is based on its seven kitchens, each of which serves a different cuisine. I’ve never eaten well at Spectra, the Gurgaon Leela’s version of a Set’z-type restaurant, but the idea is the same: high quality multi-cuisine. And it seems to be doing well so perhaps I’ve just been unlucky. Even the stand-alone cafés are multi-cuisine. The excellent Café Diva menu in Delhi pairs Sindhi curry with pizzas. On The Waterfront (also in Delhi) is happy enough serving duck confit or Thai red curry, depending on what guests feel like eating. Umame in Bombay manages to put high-quality soup-filled dim sum on the same menu as sashimi. The advantage of multi-cuisine restaurants is that three people at the same table can order three different cuisines so nobody has to make any cuisine decisions while choosing the restaurant. Instead you choose the restaurant for itself. The third interesting trend is that top-end restaurants are bigger, more glamorous and much more ambitious than ever before. The massive Hakkasan in Bombay channels the glitzy cool of the London original. Its sister restaurant Yauatcha in Bandra-Kurla in Bombay looks even better than the original model: the London Yauatcha. In Delhi, Megu’s Buddha Room, with its stunning décor, is easily the most glamorous Japanese restaurant in India. Le Cirque takes over an entire floor of the Leela Palace with many elegant, clubby rooms that – remarkably enough – have turned the


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THE CURTAIN RISES

The Flying Elephant (left and above) at the Park Hyatt, Madras, conceived with great passion by former drama student Amit Mahtaney, is pure theatre, spread across five levels conventional wisdom on its head and proved that European food, even at top prices, can find an audience in India – if it’s done right. But many of the greatest advances in restaurant conception are coming from outside Bombay and Delhi. When the ITC Gardenia opened Edo (in Bangalore) with its elegant stone-and-wood design by Japan’s Super Potato, it was a sign that India’s restaurant scene was now in tune with the rest of the world. Edo opened before David Bouley’s muchpraised Brushstroke Kaiseki restaurant in New York and yet, anyone who goes to that hip NYC hangout will recognise the style: Super Potato brought those innovations to Bangalore before taking them to New York. Strangely enough, it is Madras, regarded by people in Bombay and Delhi as a sleepy unsophisticated backwater, that may be at the forefront of India’s high-end restaurant boom. Ottimo, the Italian restaurant at the ITC Grand Chola, differs dramatically in its conception from every other Italian restaurant in India in the sense that it is built around a large state-of-the-art open kitchen (it is called cucina rather than a trattoria) and the chefs are the stars of the show.

ITC had not opened the Madras Pan Asian when I last visited the Grand Chola but Vikramjit Roy, the hyper-talented Japanese chef who ITC stole from Delhi’s Wasabi, showed me around. The two-level restaurant is a quantum leap for the Pan Asian concept, with a stunning Japanese restaurant-within-a-restaurant, a Chinese cuisine area that has a style of its own, a sleek champagne lounge upstairs next to a chef’s studio kitchen and a visually dramatic staircase on which an Asian (but naturally!) singer will be stationed. In hotel circles, it is well known that ITC is eager to break new ground and innovate, so the real surprise will not be the Grand Chola’s remarkable restaurants but the amazing The Flying Elephant at the new Park Hyatt, right opposite the Grand Chola. (“They have ITC One rooms but we have ITC View rooms”, a manager at the Park Hyatt joked.) The hotel is smallish (200 rooms), elegant and personalised but I suspect that it will soon be famous all over India because of the magnificence of The Flying Elephant. Conceived with great passion by former drama student Amit Mahtaney, whose family owns the hotel, the restaurant is pure theatre, spread across five levels with a warm, living roomy area (complete with books from Mahtaney’s own collection) that plays retro music and looks on to a New York-style bar which serves cocktails from America’s speakeasies in the Prohibition era. (With some nice service touches including martinis shaken at your table). There’s a grill area where I had some moist and flavourful satay. Another area has a pizza oven and more seating. Other sections include a private dining area called The Bedroom on the top floor. All over the many different levels are little private corners so you can either enjoy the buzz or have a more intimate experience. The mix of Hyatt expertise and Mahtaney’s drama degree has obviously worked – the restaurant is Mezza9 (at Singapore’s Grand Hyatt) two generations on. It is the same general idea but with much more advanced and contemporary execution. Mahtaney’s mother was brought up in Indonesia so that probably explains the Indonesian dishes on the menu (I had a first-rate rendang) but there’s outstanding European cuisine as well. (Multi-cuisine really is today’s Big Thing!) The pastry chef does adult sundaes along with such classic desserts as a Baked Alaska. (He is French so he calls it Bombe Alaska though, given that the executive chef Stig Drageide is Norwegian, they should have called it Omelette Norvégienne! Like Setz or 360°, the great thing about The Flying Elephant is that you can come in for a slap-up haute cuisine meal and spend many thousands. Or you can just order a beer and a pizza and get away with paying much less. Either way, they promise, you’ll get exactly the same treatment. Would something like The Flying Elephant have been possible even five years ago? I doubt it. Many factors have contributed to the changes: the emergence of the new middle class, which is willing to spend money on eating out, the availability of retail space at new malls, the boom in hotels, the entry of so many foreign chains and the investments made by virtual outsiders to the restaurant and hotel scene purely out of passion. For instance, Kishore Bajaj who owns the Indian Hakkasans and Yauatchas (the big opening of the year will be Yauatcha in Delhi’s Ambience Mall in a few months) made his money in tailoring and real estate, not hospitality. Vijay Mahtaney, father of Amit, and the chairman of the company that owns the Madras Park Hyatt, was the founder of ColorPlus and is one of India’s more successful garment exporters. One reason why so many sophisticated restaurants are opening is because rich Indians who have travelled the world now want to recreate that experience and quality in their own neighbourhoods. India is changing very quickly. And the restaurant scene is moving even faster.

IT’S A STUNNER

In Delhi, Megu’s Buddha Room, with its stunning décor, is easily the most glamorous Japanese restaurant in India

The magnificent Flying Elephant in Madras is probably a a breakthrough for restaurants in India

ON THE WORLD MAP

When the ITC Gardenia opened Edo (in Bangalore) with its elegant stone-and-wood design by Japan’s Super Potato, it was a sign that India’s restaurant scene was now in tune with the rest of the world

FEBRUARY 24, 2013

IN GOOD TASTE

The massive Hakkasan in Bombay channels the glitzy cool of the London original

MULTI-TASKING MENU

Umame in Bombay puts highquality soup-filled dim sum on the same menu as sashimi


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SIZE MATTERS

Tablets are the hottest sellers of this decade. But is there an ideal screen size?

I

T’S THE hottest category in the world! Everyone wants a tablet, but which one? Thankfully, the difference between most tablets is fading. Almost all of them come with great processors, ever-improving battery life, fantastic form factors and amazing apps and utilities. The big question that remains is, what size screen is best? And that is becoming an increasingly baffling and a very confounding question! Most people will break down tablet screen sizes into three: 7-inch, 8-inch and 10-inch. That would be mistake number one. If you are really serious about buying a tablet and getting the perfect one suited for your tasks – the tablet screen-size breakdown is actually five size categories. Let me take you through all of them.

WHEN I GROW UP I WANT TO BE...

HAPPINESS IS A TABLE PC

The Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC is an innovative Windows 8 device

A LOT OF ACTION

The iPad Mini doesn’t fit your palm well, but the battery life is better

MR BIG

The Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 has a large screen

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME

Rajiv Makhni

techilicious

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When phablets came, people snickered and laughed. Today, millions of phablet sales later, they are all wiping the egg off their faces! Phablets are increasingly getting the most attention and innovation in the field. But can they play the role of a tablet? In their current iteration – no way, as a tablet is much more than just a larger screen smartphone. But future phablets are starting to look amazingly good. At 6.1 inches, full 1920x1080 HD screens, almost zero bezel around the display, 8 core processors, additional whiz-bang graphic processors, battery life better than any smartphone and enhanced functionality, including intelligent stylus features – this is going to be the personal tablet of choice. Pros and cons: You’ll be able to do anything you do with a normal-sized tablet, except that you’ll be squinting a little. And you can’t use it as a sharing device. It’s yours and yours alone.

This is that strange screen size that shouldn’t have worked – and yet may well become the category killer – 7.9 or 8 inches is the future. Why? Well, the screen-size ratio works better for most things you’ll do on a tablet – it gives you just that much more screen space so that you don’t squint and more importantly, Apple makes the iPad Mini in this size and is selling sackloads of them, thus others have to follow. Lots of action here as Apple will bring in a retina display in the iPad Mini 2, most 7-inch tablets will move to this size in the future with similar specs and prices here again will spiral downwards. Pros and cons: It doesn’t really fit your palm well, but as most are super-thin you can still manage. Games and movies fit perfectly on this and the battery life is better here. It also breaks up the confounding clutter of the 7-inch tablet market and that is a big deal.

THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING

The 9.7 or 10-incher is what started the whole thing off. It’s still a great choice, but may not be the way to go if you’re a new tablet buyer. Why do I say that? Well, the best tablet is a tablet that is always with you when you need one – and this isn’t the easiest one to carry. While you do see people walking around with one encased in an ugly, thick, padded cover even at parties – it’s just not practical in the long run. While it’s early days yet – expect this category to wean off eventually. Pros and cons: This is still the best for movies, games, presentations as well as sharing – but you’ll do it mostly in your home and not on the move. A 10-inch tablet will become the choice of corporates as well as the screen you’ll snap off an ultrabook hybrid, while consumers will move to the 8-inch model.

THE FUTURE, NOW

The most exciting space in tablets may well be one that most people haven’t experienced as yet. I call this the Family Tablet or Desktop Tablet. This will be around 27 to 32 inches, will be an all-in-one PC, will run about three hours on battery, can be propped up straight and used as a desktop with a wireless keyboard and mouse, or flattened and put on a table or even stand for the whole family to play games IN YOUR POCKET THE TIPPING POINT EFFECT and use apps customised for it (think Microsoft Surface Acer’s Iconia B1 The 7-inchers came in as the poor man’s tablet but have for 1/10th the price), can be used in the family room for TV 7-inch tablet is eventually become the reason tablet sales rocketed. Low decently priced for and movies (they’ll come with fantastic premium audio and prices, underpowered, resistive screens, suicidal battery budget buyers graphics) and will also be a gaming and presentation machine life – they still sold like hot cakes. That’s because they have par excellence. many compelling reasons going for them. Easy to hold in one Pros and cons: It’s all good and it’s what every family will own soon. hand, fits your palm, easy to carry, can be pocketed, perfect fit You’ll see major action from Lenovo, Asus and HP in this area. for a bag, thin and light and very aggressive pricing. In fact, the Like I said right in the beginning, tablets are the hot-ticket item pricing on these is almost comical now and will only get more of this decade and they are coming out to get you from five differamazing with Google, Asus and Acer going all out in this space. ent directions. Never has size mattered more! Well, that may not The next generation will have great processing power, higher be entirely true, but then that’s a whole different column. Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Technology, NDTV, and the anchor of Gadget Guru, resolution screens and even lower prices – always a good Cell Guru and Newsnet 3 combination. Pros and cons: Better as e-readers, good for quick browsing, great for social networking; but completely suck when you want MORE ON THE WEB For previous columns by Rajiv Makhni, log on to to watch a special-effects movie or play a graphic-intensive game. hindustantimes.com/brunch And forget about making presentations on this one. It may not Follow Rajiv on Twitter at twitter.com/RajivMakhni be around for too long. FEBRUARY 24, 2013



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THE JUKEBOX

THE MINIMALIST DEADHEAD American musician Keller Williams, often known as a oneman band, surprises fans by playing only Grateful Dead covers on the piano in his new album, Keys

GRATEFUL DEADHEADS

All the 10 songs on Keys are sung in Williams’ unique style

A

T

Sanjoy Narayan

download central

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S I WRITE this, with a cup of coffee next to the keyboard, I have on my computer’s speakers Keller Williams playing 10 songs with minimal accompaniment – just a piano. It’s the perfect audio complement to a sunny morning in Feb when it’s not yet as hot as Delhi can get nor too chilly. I’ll get to the 10 songs he’s playing, but the fact that Williams is playing just a piano is somewhat of a rarity. Keller Williams is often known as a oneman band, a very apt name for him because he’s usually – in live performances as well as for his studio albums – unaccompanied by anyone else. Williams uses something known as ‘live phrase looping’ to make it seem as if a full-fledged band is playing with him. He uses instruments such as drum machines and synthesisers, but also a vintage electronic music device known as the theremin, which is operated without any physical contact but via two antennae that can respond to the movement of a musician’s hands. But more importantly, Williams plays guitars, percussion, bass, in addition to the synths, drum machines and so on, and manages to sound as if he is playing all of these at the same time. Very roughly, live phrase looping works this way: the musician plays a riff on some instrument; it is recorded; and played back with a delay. You can layer as many riffs or tunes or melodies in this manner and play them back. The skill and expertise with which a musician uses the technique of live looping determines the final output. Williams, on his studio albums as well as live, is a highly skilled looper. One major characteristic of Williams’ music is his ability to fuse different genres – bluegrass, rock, folk, reggae, jazz, you

he fourth and latest full-length album from one of my favourite bands is here. Frightened Rabbit are a Scottish indie band that hail from Selkirk and their new album is called Pedestrian Verse. Frightened Rabbit make nervous, moody music that’s a compelling listen and Pedestrian Verse doesn’t disappoint. The thick Scottish brogue that marks frontman and singer Scott Hutchinson’s English doesn’t hurt either. It never does, and never did even on the band’s last four full-lengths: Sing The Greys, The Midnight Organ Fight, Quietly Now! and The Winter of Mixed Drinks.

EARLY DAY ELECTRONICA

Besides drum machines and synthesisers, one of the instruments Williams uses is the theremin – a vintage electronic music device which responds to the movement of a musician’s hands

name it. Besides the plethora of instruments, Williams uses his voice in innovative ways, and has a distinctive performance and singing style. A third thing about Williams is the names he chooses for his albums – they are always one-word titles. So, his catalogue has albums titled Freek, Buzz, Spun, Breathe, Loop, Laugh, Dance, Home, Stage, Grass, Dream, Odd, Thief, Pick and so on. The album I’m listening to right now is called Keys (probably because it has, uncharacteristically for Williams, just a piano as an instrument) and, as I mentioned, it has 10 songs. And now, here’s the thing: All the 10 songs are covers of songs by The Grateful Dead. Songs that every Deadhead knows but each one stripped down to the barest minimum – played on the piano and sung in Williams’ unique style. On Keys, Williams plays 10 Dead songs, none of them tunes that are minimalistic in their original forms. Most Deadheads know how complex Terrapin Station is. On Keys, Williams manages to turn it into a spare yet beautiful song without fooling around too much with the original tune. He does that with the others too. So, when on a sunny Feb (or any other month) morning, you spin Keys and listen to Williams doing his version of He’s Gone, Can’t Come Down, Brokedown Palace, Wharf Rat, Attics of My Life, Althea, Bird Song, Row Jimmy and Touch of Grey, you can’t have a better soundtrack to accompany whatever you choose to do on a sunny morning (as long as your range of choices excludes work!). On his website, Williams says, “It’s no secret I have an unhealthy fascination with The Grateful Dead. Whenever I sit down at the piano it seems the only thing that comes out are Jerry (Garcia) ballads. Even though these songs are not all Jerry ballads, I have sort of made them that way.” He admits to have taken some liberties with the lyrics but then with a band that always took liberties with its own music, I don’t think that matters much. I’m grateful for having heard Keys because it renews my interest in Williams’ music and his back catalogue. I’d been quite obsessed with his stuff till around the early 2000s and then, I had moved on. Now, I’ve rummaged in my stash of old albums and found my copies of Breathe and Loop and Freek and Stage. I’ve rediscovered Keller Williams and am enjoying those albums, especially Loop and Stage, which are live albums; Stage being a double live. MORE ON THE WEB

To give feedback, stream or download the music mentioned in this column, go to http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/ downloadcentral; follow argus48 on Twitter

FEBRUARY 24, 2013

Photo: GETTY IMAGES



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Photos: THINKSTOCK

lish that it was HIS fault. (Of course this will lead to endless whining about how ‘everything’ seems to be his fault; but you are probably used to that.) So yes, it’s always good to have a record of stuff like that. Ditto, what time the PTA meeting is; Seema which weekend has been blocked off for a visit to Goswami the in-laws; whose turn it is to pick up the kids from school; when the credit card payment falls due. Using text messaging or email to discuss stuff like this makes sense. And who can deny that the day gets a little brighter when you see a message from your significant other in your inbox with the tagline ‘I love you’ or even ‘Miss you’. A missive like that can make even the Text messages and emails are most dreary work meeting easier to get through. But that said, there is a lot of stuff that we realall very well; but they are no ly should be saying face-to-face – and we simply substitute for a real conversation don’t. And however much we may regret it, there is simply no denying that non-verbal communicaKAY, BE honest now. How many of you use tion is on the rise. What’s more, every generation a mobile phone or a laptop to communicate seems to be as guilty as the next. A few years ago, with people in the same house? Do you text I would berate my young nieces and nephews for your spouse to say that dinner is ready when he or instant messaging their friends rather than simply she is just a room away? Do you BBM your kids to picking up the phone and talking to them. Now I tell them that they are getting late for school and find myself texting or BBM-ing my friends, with need to step on it? Do you phone your household whom I would have had long phone conversations help from the bedroom to ask them to lay out in more low-tech times. breakfast? I have to plead guilty to the last. I So, why exactly are we so leery about having a know it is a bit shaming, but I find that switchreal conversation these days? Partly it is that we ing on my mobile and calling on the landline to don’t want to seem intrusive. Everyone has busy ask for coffee and toast gives me an extra 10 minlives and we don’t want to call and make a nuisance utes in bed. And on some days, that can make all of ourselves. It’s much easier to respond to a text the difference. than a phone call, we tell ourselves, as we put off The reason I am asking you these intrusive questions this a nice, long chat yet again. But at least part of the problem is that Sunday morning is because a recent survey conducted by a we simply don’t want to invest the time and effort required to have British company found that as many 45 per cent of the respona proper heart-to-heart with those we love. We’d much rather dents admitted to using mobile devices to communicate with exchange a line or two on the phone or via email than participate family members even when they were all in the same house. And in a meaningful exchange. I am guessing – thanks to an entirely unscientific and unrepreBut when we cease to have conversations, we miss out on much sentative survey conducted among my friends – that it is much more than we realise. Effectively, we are raising a generation that the same in India. is incapable of picking up on verbal cues and micro-expressions Kids instant message their moms to find out what’s for dinner. because of the lack of face-time in their lives. We are creating a MORE ON THE WEB Moms text their kids to remind them that there’s tennis after school world in which emoticons are replacing emotions; and where human For more SPECTATOR that day. Husbands BBM wives to tell them they are running late interface is being nudged out by hyper-connectivity. And in the columns by Seema Goswami, log on to (and vice versa). process, we are all becoming a little less human ourselves. hindustantimes.com Sometimes there are good reasons for using this method of comSo, the next time you have something to say to those whom you /Brunch munication. If you text or email your husband that he needs to pick love and cherish, just say it. Don’t email, text, BBM or instant mesFollow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ up the dry cleaning on the way home, there is a greater chance that sage. Pick up the phone and talk. seemagoswami he will remember to do so. And if he forgets you will have written Sometimes it is nicer to hear a human voice than a ping that Write to her at evidence that you did remind him to do that and that he forgot. Not announces the arrival of yet another email. And it’s always better seema_ht@ only will this save you an endless argument on the lines of ‘Yes, I to exchange smiles with someone (or just hear a smile in their voicrediffmail.com did tell you’ ‘No, you didn’t’, it will also help to conclusively estabes) rather than see a smiley in their text messages.

We are creating a world in which emoticons are replacing emotions

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WELLNESS

MIND BODY SOUL SHIKHA SHARMA

STAY YOUNG, DON’T STAY HUNGRY

Getting a herbal detox can help you in your quest for eternal youth

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HE URGE to stay young forever has fascinated people for a long time around the world . Literature from ancient cultures – from Indian and Chinese to Greek and Roman – mentions healers who specialised in creating the right herbal blends to maintain the youth and vitality of royalty. To retain a youthful appearance and strength even as your biological clock ticks on, ayurveda recommends a number of herbs, diets, treatments and lifestyle corrections. These include the right nutrition, detoxification and balancing the doshas (prakriti imbalances). Also, ayurveda offers a number of valuable herbs that help you feel good and look young. BALANCING THE DOSHAS In our day-to-day lives, we eat, drink and consume a number of toxins that go into our body and create free radicals that destroy the cellular function and accelerate the ageing process. To detoxify and balance the doshas, the recommended treatments in ayurveda involve herbal medicines along with vasti, body massage with medicated oils, steam and shirodhara, etc. LIFESTYLE CORRECTIONS It essentially involves catching up on your sleep and exercise. This is critical because sleep deficiency by itself can lead to accelerated ageing. Exercises give you a firm, toned body, which is important to maintain a youthful appearance and body posture. HYDRATE, HYDRATE Hydrating the body and the skin is an important aspect of staying youthful. While skin hydration

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involves a fair amount of moisturising and skincare, physical hydration involves shunning dehydrating agents such as alcohol, strong tea/ coffee and drinking enough water. MAGIC HERBS Several common ayurvedic herbs and rasayans (pathway of the essence of plants) can help you rejuvenate your body and mind and stay youthful. Amla: The paste, frequently used in chyavanprash form, has a number of herbs including amla that destroys toxins and helps the body challenge cell-damaging toxins. Ashwagandha: It is full of antioxidants that fight free radicals and also assist cells to maintain their optimal function. It is also good for reducing FIGHTING inflammation in FIT the joints and a Amla helps the body wonderful agent fight and which reverses the destroy cell- damage caused by damaging stress to the cells. toxins Shatavri: Imbalances in female hormones can lead to accelerated ageing that manifests itself in the skin, hair, joints and as rising fatigue. This herb is wonderful for its hormone-balancing qualities. Yashtimadhu (licorice): The herb is really good for the liver (the seat of cleansing, detoxification and digestion). It has properties that help protect the liver, promotes SHIELD IT regeneration of Licorice healthy cells and protects shield cells from the liver and regenabnormal growth. Guduchi: As we erates healthy go about our cells DRINK UP daily routine, Hydrate with many of the cells and tissues lots of water are in a state of continual rather than breakdown and regeneration. strong tea or coffee Consuming healthy herbs such as guduchi ensures that the regeneration process is not marred by any mutation. Moosali: Not to be confused with muesli, the breakfast cereal, this is particularly useful as an aphrodisiac. ask@drshikha.com

MORE ON THE WEB

To read more columns by Dr Shikha Sharma and other wellness stories, log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch

FEBRUARY 24, 2013

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PERSONAL AGENDA

Actress

Gauahar Khan BIRTHDAY

PLACE OF BIRTH FIRST HIGH POINT OF YOUR LIFE Bombay Jhalak Dhikla Jaa. My life has changed since BREAK Winning the HOMETOWN SUN SIGN CURRENTLY DOING LOW POINT Miss India Pune Leo Playing Lacchi in the International OF YOUR LIFE Bollywood musical at I don’t Title (2002) SCHOOL/COLLEGE Kingdom of Dreams August 23

remember any

Mount Carmel Convent School, Pune

If you weren’t an actress, what would you have been? A businesswoman. The sexiest actors in Bollywood. Hrithik Roshan and Farhan Akhtar. One director you want to work with. Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He creates a dream world. Your favourite co-star for a dance show. Hussain, the gypsy prince, from Zangoora. The best thing about your sister, Nigar Khan. She’s not just a great sister, but also my closest friend. She’s always been there for me. Bollywood’s most romantic pair. Amitabh [Bachchan] and Rekha. Nothing beats their on-screen chemistry. Three cosmetics or skincare products you can’t do without. Mascara, eyebrow filler and a good lip colour. What is the best thing about working in a musical? I get to live my dream and entertain a new live audience each time. An item number you would love to do. Pyaar do pyaar lo from Jaanbaaz (1986). A rumour you’d like to start. I hate rumours. The street food you love to eat. Dahi batata puri.

You have five minutes to pack, what will you take? Clothes, toiletries, lots of money, family pics and my mobile. The gadget you love to flaunt or want to own. I’m not a gadget person. I’m technologically challenged. Your dream destination. Prague. Who is your 3am friend? My best friend, Preeti Simoes. The last three things you do before you go to sleep. Offer namaaz, watch TV and drink green tea. The last time you had a bad hair day. I go through so many bad hair days. You destress by… Travelling. What is your mantra for success? Happiness leads to success and not vice versa. I try to be happy and content in everything I’m blessed with, and in turn I get positive results in all that I work hard for. One thing you want to change about yourself. I need to give myself some time. My life is too hectic right now. The last line of your autobiography would read… She lived.

— Interviewed by Veenu Singh

5movies that moved me

Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) Andaz Apna Apna (1994) Hum Aapke Hai Koun..! (1994) Bombay (1995) Barfi! (2012) FEBRUARY 24, 2013

A DESSERT THAT DESCRIBES YOU?

Any chocolate pastry. Sinful, yet tempting

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