Brunch 27 10 2013 by Hindustan Times

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WEEKLY MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 27, 2013 Free with your copy of Hindustan Times

For nearly 200 years, Ramnagar in Varanasi has been the grand arena for the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s longest, most unusual Ramlila. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where the story of the Ramayana unfolds, scene by scene, across different venues in the town, for an entire month. We take you through this spectacular celebration

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

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It is believed that the Ramlila first originated in Varanasi, where Tulsidas wrote the Ramcharitmanas. On the opposite banks of the Ganga is the town of Ramnagar, the massive stage for a magnificent Ramlila. They say that the Gods descend to witness this 31-day-long marvel, that the five young boys who play the characters of Ram, Sita, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan are blessed with divinity for the whole month. The Ramnagar Ramlila has rarely been photographed. We visited the holy city for a week and our photographer captured some of its most beautiful moments.

Photographs by Ajay Aggarwal

ON THE LEFT

Devotees carry the young boys playing Ram (Nand Kishore Vyas, centre), Sita (Aditya Panday, right) and Lakshman (Purushottam Sharma, left). Since the actors are considered divine for the month, they do not walk to the venues on foot ON THE COVER

Ram (right) and Lakshman seated at Ram’s camp in the Lanka grounds. On the extreme left is Lakshmi Narayan Vyas, the bade vyas ji who is the main coordinator of the show

MORE ON THE WEB For more photographs of the Ramnagar Ramlila, log on to hindustantimes.com/ brunch

Cover photograph: AJAY AGGARWAL Cover design: MONICA GUPTA

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

OCTOBER 27, 2013

DESIGN: Ashutosh Sapru (National Editor, Design), Monica Gupta, Swati Chakrabarti, Payal Dighe Karkhanis, Rakesh Kumar, Ajay Aggarwal

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DIWALI SPECIAL

The Causerati

A few good NGO founders are bringing light into the lives of the less privileged by Aasheesh Sharma

HEY HAVE few things in common. But a feisty social worker, a Supreme Court lawyer, a communications entrepreneur and a former journalist have taken it upon themselves to bring back smiles to the faces of the less privileged and victims of circumstance. They use unconventional tools to reach their goals: from advocacy, and litigation to street plays and grassroots intervention. But this Diwali, this group of activists is helping slay the demons of misfortune in their own distinct ways. Let there be light!

THREADS THAT BIND, WITH DIGNITY

money, or shelter, but warm clothing since he couldn’t have survived the chilly night without it. A few years later, when he was formulating the framework of policies for his organisation, Gupta remembered the old man’s face.

GOONJ Set up in 1998

FOUNDER: Anshu Gupta

WHAT THEY DO: Link dignity with

donation. Clothes are given away as a motivation to people working on community projects

THE STORY SO FAR

SPARK FOR THE CAUSE

It was October 1991. A devastating quake had hit Uttarkashi in Uttar Pradesh, journalism student Anshu Gupta’s home state. Gupta, then studying at Delhi’s Indian Institute of Mass Communications, rushed to ground zero. “Close to Maleri village, I met an old person wearing a tattered jacket made of gunny bags that people in the hills store potatoes in. He held a chit in his right hand that read: ‘Koi mujhe garam kapda de do, nahin to main mar jaoonga.’ That image gnawed at Gupta’s conscience. The homeless man wasn’t asking for food, or

Today, Gupta’s team of Goonj volunteers collect, sort, and distribute old clothes that people have given away. But he wants to change what he calls our “lousy” giving habit. “When someone in urban India says they want to donate clothes, they actually mean they want to discard them,” says Gupta. Of the more than 1,000 tonnes of donated clothing, toys and used material that Goonj gets every year, more than one-fourth is unusable. “The cloth is soiled, or torn and the jacket has a missing collar.” Apart from the lack of dignity with which people approach donations in kind, there is a mismatch in what donors give and what victims of natural disasters need. “For urban men for instance, waist sizes are between 32 and 40 inches, while most men in rural India are between 26 and 30 inches.” Recently NASA lauded Goonj’s ‘Cloth for Work’ campaign as a game-changing innovation. “Begging is an urban phenomenon,” Gupta explains. “But the biggest asset of India’s village people is their dignity. And clothing is a symbol of that dignity. In ‘Cloth for Work’, people work on community projects – digging wells or cleaning ponds. In return, they get clothes to wear.”

The biggest asset of people in India’s villages is their dignity

Photo: JASJEET PLAHA

OCTOBER 27, 2013

Photo: RAJ K. RAJ

BUILDING CHAMPIONS, STEP BY STEP STAIRS Set up in 2005

FOUNDER: Siddhartha Upadhyay

WHAT THEY DO: Propagate the idea

of the right to play as a fundamental right. They set up sports centres, organise matches and distribute kits, apart from supporting athletes with coaching, scholarships and sponsorship. In tandem with the government, Stairs has also established the ﬁrst-of-its kind cricket academy for disabled youth in Eastern Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district.

SPARK FOR THE CAUSE

As an impressive fast-bowling allrounder playing with Sonnet Club in the late 1990s, Stairs founder Siddhartha Upadhyay ran into the wall of nepotism and politics that Delhi’s club cricket is known for. But he did not lose heart. Since Upadhyay was a natural athlete and had represented his zone in javelin, shot put and running, he diverted his energies to other sporting disciplines. Still, he resolved that one day, when he had plenty of resources at his disposal, he would ensure that other sportspersons’ dreams didn’t die young.

THE STORY SO FAR

Hailing from a farming family from Uttar Pradesh, Upadhyay runs a communications consultancy in Delhi. When his business model was in place, the entrepreneur returned to sports, his first love, and founded Stairs. Initially launched with the support of friends and family, the NGO later found corporate partners. Today, Stairs has 15,000 children playing in Delhi in flagship programme Uflex Khelo Dilli alone. It is also working with youth inclined towards sports in more than 1,000 villages across Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. “I want that every child in the country who wants to play, gets to indulge in his or her passion,” says Upadhyay. Now, a quartet of teenagers supported by Stairs, all residents of Majnu Ka Tilla neighbourhood in north Delhi, have made it to the Asian Games. “Three of the four kids representing India at the Asian Games in sepak takraw (a volleyball-like game) next year are sons of autorickshaw drivers,”

DIWALI SPECIAL says Upadhyay. The next project his wife Chhavi (in the picture on the previous page) and he are upbeat about is the academy for disabled cricketers in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh. “During a conversation with district magistrate Rigzin Samphel, we realised Kushinagar had a high population of disabled youth. Most of them had never heard of access to public spaces. We got the captain of the Indian disability team to visit them and give tips to aspiring cricketers. Within a day of the announcement, more than 200 physically challenged cricketers turned up to play at the academy, many of them on wheelchairs. That was a very touching moment,” says Upadhyay.

PhotoS: JASJEET PLAHA

ADVOCATING WOMAN POWER SHAKTI VAHINI Set up in 2001

FOUNDER: Ravi Kant

SALAAM BAALAK TRUST Set up in 1998 FOUNDER: Praveen Nair

WHAT THEY DO: Rescue women and

WHAT THEY DO: Train street

children from situations where they ﬁght abuse and trafﬁcking. Shakti Vahini recently helped a domestic help in South Delhi’s Vasant Kunj break free from her abusive employer and rescued another help in Dwarka, whose employers had taken off on a vacation after locking her in.

children in life skills and help them perfect their creative pursuits. Bring love into the lives of runaway juveniles across shelter homes, contact points and outreach programmes

SPARK FOR THE CAUSE

Over the last decade, they’ve rescued more than 2,000 people, says founder president Ravi Kant. But it all began in the healthcare sector, when he was distributing condoms in Delhi’s red-light district, recalls Kant. “HIV was a burning issue in the late ’90s. We began by sensitising sex workers. But we soon realised that health interventions apart, the root cause of abuse was trafﬁcking of girls who had been forced into prostitution.”

THE STORY SO FAR

WHERE STREET KIDS HAVE FAME

A well-known Supreme Court lawyer, Kant launched Shakti Vahini in 2001, with his father’s retirement kitty. “Within three years, we began generating individual donations and got support from the government and the European Union,” he says. Now their gameplan has moved to breaking the circle of organised crime. “We began litigating and carried out rescue operations. Then, after regular media reportage, a lot of people began giving us leads,” says Kant. In the Vasant Kunj case, for instance, it was the

resident welfare organisation that alerted them to the plight of the 15-year-old domestic help. Here’s is how the web of trafﬁcking operates. A pimp locates a potential victim in a village and lures her family with a promise of employment and about `10,000. “Gang members then transport them to a city and the circle of exploitation continues,” says Kant. Shakti Vahini helps victims understand the legal process. “Once she is rescued, after a short stay in a shelter, the victim is sent back to her village. Within a year she should return to the city to testify,” says Kant. During a court hearing, Kant’s NGO also helps the victim and their family stay at the state Bhavans free of cost. “Our counsellors speak to them and help them gather the courage to testify.”

During a hearing, the NGO helps the victim ﬁnd lodging and legal advice

OCTOBER 27, 2013

Praveen Nair had her first glimpse of the lives of street children when her daughter Mira directed the 1988 film Salaam Bombay. She realised the drug pushers, pimps and prostitutes that the film’s protagonist Krishna and his friends were pitted against, weren’t restricted to Mumbai’s red-light district, where the film had been set. “The film was released in 1988. Seeing the condition of street children, Mira and her associates, including Barry John and Sooni Taraporevala, thought it shouldn’t be the end of their association with street children,” recalls Nair. So, along with founding trustee Sanjoy Roy of Teamwork Films, Nair set up a trust that would build bridges with Delhi’s street children. The seed capital of a few lakh came from the film’s premieres in Delhi, Bombay and Bangalore, she says.

the Nilanchal Express. He landed in Delhi and after being bullied by gang leaders, worked as a ragpicker at the New Delhi Railway Station. But Roy had a flair for taking pictures. Rescued by the Salaam Baalak Trust, he trained in photography at the Triveni Kala Sangam and apprenticed under Delhi-based fashion photographer Anay Mann. Last month, his work was exhibited at the Delhi Photography Festival organised by the Nazar Foundation. “He was one of four young photographers selected from around the world by the Maybach Foundation to photograph the rebuilding of the World Trade Center,” says Nair. For the first few weeks, Sanjoy Roy and Nair pounded the railway platforms finding out all they could about street children. “We invited them to our centre but initially, for about 20 days, none of the boys showed any enthusiasm. Then one day, after we had provided treatment to one of the kids who had fallen ill, we got the first phone call,” says Nair. “At every step of their little lives, street children have been cheated, whether by parents, gang leaders or by police. That is why it takes time to win their trust,” adds the genial 82-year-old woman. Over the last 25 years, the NGO has touched the lives of more than 50,000 street children. They also manage an emergency helpline for children in distress. And it all began with a film!

Nine out of 10 street children fall prey to goons and drug peddlers

THE STORY SO FAR

Close to 90 per cent of street kids fall prey to anti-social elements, gang leaders and drug peddlers, says Nair. At the age of 11, Vicky Roy ran away from his home in Purulia, West Bengal, and boarded

aasheesh.sharma@hindustantimes.com

COVER STORY

There are actors and sages, lanterns and efﬁgies, papier mâché horses and real elephants. Ramlilas come in all shapes and sizes. We bring you the most spectacular one: the Ramlila of Ramnagar, Varanasi by Saudamini Jain; photographs by Ajay Aggarwal

THE CORONATION OF RAM: On the penultimate day of the Ramlila, held at Ayodhya ground, Ram, Sita, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan are seated on thrones, with Hanuman fanning them. On the left are the three vyas jis – the directors and prompters. The coronation ends at midnight. Many people choose to skip the lila all month but just come to attend a special arti at dawn on this day

COVER STORY

HE RAMNAGAR chowk is a sea of humanity this evening. The roads on all four sides are brimming with hordes of men, women and children – they have spread plastic sheets and mats on the street, and some are carrying tiny wooden pews to sit on. Some squat on the bare ground. People are standing on practically every inch of the pavements; they spill out of the bylanes. All the verandahs are full, many people have climbed up to terraces of old buildings, and are parked on cemented palings, their feet dangling. This crowd has been gathering for almost two hours. At the heart of the chowk is a makeshift stage, which is empty right now. A little after 10pm, there’s some commotion. Five elephants, decorated with paint and silver, emerge from the Ramnagar fort, and move majestically towards the chowk. The crowds part to let them pass. Riding atop the elephants are the Kashi Naresh (the Maharaja of Banaras), his son, and a few others from the erstwhile nobility. “Har Har Mahadev,” chants the crowd. This is the time of the year when the people of Varanasi view the Kashi Naresh as a descendant of Shiva. Twelve wise men, the Ramay-

anis, sit in two concentric circles at one end, illuminated by flaming mashaals. They clap their manjiras, singing verses from their copies of the Ramcharitmanas. Many people have brought along their copies of the epic poem and are reading along with the aid of flashlights, some softly, but most silently. As the Ramayanis’ voices fade away, two wooden chariots slowly approach the crossing from opposite sides. Ram, Lakshman and Sita, back from exile, descend on the stage from their pushpak vimaan; Bharat and Shatrughan dismount from their carriage. The audience cheers loudly. “Chup raho. Saavdhaan!” shouts vyas ji, a wizened old man dressed in a dhoti kurta and turban, carrying a fraying notebook. He’s the prompter, the trainer and the director of the show. This is a cue for the dialogues to begin. There’s pin drop silence. Unless you’re in the first few rows, you can’t hear a word. But the audience knows the story well and the spectacle before them is a breathtaking sight in itself. Bharat and Shatrughan prostrate themselves at the feet of their two brothers and sister-in-law. The sound of a conch shell fills the air. The crowd goes wild with cries of “Ram Chandra ki jai.”

OCTOBER 27, 2013

BHARAT MILAAP: This is one of the most popular episodes and up to one lakh people attend it. Ram, Lakshman and Sita descend from the pushpak vimaan (on the left), Bharat and Shatrughan from a chariot (on the right). The crowd cheers wildly when the brothers embrace each other These tens of thousands of people aren’t merely watching a Ramlila, they have been transported back in time to the ancient text of the Ramayana, to Bharat Milaap, the grand reunion of the four brothers. They’re cheering not because this is the most splendid Ramlila in the country but because their faith has been reinstated: good always triumphs over evil. And because the ﬁve young actors on stage are supposed to be blessed with divinity, and in attending the Ramlila, the spectators have experienced God.

amnagar, on the banks of the Ganga, opposite Varanasi, was the capital of the former princely state of Banaras. It is now a dilapidated town – best known for its nearly-200-year-old Ramlila, the longest in the world. This Ramlila begins in September or October on Anant Chaturdashi and ends 31 (sometimes 30, depending on the lunar cycle) days later on a full moon night. The ﬁrst episode is the birth of the raakshas king of Lanka, Raavan. Subsequent episodes cover the entire story of Ram – the birth of King Dasharath’s four sons; Ram

and Sita’s wedding; their exile; Sita’s abduction; Ram’s victory over Raavan; Bharat Milaap and the coronation of Ram as king of Ayodhya. It ends with an episode of Ram’s teachings. For a month, Ramnagar is transformed into a giant stage for the story of Ram to unfold. Permanent structures and parts of the town within a ﬁve-kilometre radius are named after places mentioned in the epic, and different episodes of the lila are enacted at different venues every day. A dusty plot of land represents Ayodhya. A garden with a Girja Devi mandir is the setting for the scene where Ram and Sita catch a glimpse of each other for the ﬁrst time and fall in love. Opposite stands Janakpuri, the kingdom of Sita’s father, King Janak. On a raised platform here, Ram strings Shiva’s dhanush and wins the swayamvar to wed Sita. A small lake represents the Ganga – and in one episode, the characters playing Ram, Lakshman and Sita cross the waters on a boat, while the audience walks along the lake to the other side. On most days, the Ramlila moves – the cast, the Kashi Naresh,

DUMMY

audience and all. Sometimes, the movement is within a larger venue. Lanka, for example, is a large tract of land and the scenes keep shifting between Raavan ka darbar on one end, Ram’s camp on another and Ashok Vatika in a corner. On some days, the play becomes a procession – the audiences walks along with the cast from venue to venue, which are sometimes more than a kilometre apart.

almiki’s Ramayana is one of the oldest stories in the world. The Sanskrit epic is more than 2,000 years old. But in the 16th century – at the time when William Shakespeare was writing his plays – Indian sage poet Goswami Tulsidas wrote one of the greatest works of Hindi literature, the Ramcharitmanas, a retelling of the Ramayana in Awadhi, the language of the masses. A large portion of the Manas was composed at Varanasi, where the poet

spent most of his later life. It is believed that this is when (and where) Ramlilas ﬁrst began. The oldest Ramlila in the world, the more than 450-year-old Chitrakoot Ramlila, is also Banarasi. The Ramnagar Ramlila began in the early 1800s during the reign of the then Kashi Naresh, Maharaja Udit Narayan Singh. “He had gone to Chhota Mirzapur where some traders had organised a Ramlila, but by the time he got there, it was over. He was very disgruntled, and so his wife suggested that he start one in Ramnagar,” Jai Prakash Pathak, personal secretary to the Kashi Naresh and Ramnagar Ramlila adhyaksh, told us.

his Ramlila isn’t meant to be a theatrical masterpiece. It is a fair, a festival, a phenomenon. There are two sets of actors (not professional actors, one is a set of ﬁve boys, the other is the rest of the cast, mostly grown men

SRINGAAR: The faces of the ﬁve main actors are decorated with sequins, pasted with homemade glue. (L-R) Nand Kishore Vyas, a serious boy of 14 plays Ram. Aditya Panday, 13, who plays Sita, wants to become a lawyer, and the naughtiest, Purushottam Sharma, 11, is Lakshman this year

OCTOBER 27, 2013

AGNI PARIKSHA: Here, Sita enters the sacrificial fire to prove her chastity. This year, it had rained heavily all day and the grounds were muddy. Despite that, a large crowd had gathered at Lanka ground to watch the reunion of Ram and Sita from in and around town). They are handled by different directors (each called vyas). The five main characters – Ram, Sita, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan – are always played by young Brahmin boys between the ages of eight to 14. Gods are represented by children because their “hearts are pure and voices sweet”. These “swarups” are considered divine for the entire month and are worshipped by everyone, even their parents. “Gods descend on Ramnagar for this entire month” says Shiv Dutt Sharma, the vyas who trains these boys. He took over these duties over from his father Raghunath Dutt Vyas (the latter still helps out occasionally). It’s improper for girls to be on stage. Thirteen-year-old Aditya Panday who plays Sita, didn’t think it strange for a boy to play a woman’s part. He loves being in the spotlight. “I like that I earn a

name for myself,” he says. It’s why he’d like to be a lawyer. Ramlila preparations begin in July. A handful of boys are shortlisted by the vyas on the basis of their intelligence and voice quality. The Kashi Naresh handpicks the ﬁve best at reciting shloks. For an entire month before the lila starts, these boys, with their mothers and a few other family members, move in to the Balwa Ghat dharamshala sponsored by the Kashi Naresh. They spend their days learning their lines and studying the scriptures. This year’s Ram, Nand Kishore Vyas, 14, played Sita for the last two years. “He’s the epitome of good behaviour – just like Bhagwaan Ram,” everybody says. He was so in character that he thought it inappropriate to be interviewed. Purushottam Sharma, a twinkly-eyed boy, plays Lakshman. “He’s naughty and has a temper, just like Lakshman ji,” we’re told as he prances around. “Lakshman ji, lila ke anusaar baith jaaiye, aap swaroop mein hain,” vyas ji reprimands him, reminding him he’s in character. The 11-year-old studies Sanskrit and can read the Vedas. He doesn’t want to come back next year, “I missed three months worth of classes!” he says. His mother Radha Devi, however, is pinning

COVER STORY

THE RAMAYANIS: Some of the Ramayanis at a tea shop with the secretary to the Kashi Naresh, Jai Prakash Pathak (third from right). The 12 wise men sing the entire Ramcharitmanas during the course of the Ramlila

THE WAR: The battle scenes between Ram and Raavan’s armies are performed by Muslim boys, a tradition handed down from generations. Fire-eating represents the magic illusions that Raavan created her hopes on getting him back on stage next year – hopefully as Ram, “If he gets to play God, why wouldn’t he do it? He’ll look so good!,” she beams. The boys start getting dressed at noon and are ready by 5pm. Their faces are first decorated with sparkling costume gems. A sandalwood lep is spread on their legs and a flat piece of metal is used to trace intricate patterns – like henna – on them. They’re then made to change into costumes, bright yellow and gold for the male characters, a fiery red for Sita. They aren’t allowed to play any strenuous games. For fun, they often play antakshri – in Sanskrit, with shloks. But when they can get away with it, it’s Raja Chor Sipahi.

ll other characters come under Lakshmi Narayan Vyas, the bade vyas ji (the one who shouts “Saavdhaan, chup

raho” every time the action shifts from the Ramayanis to the actors). Now in his eighties, he’s been running the show for decades, just like his father did before him, and his father before him, back many generations. But there is no real training involved, the actors practise mostly on their own, there are no rehearsals. Most of these roles are inherited. Swami Nath Pathak has been Raavan for 30 years; the part of the demon king has been in his family for six generations, he says. This year he shares the role with his son, Rajeev Kumar Pathak. “My son has been watching me perform all these years, he doesn’t need to be trained,” Pathak guffaws, “Baagh ke bachhe ko shikaar karna nahin seekhna padhta.” There are new actors too. Hanuman (the monkey god) has been played by Brijesh Kumar Tiwari, a policeman from Bihar for the last

OCTOBER 27, 2013

three years. He saves his leaves and takes a month off from work for the Ramlila. This is an all-Brahmin affair. But there are exceptions. On the day before Dussehra, as the armies of Ram and Raavan collide, a series of scenes depicting the war are performed by Muslims. A dozen Muslim boys, dressed crasually in pants and shirts, no costume, circle each other, fight with swords and then begin fire-eating to depict the magical illusions that Raavan created. “The Ramlila isn’t about Hindus or Muslims,” says Ajay, the fire-eater of the group. “It’s our parampara; our families have been doing this for generations. It’s also practice for Muharram, which is 20-22 days later,” he says. The contract for making the elaborate sets, papier mache effigies and firecrackers (which flare during the arti every night) also goes to Muslim craftsmen

THE DEVOTEES: Ramlila is a devotional celebration. As the Ramayanis recite verses from the Ramcharitmanas, many in the crowd read along, softly or silently, from their copies lit by LED flashlights every year – this year it went to Raju Khan and his team of 25-30 men. “We start 15 days before the Ramlila begins,” says Sheru, Khan’s nephew, “we first work on Sheshnag [for the episode where Vishnu decides to take an avatar of Ram]. Then we make giant rats, cows, bullocks, horses for carts. And then the effigies of the demon gods to be burnt,” he says.

he crowd ranges from a few thousand for some episodes, up to a lakh for episodes like Ram and Sita’s wedding (Neha Panday, 17, the sister of the boy who plays Sita, told us her favourite was the Swayamvar scene, “They ﬁre a small cannon twice so it sounds like the dhanush actually made that sound when it broke”); Dussehra (when a 60-feet high efﬁgy of Raavan is burnt); Bharat Milaap; and the coronation of Ram (the most auspicious day).

COVER STORY

RAAVAN, THE RAAKSHAS KING: Rajeev Kumar Pathak, in his 30s, shares the role of Raavan with his father Swami Nath Pathak. He posed for us atop Raavan’s fort at Lanka ground The audiences are mostly devout Hindus from in and around Varanasi. There are a handful of foreigners and city folk. Sadhus roll joints (it’s called “bhangbooti chhaatna”) and groups of bespectacled men passionately debate the “vyaakran” (grammar) of Tulsidas. The lila usually begins at 5pm with the arrival of the Kashi Naresh (sometimes on an elephant, other times in a car). There is a break at six when he goes for his sandhya puja, and the lila resumes when he’s back (sometimes in half an hour, other times in two). Nobody seems to mind waiting though. The lila is a giant mela, the streets are lined with chaat wallahs, people drink hot sweet tea or chew zingy Banarasi paan. There’s also the heavenly Ramnagar lassi, with crunchy sugar topped with a thick layer of rabri. Sometime between 10pm and midnight, the lila ends with an arti.

welve men in turbans, the Ramayanis, recite the entire Ramcharitmanas. The ﬁrst 175 stanzas are sung in the 10 days before the lila begins. Some parts such as King Dasharath’s death

THE MAHARAJA: The Ramlila begins with the arrival of the Kashi Naresh, Anant Narayan Singh (in saffron, exiting the Ramnagar fort). He watches it from atop an elephant or in a car

aren’t dramatised – it’s inauspicious to portray a good king’s death – and are just recited by one Ramayani. They sing to the sounds of a mridang and manjiras in a distinctive style called Lilabani. First, six men sing the first two lines of a chaupai prefixed with a “ha”, and then, the other six sing the second part prefixed with an “ahaa”. They’re not all pandits. There’s a teacher, a lawyer, some own large farms. But says Ramayani, Sulochan Misra, 89, “If you do anything else for these 40 days, you can’t be a Ramayani. Your voice won’t work, your body will tire or you’ll fall ill.” After the 31 days are over, a Ramayani, Ravi Shankar Panday, reads the entire Manas over nine days in the Hanuman mandir of the fort, to cover for any mistakes during the performance. No microphones or loudspeakers are used in the lila. You have to choose between listening to the Ramayanis or hearing the dialogues, (the actors and the singers sit quite far apart). You may even be unable to hear either clearly. You may not understand the local cadence of the Ramayanis, or the pure Hindi of the actors. But it’s still a beautiful experience. The

OCTOBER 27, 2013

Ramlila is lit only by kerosene lanterns or mashaals. The costumes shimmer, the Ramayanis’ turbans glow in different shades of pink, the sets are detailed and the energy is infectious.

ometime between 1820-30, English Orientalist scholar James Prinsep illustrated the city of Banaras in a series of drawings, including an illustration of the Dussehra episode of this Ramlila. There’s the royalty on elephants, burning effigies, the sword-fighting and massive crowds. The scene looks exactly the same today! Minor changes are slowly seeping in. The bade vyas ji tells us, “It’s very difficult to find people to take a month out for the Ramlila.” And so, two decades ago, the rule of the all-male cast was broken. The role of Surpanakha, Raavan’s sister, is played by Munni, a 45-year-old Dalit woman. “Earlier a man used to do it. But he died, and we couldn’t find anybody else. Besides, a woman is also suited for roles like the dancer at Ram’s birth and wedding,” says vyas ji. Munni performs all these roles. “I got the role because I could read, and pronounce words properly;

other women who auditioned couldn’t,” she says. Though she does these roles, she feels “men are naturally better actors.” But it makes her feel closer to God. “And I get a lot of respect for performing at the lila,” she tells us. Not too many people study the scriptures now, so it’s harder to train the actors. “Par seekhenge kaise nahin?” asks bade vyas ji. “About 10 years ago”, says politician AP Singh (his family was part of the Banaras nobility), “the actors didn’t need to be prompted much”. Today, prompting seems to be an integral part of the performance, but it adds a great deal of ﬂavour. The three vyas jis are always on stage, standing behind the actors delivering dialogues. Often, they whisper entire monologues in the actor’s ear, word by word. There are several reasons why people visit Varanasi. Some to wash away their sins in the holy waters of the Ganga, some to die and be cremated at the burning ghats, some for inner peace, others for the “bhang-booti.” Whatever your reason may be, it’s a good idea to plan it around this month, at least once in your lifetime. saudamini.jain@hindustantimes.com Follow @SaudaminiJain on Twitter

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Photo:THINKSTOCK

A SPARKLING TOAST TO INDIA Vir Sanghvi

rude drink

With the launch of Chandon, it’s now clear that not only can India make world-class wine but that Moët et Chandon will even put its name on local bubbly

WORLD FAMOUS

Dom Pérignon is the premium wine from the house of Moët et Chandon, the world’s largest and most famous champagne brand

OR YEARS and years, the world used the term ‘champagne’ to refer to any sparkling wine. This annoyed the hell out of the French who argued that ‘champagne’ can only refer to a sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France by a speciﬁc method involving a two-stage process, the key to which was a second fermentation in a bottle. About two decades ago, the European Union, egged on by France, began to aggressively protect the term. Now, much of the world accepts that a sparkling wine, no matter how good, cannot be called ‘champagne’ if it is not made in Champagne from grapes grown in the region. Then, the French cracked down on uses of the word ‘champagne’ to describe other products. Yves Saint Laurent was forced to change the name of a perfume called ‘Champagne’. A cheap sparkling pear juice drink called ‘Babycham, champagne perry’ came under sustained attack. Eventually, the French even controlled the name of the process. Sparkling wine is usually made in one of two ways. Either they make gallons of the stuff at a time by what is called the vat process or they ferment it in the bottle (a more expensive enterprise) using what used to be called Methode Champenoise. But now, unless you make the wine in Champagne, you cannot use the term Methode Champenoise either. You have to call it Methode Traditionelle. All these restrictions have helped the French champagne industry. Nobody takes New York State champagne seriously any longer. The world’s largest and most famous champagne brand is Moët et Chandon (Dom Pérignon is the premium wine from the house) and it is certainly the

OCTOBER 27, 2013

champagne we know best in India. (Even if we mispronounce the name. The ‘t’ in Moët is not silent. It is not pronounced ‘moe-ay’ but Mo-ët.) Though Mumm, long Moët’s traditional rival in the champagne world, is now relaunching itself in a big way, Moët still remains the better-known brand in India. But the French possessiveness about the term ‘champagne’ poses problems for any global brand. The wine industry is now expanding internationally and Moët et Chandon has always seen the logic in making sparkling wines in other locations. The solution has been to create a second brand called Domaine Chandon, made using the traditional champagne method but capturing the distinctive character of the terroir where the grapes are grown. So there is a Domaine Chandon in South America, one in California (which I tried many years ago and really liked) and a Domaine Chandon in Australia. For any champagne/sparkling wine producer, India presents special problems. The two basic champagne grapes (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir) are difficult to grow here and so producers have experimented with other varietals. The first Indian ‘champagne’ I drank was called Marquise de Pompadour from Champagne India and I didn’t think it was bad when it came out. Then the French forced the company to drop the champagne from its name and in any case, quality went rapidly downhill. Every other Indian sparkling wine I have tried has – to my unsophisticated palate at least – tasted like cat’s piss. (This is only a personal opinion and I could well be wrong or ignorant. But there it is.) So when I heard that Moët et Chandon had launched a top-secret project to make an Indian sparkling wine some years ago, I was curious. I reckoned they would have to use non-Champagne grapes and I wondered if they would give it the Chandon branding. And though I asked around, the folks at Moët et Chandon remained tight-lipped. Last week, they finally launched the Indian Chandon and came clean about the project. The idea came from Mark Bedingham, the veteran Asia hand who heads Moët Hennessy in Australia and the East. Mark believed it could be done and conducted surveys of sites and soils before setting on the Nashik valley. It helped, I imagine, that Bruno Yvon, Moët’s India head, is also an accomplished winemaker himself, having helped create the Grover wines in their early years, and understood the Indian terroir. Once they had settled on the terroir, they had to tweak

Photo: THINKSTOCK

the grape composition around. They found they could grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Nashik, but not in sufficient quantities to ensure production of an Indian sparkling wine. So, along with the celebrated Australian winemaker Kelly Healey, who was actually going to make the wine, they settled on Chenin Blanc as the primary grape. Chenin Blanc grows well in India but so far, Indian winemakers have tended to use it to make weak, sweet wines. Healey had to produce a great sparkling wine, worthy of the Chandon name, from Chenin. They planted the grapes a few years ago and the wine has been going through two fermentations since then. A tasting committee of Moët et Chandon experts from around the world has been involved in tweaking the final product. And last week, they launched it at a glitzy party at the Bombay Four Seasons. I was fortunate enough to try the wine along with Mark, Bruno Yvon and their colleagues before the formal launch. We started with the white, which will form the bulk of their production. I’m no expert, but I found it fresh, light, refreshing and yet a serious enough wine with enough champagne character to be worthy of the Chandon name. Then we moved to the rosé, which I thought was wonderful too. It is a great food wine. And just to be sure, we got the Four Seasons to send us chicken tikkas and galouti kebabs to eat with it. The wine complemented the food perfectly. Finally, we have an Indian wine that is terrific with Indian food. I asked about prices. Moët Hennessy has had huge success with Moët et Chandon champagne so I wondered if they were worried that this might cannibalise that market. But obviously they had thought of that. The Indian Chandon will cost `1,200 or so (prices will vary from state to state depending on taxes), about a third of the price of a French champagne. So the products will appeal to different markets. Given the quality, it goes without saying that Chandon will eventually wipe out other Indian wines in this segment (though it is a little more expensive than some local rivals). But I suspect the impact will go beyond that. It will now finally be possible to order a good sparkling wine at a club or a restaurant without paying through your nose. It will be possible to go

to your local booze shop and buy a good bottle of bubbly for a celebration. Standalone restaurants will be able to offer “champagne brunches” at reasonable rates with a decent sparkler. And the market for Prosecco will take a huge hit because frankly this tastes a lot better than most of the mass-market Proseccos we get in the Indian market. And if you go for an Indian meal and want to order a wine that will stand up to the kebab, then the rosé gives you a relatively reasonably-priced option. At the launch party, I noticed guests knocking back both the blanc and the rosé versions of the wine. I conducted an impromptu (and entirely unscientiﬁc) poll and found that more people liked the rosé, though Sanjay Menon, who knows more about wine than anybody else in India, thought that the blanc was the real knockout. For once, I disagree with Sanjay. Chandon has taken a chance by mixing Syrah (or Shiraz) with Pinot Noir (an unusual combination) to create a sparkling wine that smells faintly of rose petals and lingers on the palate. In Sanjay’s defence, I think you need to try the rosé with food to fully appreciate it. (The rosé will cost a little more than the blanc, in the same way that rosé champagnes cost more than white but at `1,400 in retail shops, it is well worth it.) Where does Moët et Chandon go from here? There is a sparkling-wine launch coming up in China (next year, I think) but for now, Mark Bedingham is focusing on the Indian Chandon. His portfolio at Moët Hennessy is vast because it includes Moet’s Australian and New Zealand operations, the growing Chinese market, the sophisticated Japan territory (the second largest market for Dom Pérignon in the world) and of course, Hennessy cognac, which sells brilliantly wherever there are Chinese people to drink it. But as somebody who has been coming to India at least three times a year for the last two decades, he seems particularly committed to this country not just as an export market but as a source of good wine. With the launch of Chandon, he has proved that not only can India make world-class wine, but that Moët et Chandon will even put its name on local bubbly. A still wine must be on the horizon. But for now, Bedingham says they are focusing on making Chandon a success. With this quality, the Chandon branding and Moët Hennessy’s marketing team (headed by the irrepressible Gaurav Bhatia), that should not be difﬁcult to pull off.

The white wine is fresh, light, refreshing and yet a serious enough wine, with enough champagne character

OCTOBER 27, 2013

LOCATION IS EVERYTHING

The French insisted that ‘champagne’ can only refer to a sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France (above) by a speciﬁc method involving a two-stage process

MASTER OF CEREMONY

Mark Bedingham, the veteran Asia hand who heads Moët Hennessy in Australia and the East, came up with the idea to launch an Indian Chandon

MORE ON THE WEB For more columns by Vir Sanghvi, log on to hindustantimes. com/brunch

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WHERE’S THE PARTY TONIGHT? I Photo: GETTYIMAGES

And do you know how to work it?

NOT A PARTY MAN! Prince Charles once said that it’s always the pushy, obnoxious people who come up and try to make conversation, that is why he hates going to parties

T WAS a famous silken-tongued Hindi film lyricist, who shall remain nameless, who first called me out on it. We were both at a party held on the manicured lawns of a ministerial bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi. I was being held hostage by the most boring poseur ever and could not for the life of me figure out a way to extricate myself from the most mind-numbing conversation ever. But just when I was giving up on the evening in despair, my lyricist friend joined us. He said a few words, witty as ever, and then steered me off in the direction of another group. “You really don’t know to work a party, do you?” he said pityingly. I nodded sadly in affirmation. “Let me tell you how this works,” he said firmly, “you spend 10 to 15 minutes with one person and then go on to the next. No lurking about, no casting helpless glances at your friends telegraphing for help, none of that nonsense. Just say, ‘It was nice meeting you,’ and move on.” Well, it’s all very well for him, I thought darkly. But this sort of thing is easier said than done. And sure enough, at the next big party I attended, I found myself in the same fix. Stuck with the biggest bore in the room, and with no escape in sight. Let me tell you, it’s not easy to spin out the ‘It was nice meeting you’ line to someone who never pauses

Seema Goswami

spectator Never spend more than 15 minutes with any one person or group

MORE ON THE WEB For more SPECTATOR columns by Seema Goswami, log on to hindustantimes.com/ Brunch. Follow her on Twitter at twitter. com/seemagoswami. Write to her at seema_ ht@rediffmail.com

to draw breath as he witters on and on and on. So yes, it is a truth that I have come to terms with. I really do not know how to work a party. I either spend the evening tucked away in a corner with my core group of friends, having a good laugh or two; or I end up stuck with someone who has reached his anecdotage and is not afraid to inflict it upon anyone that will listen. And sadly, more often than not, that turns out to be me. Which is why I have nothing but pure admiration for those intrepid souls who think nothing of walking up to the guest of honour – film star, Nobel prize winner, celebrity author, head of state, rock musician, take your pick – and engaging them in witty banter. Though my lip does tend to curl a bit when they do not know when to back off and allow other people to bask in that reflected limelight. And I am always reminded of what Prince Charles once said about why he hates going to parties. It’s always the pushy, obnoxious people who come up and try to make conversation, he lamented. The decent ones are too shy and leery about pushing themselves forward. As a result, he never meets the kind of people he would like to. (Me neither, Your Royal Highness, me neither!) But there are some people, like my lyricist friend, who know just how to get the most out of the party. They hit the

OCTOBER 27, 2013

Photo: THINKSTOCK

HEAR HEAR! If you want people to think of you as a brilliant conversationalist, then don’t talk too much. Ask questions. And listen to the answers

ground running, heading straight for the host and telling him or her how fabulous the party looks. Niceties done with, they scan the room for the guest of honour. They go up and introduce themselves if there is nobody around to perform that ofﬁce. They engage him in conversation about himself (a quick Google search on a smartphone on the way to the party is much recommended) for ﬁve to six minutes. Then, before the queue forming up behind them gets too disorderly, they say their goodbyes and move on. Then, it’s on to the buzziest group of people, the A-listers who are much in demand. They hang around the sidelines, listening to the latest gossip, laughing at all the right moments, and soaking in the atmosphere. They know it is not necessary to say very much at this point. It’s enough to be seen in the right company. Ten to 15 minutes of this and it is time to move on. This time it is to the fringes, to all those B-listers who are dying to be told what the A-listers were talking about. This is the time to get chatty, to give ‘paisa vasool’ as we say in these parts, relaying all those tasty tidbits they’ve hoovered up so far. If this is a game you want to excel at, remember some salient rules. One, never spend more than 15 minutes with any one person or group. But while you are with them, give them your full attention. Don’t look over their shoulder to see if anyone more interesting is hovering into view. That’s just plain rude. Two, if you want people to think of you as a brilliant conversationalist, then for God’s sake, don’t talk too much. Ask questions. And listen to the answers as if you actually care. Ask a few follow-ups to show how interested you are. There’s nothing people like more than talking about themselves. Give them a chance to do so, and you won’t have to do very much at all. Three, don’t drink yourself silly. Keep a drink in your hand. If you don’t you’ll spend the entire evening explaining why you are not drinking, yaar! Take a few sips because otherwise you may not get through the evening. Abandon it on a surface half-drunk and move on. A waiter will sidle up to hand you another. Rinse and repeat. And leave sober. Now, that’s how you work a party. As for me, I will be sitting at home, ensconced on my sofa, watching a DVD boxset and eating dinner off a tray. Try not to be too envious.

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NEW INNINGS FOR NOKIA A Six new Nokia devices may make Windows and Lumia true contenders in the OS and device war

S I BOARDED my ﬂight, I was struck by how melancholy my purpose and destination was. I was ﬂying down to Abu Dhabi to be part of Nokia World, the company’s biggest event that showcases all its new devices and its road to the future. My original plan was not to go for this event as my life back in India was going through one of those ‘living in hell and no time to breathe’ schedules. Yet, even with a workload like that, here I was. There was only one reason to take such a profound decision. This may well be the last ever Nokia World on this planet. I had to be there to be part of the swan song. And what a swan song it was!

Rajiv Makhni

techilicious NOKIA LUMIA 2520

With thinner egdes and better grip, the standout feature is its 15-hour battery life

NOKIA LUMIA 1520

This phablet has the advantage of four microphones that can capture directional sound

NOKIA’S FIRST WINDOWS TABLET – LUMIA 2520 Bright colours, unibody design, thinner edges, better grip, a 10.1-inch HD display you can actually read in bright sunlight, comes standard with 4G LTE and WiFi and more importantly has a 6.7MP camera with Zeiss optics and a seriously good Qualcomm processor. The Video Director and Storyteller apps are very cool and easy to use as is the addition of two USB ports. But the standout feature is the battery life and charging time. It will give about 15 hours of battery life with the wraparound keyboard, and will charge to 80 per cent in less than an hour. It’s also priced well at $449. QUICK VERDICT: Nokia gets everything right, tick marks all that you need, then adds even more and then missteps with the screen size. Big 10.1-inch screen tablets aren’t the ‘hot’ category anymore. People are happier with 7.7 to 8.2 inches. Still, this is one of the best Tablets and one that may just get enough traction to spawn off a whole new line up. NOKIA’S FIRST PHABLETS – LUMIA 1520 AND LUMIA 1320 Nokia gets into the Phablet world with two 6-inch devices. The big screen helps to bring in a third row of tiles and gives you much better screen real estate to use Microsoft Ofﬁce. The 1520 has a 20.7MP PureView camera with almost all the optical trickery of the 1020. Videos even have the advantage of four mics placed to capture directional sound. It’s priced rather high at about $700. The Lumia 1320 is the brighter and younger sibling of the 1520. With a 6-inch 720p display and lower camera optics, this is basically a large screen phone for a younger consumer at a much better price point; and will be available in orange, yellow, white, and black. Pricing will be around $339.

OCTOBER 27, 2013

twitter.com/HTBrunch NOKIA LUMIA 1320

This phone gets everything right and may well be the phone to take Lumia to a whole new level QUICK VERDICT: I’ve always maintained that Windows on a phone screams for a bigger screen to really show off its real capabilities. We have them now. The 1520 is a stunning piece of hardware and features marred by its price. The 1320 gets it all completely right and I expect this to be the phone to take Lumia to a whole new level. THREE NEW HOPES FOR NOKIA – THE ASHA 500, ASHA 502 AND ASHA 503 Take the bright colours of Asha and encase them in a fusion of ice and glass. That’s the first impression you get when you hold the new crystal-like Asha phones. Each has the new swipe function, each will now come with a new and very customisable version of Fastlane. Think of it like a second home screen for quick access to frequently used apps and social networks. The two killer USPs are that each will now have WhatsApp and will come in bright red, bright green, yellow, cyan, NOKIA ASHA 503 white and black. The first 3G Asha The Asha 503 is the first 3G Asha phone, it also has a 5.0 phone and has a 5.0MP camera, dual MP camera SIM options, a 3-inch screen and Corning Gorilla Glass 2. The price will be about $99. The Asha 502 also has a 3-inch screen but no Gorilla NOKIA ASHA 502 Glass. It still has a 5.0MP cam- This phone has a era with LED flash and dual 3-inch screen and SIM options and will be about dual SIM options $10 less than the 503. The Asha 500 makes up the lower end of the new threesome. It has a 2.8-inch screen, a 2.0MP camera, single SIM and dual SIM variants, and will come in at a price of about $69. QUICK VERDICT: Asha is both the lifeline and bread-and-butter line-up for Nokia. They’ve got it right again, have refined what a feature phone can do and enhanced the capabilities and the looks. These three will sell very well in India. That then was the line-up of six that may well define the last ever Nokia World. Six devices built around an ecosystem that makes it obvious that Windows and Lumia are going to get stronger, better, sell more and finally become a true contender in the OS and device war. I’m just surprised and very suspicious NOKIA ASHA 500 that all these great new products and With single and dual announcements are all coming after the SIM variants, it’ll come Microsoft-Nokia deal! Call me a conspirat a price of about $69 acy theory specialist, but all this great news and activity makes me even more certain of my Nokia Trojan horse theory. That was a great Nokia World, pity it may well be the last. Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Technology, NDTV, and the anchor of Gadget Guru, Cell Guru and Newsnet 3

MORE ON THE WEB For previous columns by Rajiv Makhni, log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch. Follow Rajiv on Twitter at twitter.com/RajivMakhni

DIWALI SPECIAL

See The Light It’s dark, the sky is ﬁlled with ﬁreworks, the clothes are sparkly. How do you take the best pictures possible? Here’s help by Shreya Sethuraman

IWALI IS not just a time for the victory of good over evil, it’s a commemoration of all that is bright. It’s about meeting loved ones you haven’t seen in months, getting together to gossip, catching up with friends and family and passing on the love. Everyone looks their best. The rangoli is fresh, the diyas cast a soft glow on everything. The mood is upbeat, even grandparents are buoyed up. You want to freeze the moment forever. But for many of us, the magic

spell is broken once the pictures reveal themselves on our digital cameras. The brightly-lit house and verandah look dull, not glowy. The phuljari is just a burst of yellow, lacking the sparkle that your eyes could see. The bright pink of your girlfriend’s outfit (and her bright smile) get lost in the low light (or show up garishly under the flash). The fireworks that lit up the sky pale in pictures. And the family looks blurry in every group photo! So how can you do better? Follow our simple tips.

TRY USING A TRIPOD

ure, it’s clunky, but it’s such a difference-maker. When you’re handling the camera with your hands (and especially if you’re shooting in high-definition), even the slightest movement will make your photographs blurry – bad news when it comes to shooting still objects, people, or even firecrackers. “If you want the picture to look exactly like how it looks in real life (the anaar going up in flames, the chakri spinning dizzily), you need to keep the camera on a steady platform,” says fashion photographer Siddharth Lalchandani. “However, if you want to capture the whole event in a series of steps (from the time the cracker is lit

to the time it erupts), keep your hands steady and click away!” But no tripod doesn’t mean you’ve lost every chance to take a good photograph. “If there’s no tripod, keep your camera on a ledge to steady it. And if there’s no stable surface, take a deep breath, hold your breath and click. There’s no mystery in such photography, ” says Dinesh Khanna, trustee of Nazar Foundation, which promotes photography as an art form.

BALL OF SPARKS

For this picture, photographer Rajiv Iyer used a Canon EOS 5D with an EF 2470mm f/2.8L USM lens. The ISO was 200 and he used no ﬂash

BURNING BRIGHT

Dinesh Khanna used a Canon 5D Mark II camera, a 24-105mm lens and an ISO of 250

THINK ABOUT YOUR COMPOSITIONS

his means you should try to work out exactly what you want to shoot, especially since a million things are happening all at once on Diwali night. By the time you decide that it’s the 10,000 ladi you want to capture on your camera (and not your cousins playing in a corner or your aunt lighting a diya in the distance), you’d have already lost precious seconds. “Envisage the frame you want to capture

USE RIGHT SHUTTER SPEED AND ISO

hutter speed is the duration a camera’s shutter is held open when taking a photo. This allows you to manipulate how much light reaches the camera’s sensor, and how bright or dark your image will be. ISO, or International Organisation for Standardisation, and its speeds (100, 200, 400 etc) are used to indicate the amount of light necessary to give proper exposures. If you want to catch the mood of a well-lit room with your family members, “use a high ISO setting

OCTOBER 27, 2013

and position yourself before the ﬁreworks are set off,” says Rajiv Iyer, one of the founding members of the Delhi Photo Enthusiast Guild. “This way, less time is wasted during the actual moment of the shoot,” he adds. Also, avoid smoky photographs. Once the ﬁrecrackers have exploded, smoke will rise. This may lead to hazy images. Find a spot where the smoke blows away from your camera.

– 1600 and above,” says Dinesh Khanna. But if you want to shoot the ﬁreworks, which last barely a few seconds, you should choose a lower ISO setting. “An ISO 100 or ISO 200 helps to get a clear picture of the movement of the ﬁreworks,” says Iyer. While night photography can be a bit intimidating, it’s not that tough to get the best frame. Just follow these steps, take a deep breath and smile, you’re on camera! shreya.sethuraman@hindustantimes.com Follow @iconohclast on Twitter

DIWALI SPECIAL

Sparklers On Wheels

Loaded with features, special edition cars are attractive options for potential buyers by Deepesh Rathore

DMIT IT, you had a mixed sense of pride and exhilaration when you bought your ﬁrst car. That gives us a deep emotional connect with our wheels. Before buying a car, most people spend a few (or many) days contemplating every ‘hot’ model in the market and test driving some

of them. This emotional connect is what makes us see only certain cars in the market, and be blind to the rest of them. I like to call this the ‘hot zone’ where the cars inside this zone are what everyone wants, while the others languish. Here’s what’s hot right now.

SO WHO’S IN THE HOT ZONE?

anufacturers are always searching for ways to keep their car models in the hot zone. Ford’s EcoSport is there right now, while the Figo is a borderline case after enjoying many months of hotness. Renault managed to get their Duster in the hot zone and the SUV has outsold every car in the Renault showroom since then. Hyundai i10Grand, Honda Amaze, Mahindra XUV and a few more

cars are sitting in the hot zone and enjoying customer adulation today. However, it is Maruti that has mastered the art of getting its cars in the hot zone, model after model. The Swift and the Dzire have been permanent residents here. The same is the case with the Ertiga MPV right from the time it was launched. And then there are models such as the Alto and WagonR that are enjoying evergreen hotness.

Renault have managed to get the Duster in the hot zone where it gets customer love

OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE? ften, mostly with age, cars tend to slip outside the hot zone. This has a disastrous effect on sales, and manufacturers have to take measures to ﬁght back. One way is to do a facelift to make the car look fresher; throwing in more features and options. Others come up with a slight price revision to make the car more attractive. However, one of the best ways to build excitement around a car is with a special edition model. This

aruti is one of the industry leaders in offering special editions. A couple of weeks ago, it launched the Alto 800 special Anniversary Edition to celebrate the ﬁrst birthday of the car. It has been made distinctive with features like a new Purple Haze body colour, eye-catching new body graphics, new seat upholstery, a blacked-out middle pillar, body side molding, rear parcel tray, body-coloured side mirror and an optional audio system. Priced at `3.12 lakh, the Alto 800 Anniversary Edition stands out. Prior to this, Maruti had also launched the Alto K10 Musik edition in September. It has been built around the theme of music and features a JVC MP3 player with USB support and 4-inch front speakers. That is a lot of music capability in a small hatchback and music-loving buyers should give the special edition a serious look.

often packs in features and trims that are not available in other variants. It usually comes with an array of colours that were not earlier available with the model. A number of additional features are thrown in to make the buyer feel really good about going in for the special edition. This also makes a lot of sense in the festive season as the specialedition model appears more exciting to buyers.

OCTOBER 27, 2013

THE TRENDSETTERS

Maruti has made a habit of sexing up existing models by offering special editions such as the Alto K10 Musik Maruti has also thrown in a rear spoiler and mudﬂaps to make the special edition more attractive. A couple of weeks before the Musik Edition, the company had introduced the WagonR ‘Madhavan’ Signature Edition. Actor R Madhavan is WagonR’s brand ambassador and the signature edition bears his signature on the body graphics. The frills include a Kenwood 2-DIN audio system with USB and AUX support, rear parking sensors with a digital display, a Bluetooth kit and art leather covered seats and steering wheel. Full wheel covers and a rear roof spoiler add to the package, priced `20,000 more than the ordinary WagonR.

OTHER ‘SPECIAL’ PLAYERS

HEAT & DUSTER

THE SPECIAL-EDITION CLUB

he Renault Duster Anniversary Edition has body graphics on the side of the vehicle and a new body colour called Cosmos Blue. Till now, this colour was only available on the export variants of the Duster. Volkswagen is also playing the game slightly differently by offering a ‘Corporate Edition’ accessory pack on the Vento. The pack comes with alloy wheels, a trunk spoiler, mudﬂaps, door protector, window chrome set, a navigation system, rear view camera, seat covers and doorstep garnish. Honda, too, has launched the Brio Exclusive edition. It comes with a special ‘Premium Sporty’ black interior, a tailgate spoiler, door visor, illuminated side step garnish, reverse parking sensor and chrome-ﬁnished exhaust tip. The special

SPEED FRILLS

The Honda Brio Exclusive edition comes in bright new hues

edition comes in red, silver and white shades. Japanese rival Toyota’s Etios XCLUSIVE limited edition comes with two-tone interiors, better seat fabrics, an audio system with Bluetooth, chrome-accented gear lever and rear parking sensors. With manufacturers offering special editions, this festive season is the best time to buy a car loaded with features, while paying signiﬁcantly less for them. Rathore is the Director of EMMAAA, an automotive advisory specialising in emerging markets brunchletters@hindustantimes.com

DIWALI SPECIAL

THESARIS FESTIVE STYLE GUIDE BY ANUPAMA DAYAL

Even if you shy away from this six-yard wonder all year round, traditions are best celebrated in a sari by Yashica Dutt

Who she is

A fashion designer, who is always introducing new ways to drape the traditional sari, ever since the launch of her label in 2004. One version includes wearing a sari with invisibly tiny hot pants. We insisted she wear a Banarasi sari for us and she obliged us by pulling out a rich mustard-hued one from one of her recent collections.

The number of saris she owns

She stopped counting somewhere after 100. This includes the saris her mother – a textile designer and artist – bought for her, along with ones she has collected from across the country.

The ﬁrst time she wore a sari

At 17, when her elder sister tied it for her. Though she was a skilled draper, she wasn’t very gentle and this prompted Anupama to learn draping on her own as soon as possible!

How to wear one well

Learn from someone who ties a kick-ass sari. It doesn’t necessarily have to be someone from your family; it can be anyone who you think ties a sari well. There is a technique involved and you need to master it to drape one properly. Once that’s done, wear saris as much as you can. Even if there are a few mistakes along the way, you’ll only get better with time. And never forget the safety pins.

Getting comfortable

Indian women are somehow born to wear the sari and they always look graceful in one, so there are slim-to-zero chances that it will look clumsy. However, try a smaller size sari if you want in the beginning. Get a two-and-a-half yard dupatta length ﬁrst and wear it with palazzos, a sharara or cigarette pants, as a sari. Wear it with a regular shirt instead of a blouse. That makes it easier to introduce a sari into your daily wardrobe as well.

Rules to remember

To appear taller, hide your petticoat and make sure it is in the same colour as the sari. You can also create a monochromatic optical illusion by choosing to wear both the blouse and the sari in the same shade. If you don’t have the perfect ﬁgure, focus on your best asset, be it collarbones, well-toned arms or a radiant face. Go for a crepe instead of a silk sari if you are trying to cut bulk. Stick to the classic style of draping, which streamlines the body best. A low-cut blouse from the back can give the illusion of having curves if there are none. And don’t try the latest trend of belting the sari, unless you are blessed with a model-like long, slim torso.

How not to shiver in a sari

Pashminas are the answer. Plan your look in advance. Choose a colour that complements your sari (orange with pink, yellow with green etc) and use the pashmina as an external drape after you are done putting on your sari. Then clinch it with a belt if you like. You can also try different jackets – boxy, quilted, short with mandarin collars and long, achkan-like ones. Best in neutral colours. Photo: JASJEET PLAHA

OCTOBER 27, 2013

DIWALI SPECIAL

THESUITS FESTIVE STYLE GUIDE BY PETER PUNJ

Everyone’s getting into suits these days! But here’s what you need to know to actually look good in one by Yashica Dutt

Who he is

Managing director of the Punj Corporation, a stylish regular on the Delhi party circuit and the man who made a suit with an upturned collar and no tie look more dapper than anyone could have imagined. We made him wear sharp Tom Ford threads for our shoot.

The number of suits he owns Anywhere between 50 to 80.

He got his ﬁrst good suit

For his niece’s wedding, over 16 years ago. It was from Hugo Boss.

The brands he prefers

It depends entirely on the occasion. For a fun evening out or for an engagement, a slick Tom Ford, with its opulence and luxurious excessiveness, is perfect. But for more conservative and business-like occasions, he prefers traditional brands such as Cesare Attolini and Savile Row, with their more conventional tailoring.

How to look good in a suit

Consider your physique. Those with a medium to heavy build should avoid a slim fit and opt for one that complements their body. If keen to add height, the length of the jacket should be till the hips. Always play attention to the details. The shirt should be sharp with the cuffs ending at the wrist, the spread of the collar has to angle just right and the buttons should be placed at correct intervals so that you don’t reveal more than necessary. Add stylish accessories – cufflinks and a tie pin – to complete the look. Be a chameleon and adjust your attitude to the occasion: flamboyant at a party, exuding power at a meeting.

How to get one

No matter what the price range, always get a suit that’s made to measure. When working on a budget, you can compromise on the brand, but don’t compromise on personal tailoring. Ensure the sleeves are cut to the right length and get the darting done precisely to get the waist suppressed for a V-shaped suit.

How he experiments

By not sticking to the rules of the old shoes-and-socks combinations. Punj wears bright socks in shades of electric blue and green with tan leather shoes when out for a night in town and exchanges them with sombre grey ones for the boardroom.

A classic suit

A double breasted – navy blazer with a white shirt – often seen on Prince Charles.

Getting suits locally

He wouldn’t buy an Indian designer’s suit, just like he wouldn’t buy a Western designer’s sherwani. So only Western brands will do.

One man who looks great in a suit Pierce Brosnan.

OCTOBER 27, 2013

Photo: JASJEET PLAHA

DIWALI SPECIAL

THE FESTIVE STYLE GUIDE BANDHGALAS BY SUNIL SETHI

There’s no better time to wear a bandhgala, especially since the world is clamouring to get into one by Yashica Dutt

Who he is

The president of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), the silver-haired patriarch is as known for his infectious energy at fashion weeks as he is for his classy bandhgalas. He has even curated, along with several Indian designers, a soon-to-be-launched line of bandhgalas called Neel Sutra.

He owns

More than 25 bandhgalas in a collection that he’s hand-picked not just from India, but even from countries like Spain and China, which also have bandhgala-style jackets. The Shibori print bandhgala he wore for this shoot was picked up in Hong Kong!

His ﬁrst bandhgala

Made by Rajesh Pratap Singh, which he wore about 15 years ago to the opening of a Giorgio Armani store in Milan (instead of an Armani jacket) and predictably had people, including movie stars like Robert De Niro and Sophia Loren, coming up to him and asking him about the source of his stately jacket. It still remains his favourite.

Since then

Sethi has realised that a bandhgala needn’t have a stiff collar and he needn’t wear it only for weddings, functions and receptions. He made the casual bandhgala popular by experimenting with fabrics like leather, prints like the ikat, Japanese shibori and nautical styles. He’s paired the jacket with different kinds of jeans instead of traditional trousers and now has a bandhgala for every occasion, be it formal, while watching sports events or even in the hot summer.

Maintenance

A bandhgala requires the same amount of care as a well-tailored suit, with proper storage on wooden hangers and in garment bags. Bandhgalas with stiff collars and buckrams do not need to be dry cleaned too often, but the ones with soft collars can be cleaned more regularly.

What’s a classic?

Black, with a stiff collar attached with clasps, wide shoulders and a high cut armhole with good quality lining inside.

How to get one

Though there are several off-the-rack versions available, the ﬁt plays a big role in shaping a bandhgala, so it’s best to get one made. It can be cut to add bulk to your frame or slim it down, so choosing a skilled tailor is important. While Delhi has many tailors who offer their services, the best bandhgalas are made in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

How to dress it up

By adding a colourful pocket square. Like the occasion when – as the guest of the Maharaja and Maharani of Jaipur – Sethi ended up wearing a bandhgala that was identical to the ones worn by the security men (who opened the doors and welcomed the guests on the walkway). He salvaged the situation by tucking a ﬂamboyant red pocket square into his elegant black jacket. Photo: JASJEET PLAHA

OCTOBER 27, 2013

DIWALI SPECIAL

Lights, Firecrackers, ACTION!

Film and TV celebs tell us what makes their Diwali so special by Pooja Biraia

Tell us about your most cherished Diwali memory.

Diwali in 2011 was one of my favourites, ever. That year, we were busy preparing for my sister’s wedding. There was song, dance, cheer, food and togetherness.

What is the one thing we can all do to light up another person’s life?

Show a little compassion, be understanding and don’t be judgemental. Listen to people. Sometimes people just need to be heard.

Tell us about your most cherished Diwali memory.

What Diwali gift can you give to a person who has everything?

Every year, we have a small puja at home. My parents make me perform the aarti because I love burning the little camphor pellets. I love to see the smile on their faces while I do the aarti.

No one can have everything in life. I am sure he/she will always appreciate a few kind words.

What are your plans for this Diwali? I want to spend it with my close family and friends.

Tell us about your most cherished Diwali memory.

Last year’s Diwali was special because my birthday also fell on the same day. Also, Son of Sardaar released then, I Am won the National award and we won the IPL that season. We had enough reasons to celebrate.

What is the one thing we can all do to light up another person’s life? If you can bring a

OCTOBER 27, 2013

smile to someone’s face or help a person when they need it, you will make them very happy.

What Diwali gift can you give to a person who has everything?

Give them lots of love and time.

What are your plans for this Diwali?

There is a puja at my husband’s ofﬁce, followed by Diwali lunch with the entire staff. In the evening, we’ll all get ready, make rangolis, light some diyas, meet some friends and play cards. We don’t light ﬁrecrackers. Diwali is a day to spend at home as Lakshmi Maa is supposed to visit your house and bless you. So we try to make sure we are at home.

What is the one thing we can do to light up another person’s life? Share the light, share the love. Share with people less fortunate than you.

What Diwali gift can you give to a person who has everything?

I’d give them a Diwali with no noise. Really, it was meant to be a festival of light. When did it become a deafening festival?

What are your plans for this Diwali?

I’ll spend it at home with my family. And this year, I’ll also meet my friends and play cards.

DIWALI SPECIAL

Tell us about your most cherished Diwali memory.

Every Diwali, we follow a tradition diligently: bathing early morning, wearing new clothes and visiting the temple. The house smells sweet, of incense and sweetmeats. Flowers adorn the place, especially the entrance. Lakshmi puja is the highlight of the day.

What is the one thing we can all do to light up another person’s life?

Gift your support staff and their children new clothes, packs of sweets and cash for goodies. It makes such a difference to them.

What Diwali gift can you give to a person who has everything?

A beautiful hand-written wishfulﬁlling prayer is ideal. Tell them that their wishes will come true, that it will be a great year and that you’re praying for them.

What are your plans for this Diwali?

It’s deﬁnitely my childhood memories of Diwali in Chennai. It was a time when bursting ﬁrecrackers wasn’t considered unfashionable. Families and friends would come together for month-long parties in different houses and the kids would just have a ball.

What is the one thing we can do to light up another person’s life?

I enjoy giving presents. There’s a certain joy and happiness in giving, especially on Diwali.

What Diwali gift can you give to a person who has everything?

Tell us about your most cherished Diwali memory.

Diwali is the time when the house is buzzing with energy. It’s that time of the year when the three generations of my family get together and indulge in a full-ﬂedged celebration. We celebrate it for a week. Each day we visit a house, relish different cuisines and stuff ourselves with sweets. Also, since there are a lot of kids in the family, card games are a must.

What is the one thing we can do to light up another person’s life?

Distribute sweets among underprivileged children and light up their Diwali too.

That’s difﬁcult. Chocolates are universal feel-good gifts. The thought is more important than the price tag.

What Diwali gift can you give to a person who has everything?

I’ll mostly be in Pune with my parents. That’s my happy place!

What are your plans for this Diwali?

A prayer that blesses them with peace, joy and happiness to complement their wealth.

What are your plans for this Diwali?

This will be the ﬁrst Diwali when I’ll be away from home. But I’ll be playing music with some of the world’s biggest musicians, so it won’t be that bad.

OCTOBER 27, 2013

Tell us about your most cherished Diwali memory.

My favourite Diwalis were spent at home, in the company of my family when I was a kid. And I absolutely loved ﬁrecrackers.

What is the one thing we can do to light up another person’s life?

Just give them a lot of love and sweets. And for people in need, give them what they need.

What Diwali gift can you give to a person who has everything? I would give them a hug and a prayer if they already have everything.

What are your plans for this Diwali? I don’t have any major plans as I’ll be in between shoots. But I’ll probably spend it with my mom and sister.

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Tell us about your most cherished Diwali memory.

I believe in moderate living and celebrate every festival with love and deep respect. So this Diwali is all about getting together and celebrating the goodness of life. I’ll cook, clean, eat, pray, love and most importantly: forgive.

DIWALI SPECIAL

A Survival Guide To The Party

Season More get-togethers,

Illustrations: THINKSTOCK

more drinks, more food, more chatter, more work, more late nights. How to cope? We show you! by Parul Khanna

HE SEASON is here. It’s raining festivals, there are back-to-back card parties, every week brings something new. And then there are the weddings. It never ceases to amaze us why everyone wants to get married now, when no one has the time or energy for one more celebration. To top it all, ‘the lovely weather’ energises everyone to play the host and there are so many house parties, it’s enough to make even the most hardened party animal keel over. The festive-party season, meant to bring laughter, joy and mirth into our lives, becomes a veritable circus, with everyone struggling to catch up on sleep, juggling home, ofﬁce, clothes, children, families. And getting super stressed in the bargain. Some socialites end up ﬂeeing the city, just to get away from it all. But this year, we tell you how to enjoy the season, without the worry and strain of partying.

ORGANISE, ORGANISE

We know, we know, there are two kinds of people in the world; the organised ones, and the rest. But the only way to last through this season is to get your calendar out, and start prioritising. Mark every event and party that you simply cannot miss. Skip everything you can – you can’t keep everyone happy. “Plus, there’s normal life too, going on alongside,” says model Ramneek Pantal, who always has a hectic season.

home, but you also need it to balance your life. So after you’re done planning, get resourceful. Go grocery shopping on the way to a friend’s home (ﬁnd a good outlet there and stash the stuff in your car). If you are a couple, take two cars or hire cabs if you’re in a big group to save the trouble of picking up and dropping everyone (no one is ever ready to leave when you are!) Keep extra clothes in the car for a change anywhere, even if it’s in the host’s bathroom. Pantal and her husband always go in two cars. “My husband and I put our children to bed, then leave in separate cars. Since my husband loves playing cards, I come back home earlier than he does, because I have to get up at 6 to send the kids to school,” she says. Don’t be rigid about sticking to your to-do list. If one particular task is taking time, get on to another one. Pace is the key.

TAKE POWER NAPS

We are giving you a guide, not a magic wand. So don’t expect any false promises such as ‘you shall get your daily sleep’. You win some, you lose some. If you want your beauty sleep, you shouldn’t have any ambitions of having a hectic social life. So, here’s the truth: you will exert yourself, you will be a little stressed, but deal with it. Card parties usually start late and carry on till the wee hours of the morning. Ration and stagger your

“Grocery shopping, ofﬁce work, kids and their stuff, making time for parents if they stay away from you, everything has to be kept in mind.” Pantal plans her season by avoiding too many midweek parties, and attending one shindig a night, rather than three, if the next morning is a busy one. “If need be, I skip a few dos,” she adds. Close friends will understand, and as for those who want you around just to add to the numbers, you shouldn’t really care about them. If you try to squeeze everyone in, chances are you’ll spend all your time looking at your watch and

OCTOBER 27, 2013

rushing from one place to the next, which will make you stressed and anxious. Still, turning people down can be stressful in itself. But learn that you can’t take responsibility for other people’s emotions. “People expected me to attend parties even when I was nine months pregnant! That’s when I learnt, me ﬁrst, people’s egos later,” says Pantal. On the one free day you have, take out the clothes you want to wear through the week, and get your accessories organised too.

BE CREATIVE

Creativity is the magic word for this season. It reﬂects in the way you dress, entertain or do up your

sleep, says fashion designer Samant Chauhan, “Leave a party by 3am, not 4.30am, that way you buy yourself a couple of extra hours. During the day, if you have a bit of free time, learn to take a power nap while sitting at your desk or in the car if you have a driver. Or, get ready quickly, then relax on a chair while you wait for your partner to

DIWALI SPECIAL get ready. You will be surprised how revitalised you will feel.”

WORK AT WORK

Indians have it worse during the festive season; we have seven festivals, not just Christmas/ Hanukkah. And this period is God’s way of saying, “I am watching your efficiency”. These are the weeks when work invariably gets more hectic, especially for those in retail, hospitality, entertainment and the media. So work faster. You can’t let work come in the way of having fun and vice versa. Party regulars say they cut down on needless waste of time at the workplace – no cigarette and gossip breaks, long lunches, too many phone calls during work. This lets them finish their work in time to party. Also, foresee your workload. Says fashion designer Pawan Sachdeva, “I delegate work to the minutest detail to people in office for

the next day. So that even if I get late, they know what to do.” After getting his four hours of sleep, he reaches ofﬁce by 9.30am, takes stock and puts “things on a roll again”.

HEALTH WISE

The biggest spillover of this season is the spillover from the waistband of your denims. But the food and merrymaking is exactly what you’ve been looking forward to, so you can’t avoid all that food and all those sweets. Page 3 regulars say the key is to cheat. Jewellery designer and party regular, Shalini Kochar, has dinner before she leaves for a party (sometimes she goes to three a night). “When I reach the venue, I just taste what’s on offer, rather than gorge. The times I don’t have my dinner, I eat like a pig.” Also, studies claim that drinking on an empty stomach increases one’s appetite because alcohol’s high carbohydrate content causes blood sugar levels to ﬂuctuate. “If I let

This season can make the most hardened party animals keel over

myself go a few times, I cover up in the next few days. I do eat the snacks so that the host is not offended but I pick the ones that are healthy and not fried, and avoid sweets,” adds Kochar. Pantal, on the other hand, looks to the crockery for cues. She just picks a smaller plate before she heads to the buffet. Here’s a tip: When you’ve ﬁnished one serving, put a napkin on top of the empty plate to remind yourself that you’re full and not going back for a second helping! By all means have a few drinks, but drinking every day is not smart. “You’ll never get up in time, you will be tired, your face will be puffy. So nurse your drink. I take one, and stick with it,” says Kochar. “Anyway, I don’t need to be high to have fun. All my friends are around and the energy is great, so drinking can take a backseat.”

Also, remind yourself of the last hangover you had. You don’t want to end up missing tomorrow’s party, right? The other thing that takes a beating is your exercise routine (we’re talking to those who have one. If you don’t, this is not the season to start!). But make a conscious effort to keep to your schedule, even if you cut down on the duration of your exercise routine. Sachdeva says that he exercises for 30 minutes rather than an hour, and takes conscious steps to add more physical activity in his daily routine, like taking the stairs to his ofﬁce and friends’ homes instead of lifts. It will be hectic, but it will fun. And post the festive/party season, you can do what the party regulars do! Take a break! parul.khanna@hindustantimes.com Follow @ParulKhannaa on Twitter

DIWALI SPECIAL

PUT IT IN ORDER

Organising one’s stuff is a drag. But not with this trendy Muganizer. Wrap it around any mug, and ﬁnd extra pockets to shove things into. It’s a great desktop organiser for work or home. Available at www.facebook.com/OrganiceIt. `199

SAY CHEERS

Chuck the clunky bottles. Pick up this teak wood beer keg and serve your drinks in style this Diwali. Available at HomeStop 18. `1,393

BREEZY STYLE

Gift these fun, funky royal blue feather earrings from Ayesha Accessories. `298 each

Give up on the usual presents. Pick up interesting, quirky gifts for friends, family – and yourself! ETHNIC CHIC

THINK INSIDE THE BOX

Yummy lanterns! Hang them... or don’t. Light them and they look just as lovely. Get them from Crazy Daisy, New Delhi, in three sizes and colours. Large `875, medium `675 and small `425 each

Add life to your kitchen shelves with these funky Namaste India tins. Available at www.chumbak. com. `250

POPPING DELIGHT

Did you think corn could be popped only with butter and salt? Pick up gourmet popcorn in ﬂavours like chocolate, cheese etc from 4700 BC. `400 onwards

BITES OF JOY

Move over cup cakes. Handmade, melt-inyour-mouth macaroons make for a perfect gift. Available in exotic ﬂavours at Chez Nini, New Delhi. `60 each

GO STEEL

WELL PLANNED

Let your friends organise their lives better with the legendary Moleskine. Their 2014 planners are available in three sizes and several colours at www. moleskineasia.com, www.junglee.com or www. ﬂipkart.com. `500 onwards

Junk glass. Serve your guests in a traditional stainless steel dinner set, with a ﬂoral design. Pick your plates at Arttd’inox. `1,465 onwards

NIGHT OUT

Well, this owl literally stays up all night in your room. Get this owl night lamp made from a recycled bottle. By Kavi The PoetryArt Project from www.kavipoetryart.in or www.craftsvilla.com. `1,299

QUEEN’S BAND

Dress like a queen with this bracelet which has diamonds and pearls embossed on red stone. Shanker Maliram Jewellers. Price on request

DIWALI SPECIAL

FOR SOME WILD FUN A CUT ABOVE

Bring in Diwali with this bronze cut-work tea-light holder. Check it out on www. thedelhidesignstore.com. `1,260

To add an extra dose of fun to your (or anyone else’s) card parties, iPartyWild has ingenious drinking games that also aim at reviving board games. The games are meant for those aged 18 and above. Available at www.ipartywild.com and also at Creativegarh (New Delhi) and Roti Kapda Makaan (Mumbai). `499-999.

COOKIE CUTTER

GET REGAL

Gold and diamonds don’t turn you on? Get this royal-style antique-ﬁnish silver necklace with Rajasthan-inspired glasswork at The Central Cottage Industries Emporium. `29,331

Create your own cookie hamper with your favourite Cookie Man indulgences. You could pick from Choc Macadamia, Caramel Cashew, Banana-Walnut Mufﬁn or a decadent Double Chocolate Brownie. `600 onwards

GET NAUGHTY

If drinks aren’t entertaining enough, place these Kamasutra coasters on your table to start a conversation. Get them from www.chumbak.com or Happily Unmarried at `200

FEEL STIRRED

Serve your delicious cocktails in these handcrafted martini glasses from Mondo Casa, Delhi. Price on request

UPPER HAND

Mix tradition with minimalism this season. Pair these single-line kundan polki bangles from Entice with your little brocade skirt for the perfect Diwali look. Price on request

TASTE OF INDIA

Wine isn’t the only thing that sparkles. Glasses do too. We love these funky ones from www.craftsvilla.com. `895

HIT AFTER HIT

Make a hamper of DVD collections of Bollywood classics or your all-time favourites. Available at Radio & Gramophone House, Delhi or any music store. `1,000 onwards

DON’T FEEL BLUE

Glamorous, fashionable and feminine, this Crystalline Dark Blue stainless steel watch from Swarovski features nearly 800 clear crystals and has a dark blue calfskin leather strap. `19,000

TECH BOOM

Teach your techsavvy kids all about Diwali with this app. Go to the Apple App Store to download Diwali with Tamarind Tots. `55

LOVE YOU, MICKEY!

Did you think cartoons were only for kids? Think again. Wrap these Disney scarves around you to indulge the happy child within. Available at most multi-brand stores. `1,395

ON THE MOVE The Logitech Mobile Boombox is small and easy to carry. With its ability to wirelessly connect with any device, you don’t have to worry about anything. Just connect, and play! `8,995

PARTYING SHOT

Add a little fun to your parties. Down your vodka and tequila shots in these black Pacman glasses from www.whysoserious. co.in. `1,699

DIWALI SPECIAL

GOLDEN TIME

SPARKLE IT UP

CLUTCH MUCH?

Add a dash of gloden sparkle to the festivties with these designer clutches in red and gold. For you, your girlfriend (maybe even your mom!). From Tisora. www. tisoradesigns.com. `950

The Esprit Moonlite gold women’s quartz watch has a silver dial, analogue display and gold stainless steel bracelet. It is also water resistant upto 30 metres. A good reason to arrive fashionably late. At Esprit showrooms. `9,495.

You can never go wrong with gifting wine. So cheer up the party by taking along these new offerings – Sula Brut and Sula Brut Rosé. `950 (Sula Brut); `1,100 (Sula Brut Rosé) Available at leading outlets

A FRESH IDEA

ALL ACES

Enjoy the spirit of Diwali with gold foil playing cards from www.picturebite.com. They can be personalised too. `699

A basket of baguettes, bagels, croissants, danishes, dinner rolls, focaccia, and much more. Available at Foodhall. `2,300.

LIGHT IT UP

Oma’s lamps, tea light holders and jewellery boxes are made from Italian lead crystal. `10,485

HEAVENLY LIGHT

FOR YOUR EARS ONLY

The JBL J Series headphones are highperformance drivers that offer outstanding sound quality for the music lover. Available from Harman. `5,990

A TASTE OF TRADITION

Of course, you may be served chocolate and cashew pâté. But there’s nothing like traditional mithai. Try this mithai platter with almonds and pista. The garnish includes pure kesar, no artiﬁcial colours have been used. Available at Home Alone, Okhla. `1,035

Candle holder shaped like a lantern with a detachable ﬂoral candle and tea light. Available at Ferns N Petals. `899

BLING IT UP

Diamond studded cuff in 18 carat gold with round rubies and sapphires and metal ﬁligree work. From Tara Jewellers. `7,02,269.

FOR THE SINGER IN YOU

With over 4000+ songs in nine languages, this sleek karaoke kit is designed to ensure joyful sing-alongs on celebratory Diwali nights (or any other night for that matter!). At all LG stores. `14,990

A WARM WRAP

These Ritu Kumar stoles designed for Oriﬂame are made of 100 per cent polyester and are light-weight. Available with Orifame consultants. `1,149

GOURMET DELIGHTS

Festive hamper consisting of exotic chocolates, dry fruits, cheese, pasta and much more. Available at Godrej Nature’s Basket. `750-6,500 onwards

A TOUCH OF COLOUR

Brighten up the festivities with handpainted jug and glasses in ironstone. From www. houseproud.in. `3,000

DIWALI SPECIAL

SMOOTH AS SILK A variety of body butters from The Body Shop. Perfect for the cold and dry winter months ahead. Available at all The Body Shop outlets. `2,195

HANG ON

FOR A FRAGRANT YOU

Gorgeous chandelier Vaiata earrings from Swarovski. Available at all Swarovski outlets. `15,500

Everyone loves a bit of luxury during a bath. This set of bath products from Amelie et Melanie is just the thing. Available at Sarita Handa, MG Road `3,500 Reve d Anges (Bath Foam), `5,300 Princess Chiffon (Bath Oil), `3,500 Linge Blanc (Bath Foam)

LIKE A FLOWER

Diamond danglers in 18 carat white gold have a pearl in the centre. At RK Jewellers, SouthExtension. Price on request

PLEASE THE GODS

FULL BLOOM

Gift something healthy with this bouquet made of seasonal fruits and garnished with coloured cashews, almonds or chocolates. www.fruitbouquet.in. `1,500 onwards

Traditional handcrafted puja thali in copper and hallmarked silver wiith diya, kalash and bell too. Available at Frazer and Haws. `59,300

WELLNESS

MIND BODY SOUL SHIKHA SHARMA

For any worries related to unplanned pregnancy: Write to us at consumercare@piramal.com or call us at 1800-22-0502 (toll free) or sms ICAN to 56070 Website: www.i-canhelp.in

1. Dear doctor, I had taken an emergency contraceptive pill 2 days after unprotected sex due to its unavailability in my area. I am very tensed about whether will the pill worked. I did bleed after a week of taking the pill. So am I safe? Please help me. I cannot have a baby now as I have just started working. The effectiveness with which an emergency contraceptive pill avoids pregnancy reduces with time. However, please do not worry as its effectiveness is still 58% when taken between 49 - 72 hours after unprotected sex. However, please note that bleeding, that you observed, is not a signal that the pill has worked. Chances of pregnancy are usually low if one takes precaution on time. Please wait until you get your periods for next month. In case your menstrual period next month gets delayed by 10 days, we suggest you conduct a pregnancy test. In the event of a positive result, please contact a gynaecologist for further advice. 2. Dear doctor, if one takes emergency contraceptive pill during periods, then will it still be effective? During periods, there is no mature egg available, in the female body, for fertilization to occur. Hence, the possibility of pregnancy during periods is very low. Therefore, you do not

need to take emergency contraceptive pills to avoid pregnancy during your period days. However, it is always better to use some form of regular contraception and practice safe sex every time one plans to have intercourse. 3. Dear doctor, I am getting married next month and not too keen on using a condom and my fiancé has refused to use birth control pills. Can you please throw some light on withdrawal method as contraception? Is it safe and effective to avoid pregnancy? Withdrawal method is practiced as a means of contraception. However this method is not advised as it is not a reliable or effective method of contraception. Preejaculate, at times, also contains sperms and hence can lead to an unplanned pregnancy. We recommend that you and your partner consult a gyneacologist for the various options of contraception available apart from condoms and birth control pills. It is always recommended that one must use proper family planning methods to avoid unintended pregnancy.

LIGHTEN UP ON THE SUGAR You don’t have to stop yourself from digging into sweets. Just choose these lowfat options for a healthy time

O FESTIVAL is complete GO EASY ON THE ARTIFICIAL without mithai. But SWEETENERS sweets are loaded with calories, Do not overdose on sweets oil and sugar syrup, making it made with artificial sweeteners hard to bounce back to health because they may still be rich after the festival season. Make in fat. the right choices to avoid gaining weight and other LIMIT COOKING OIL health hazards. Try baking, not deepUse low-fat frying your food. If ingredients and you can avoid oily natural sweet food every day, substitutes to you can avoid it make healthier during the festive desserts like apple season. smoothie, carrot SAFFRON AGENDA DRINK WATER kheer, fruit custard. This helps tackle asthma, Drink a glass of water There are some indigestion, insomnia, before consuming delicious sweets made cough and vomiting sweets. It will fill your of anjeer, dates and tummy and minimise raisins – good sugars your calorie intake. that are also good for you. Use saffron to flavour READ LABELS CLOSELY your mithai. Saffron helps Before buying snacks for with insomnia, indigestion, your party, look at the calorie flatulence, asthma, cough, content and nutrition chart. menstrual cramps and vomiting. Use besan to make ladoos. NO AERATED DRINKS Its protein content controls Avoid serving aerated drinks blood sugar and cholesterol. and serve fresh juices without Besan also has one of the sugar. Make sure you hand lowest glycemic indices among around glasses of water after all foods. sweets have been consumed. At parties, avoid sweets rich

in ghee and butter. Substitute USE JAGGERY them with healthier, low-calorie Replace sugar with jaggery alternatives, sweets made with while cooking. Use honey to yoghurts or dark chocolate. sweeten your drinks. Some Indian sweets, which are rich in nuts and seeds, are REMEMBER TO… good news for you – Use dry fruits as good fats and ﬁllings for sweets. calories, protein, Try spray frying minerals, your food if baking antioxidants and is not an option. ﬁbre. Limit FRESH FESTIVITIES There’s temptation overconsumption of Serve fresh and dry fuit in the air, here’s how to instead of sugary mithai sugar and salt. stay sweet and safe! and fried snacks

ask@drshikha.com

Queries answered by Dr Nirmala Rao MBBS, MD, DPM; a well known psychiatrist who heads Mumbai based Aavishkar - a multifaceted team of expert doctors and health professionals. Aavishkar has a comprehensive approach to mental and physical health, with an emphasis scan this QR code to visit website on counselling and psychotherapy. Supported by:

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MORE ON THE WEB For more columns by Dr Shikha Sharma and other wellness stories, log on to hindustantimes.com/brunch OCTOBER 27, 2013

DIWALI SPECIAL

Put On Your Dancing Shoes

Two well-known DJs give us the best party songs to groove to

by Veenu Singh

USIC CAN’T be separated from life. For every occasion, for every mood, for every emotion, there’s a song that just about matches your sentiment. Diwali is no exception.

For the hectic party days ahead, we asked two celebrity DJs to put together a playlist to help you plan your dos better. So set up your iPod, ﬁnd those CDs and line up those MP3s. And dance on!

DJ Suketu One of the country’s top DJs with best-selling mixes of songs. Here are his picks

TRADITIONAL DIWALI PARTY

CARD PARTY WITH FRIENDS

1. Besharam from the eponymous ﬁlm sung by Shree D and IshQ Bector. When friends get together, they get up to some sort of shamelessness – in collecting their wins and losers delaying their payments. 2. Subha Hone Na De from the ﬁlm Desi Boyz sung by Mika Singh. Winners and losers both would hope for this. Winners as they want to win more and losers because they will want to play more to win back their money. 3. Party All Night from Boss sung by Yo Yo Honey Singh. Of course friends want to be together and party all night long anyway. 4. Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke and Pharrell. 5. Turn The Night Up by Enrique Iglesias. The last two tracks are a party hit!

1. Lungi Dance from the film Chennai Express sung by Yo Yo Honey Singh. It’s one of the most popular tracks in the country right now and has to be played at any party, traditional or otherwise. 2. Tere Mohalle from the film Besharam sung by Mamta Sharma and Aishwarya Nigam. It’s got a nice traditional video and has the element of upbeat songs like Ainvayi Ainvayi (from Band Baaja Baaraat). 3. Balam Pichkari from the film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani puts everyone in a good mood. 4. Tu Mere Agal Bagal from the film Phata Poster Nikla Hero sung by Mika Singh. The track is really doing well and is a dance floor packer all over the country. 5. Lat Lag Gaye from the film Race 2 sung by Shalmali Kholgade. One of the best tracks of 2013 and a must-play if you want the ladies to get on to the dance floor.

Sunny Sarid One of the ﬁrst DJs of the country and the DJ for Delhi’s oldest and now reopened hotspot, Ghungroo, at the Maurya. His picks: FOR THE PARTY

1. Tu Mere Agal Bagal from Phata Poster Nikla Hero. 2. Party All Night from Boss. 3. Besharam from the ﬁlm Photo: THINKSTOCK

OCTOBER 27, 2013

Besharam. 4. Tum Hi Ho, the Aashiqui 2 remix. 5. One Two Three Four from Chennai Express.

DIWALI SPECIAL

“I Miss The Punjabi Diwali of Delhi!” D

What’s it like being away from home during a festival? Bollywood’s hot newcomer Siddharth Malhotra tells us by Tavishi Paitandy Rastogi

IWALI MEANT unending ‘patakebaazi’ with my cousins and staying out of the house till the wee hours,” says actor Siddharth Malhotra who spent 22 years of his life in Delhi, his home. “It has never been the same since I left,” says the now 28-yearold star of Student of the Year.

PURE PUNJABI

It’s been ﬁve years since he departed ‘his’ city and moved to Mumbai to realise his dreams. And sure enough, he achieved it all – ﬁlms, fandom and fame. But the one thing he truly misses is “Diwali in Dilli”. Given a chance, Siddharth insists he would rush home to celebrate this festival in a big fat Punjabi style with his friends and family. “That’s my way,” he says, smiling. A Defence Colony boy, Siddharth grew up surrounded by cousins and friends. “It wasn’t a joint family, but we lived two or three houses apart from each other. We were a group of six guys and two girls,” he recalls. Every day was a party for Siddharth and his gang. They celebrated every birthday, festival, any joyous occasion really, together. “There was laughter, parties, shor-sharaaba and a lot of masti,” he says.

PARTY TIME

Every year, Diwali preparations would start 15 days before the festival. The house would be cleaned, repainted and re-upholstered. “We loved the process of getting the house ready for Diwali,” he says. Of course, card parties were a big attraction too. “My mum and uncle are card junkies. They could go on for hours. So we had numerous Diwali card parties,” he says. But the best part of the deal was that, “till I was 15, all the money the elders won in

card games was distributed among the kids. And we used to make so much money that it would last us for twothree months,” says Siddharth.

HAPPY DIWALI

The actual day of the festival was a traditional affair. “Every year, we would make a mandir in my dadi’s room. Decorate the house, get dressed in our ﬁnest and wait for her to conduct the puja,” he recalls. But the real fun began after the puja. “Times were different then. We didn’t live in this politically correct world. We would buy lots of crackers and burst them all night,” he says.

The elders would play card games and give all the money they won to us kids

MUMBAI CALLING Diwali was all about

OCTOBER 27, 2013

family and fun for Siddharth, until the year he almost spent it alone. Director Anubhav Sinha had called him to Mumbai for a project. “It was one of the most depressing weeks for me. I was in a new city, among new people,” he says. “I had never felt so homesick in my life.” That prompted him to fly to Delhi for a day just to celebrate his favourite festival with his family. This became a ritual of sorts. Over the next three years, he would fly home every year for Diwali. Then Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year happened. “I had to shoot for the film on Diwali. Obviously I couldn’t fly home.” This

year too, Siddharth will be busy shooting for a ﬁlm but now he’s not too upset about it. With each passing year, he has adjusted to being away from his family on Diwali. “This city is no longer alien to me. I have a group of friends and we get together and party on most festivals,” he says. “But obviously, it isn’t anything like being home. Also, Mumbai celebrates so many festivals that everything ends up feeling like an event.” But he isn’t complaining. He’s happy in Mumbai. Now if only, he could “feel” the festival a little more! tavishi.rastogi@hindustantimes.com

ALONE ON DIWALI? Find company. Get together with other solos. Everyone has a friend of a friend who’s stuck away from family this season. Use technology. Fix a time to Skype with family, schedule a conference call to your cousins on speakerphone to ﬁll the air with chatter. Escape. Can’t go home? Go to a destination closeby so your mind is ﬁlled with a new experience even if you’re alone. Take on a project, be it reorganising the kitchen or just clearing out your inbox. It will keep you occupied. Photo:THINKSTOCK P

DIWALI SPECIAL

Chocolate Meltdown F

If you think nothing could be more sinful than chocolate, you’re wrong. If you haven’t tried molten chocolate you don’t know what sinning is

by Veenu Singh; photos by Shirish Sen; food styling by Sujata Sadr

IRST, THERE’S chocolate. A piece of it, to be precise. Milk chocolate maybe, or you could like it dark, but without any sort of ﬁlling, straight out of the fridge, as solid as a rock. Then you pop it in your mouth and it becomes something else. As it slowly warms and melts in your mouth, coating your tongue, your teeth, your inner cheeks with a thick layer of sensuous, delicious cream, you have to admit it. That even the very idea of it makes you sink back into your seat, close your eyes blissfully and think (if at all you are capable of thinking by that point): ‘If I were to die right now, like this, I would die happy’. So as you see, ﬁrst, there’s chocolate. Then, there’s a melt-

Molten Chocolate Cups

down (both the chocolate and you). Finally, there’s bliss. And so we bring you three chocolate desserts. Not with plain old chocolate, but molten chocolate that slowly oozes into your mouth and takes over the moment you take a bite. Molten chocolate, says Nidhi Bagheria, owner of Celeste Chocolates, is simply bars of chocolate that have been roughly chopped and then slowly melted over a double boiler, with the thick, creamy result used as a ﬁlling in certain recipes, or as a topping in others. While you can melt both milk and dark chocolate, dark chocolate is preferred for desserts because desserts usually involve large amounts of sugar in any case. Most chefs use bars from the brand

Selbourne. “These chocolate bars are available by the kilo and can be bought at all good food stores in India,” says Nasim Ahamad Delvi, former head of the bakery division at The Lalit, New Delhi. You can dip fruit or dunk cookies into melted chocolate, Or slather it onto a luscious brownie. Or pour it into cupcake moulds, bung them into the fridge and eat chocolate cups whenever you feel the urge to be sinful. But before you do any of that, keep in mind that melted chocolate needs to be tempered before it can be cooked or eaten – so your dessert looks as good as it tastes. Tempering is the process of heating and cooling chocolate to prepare it for dipping and moulding. “Once the chocolate is heated, bring the temperature down to 24 degrees. To do this, add chopped chocolate to the melted chocolate and keep stirring to give it a smooth ﬁnish,” says chef Delvi. “Chocolate that is

INGREDIENTS

Gulab Jamun With Molten Chocolate

PROCESS

• Khoya (dhaab) - 1 kg • Chenna - 300 gm • Reﬁned ﬂour - 200 gm • Green cardamom powder - 5 gm

• Selbourne dark chocolate • Cream - 250 ml - 600 gm • Dark chocolate - 500 ml • Butter - 50 gm • Strawberry - 300 gm

• Chop and heat the chocolate in a microwave for a minute. Then add more chopped chocolate to it while stirring constantly. • Once the chocolate has achieved shine and glaze, ﬁll chocolate cup moulds or small plastic glasses with it. • Remove extra chocolate with a spatula, tap the moulds so no air bubbles are formed and put them in the fridge for 5-7 minutes.

• Then demould the cups and stack the cups on each other. The molten chocolate will help them stick. • Top with strawberries and molten chocolate. Garnish with fresh fruit on the side or orange zest.

TIP

Pair molten chocolate with fruit, cookies, ice-cream, roasted almonds. Add rum, Cointreau or vodka to molten chocolate cake.

INGREDIENTS

PROCESS

Mash khoya, chenna, refined flour and green cardamom powder together to form a smooth and fine dough. • Melt chocolate and allow it to set at room temperature. When set, make small dumplings of chocolate. • Make dumplings of dough stuffed with chocolate. Keep aside. Make a syrup of sugar and water and cook till the syrup is a bit thick. • Fry the dumplings in ghee till golden brown, then soak them in sugar syrup. Serve warm. Garnish the gulab jamuns with rabri topped with saffron and rose petals.

TIP

You can also serve these gulab jamuns with vanilla ice-cream. Recipe courtesy: Abhishek Basu

Recipe courtesy: Nasim Ahamad Delvi

OCTOBER 27, 2013

• Chocolate - 300 gm • Ghee - 500 gm • Grain sugar - 2.5 kg • Water - 1.25 ml

DIWALI SPECIAL

tempered has a smooth texture, a glossy shine and a pleasant ‘snap’ when you break it or bite into it.” Molten chocolate can be used to make a wide array of desserts – chocolate chip cake with molten chocolate, Cointreau pudding on the run, and (can this be true?) gulab jamuns with molten chocolate. “Yes, we have given a very interesting twist to this very Indian dessert,” says Abhishek Basu, executive chef at The Park, New Delhi. “The chocolate is frozen and then put inside the dough before the gulab jamun is fried. Before it’s served to the customer, the gulab jamun is heated so that when the customer bites into it, he or she is surprised by the ﬂowing molten chocolate.” Try the three recipes featured here, and then go ahead and do your own experiments with the chocolate meltdown. And remember one important thing about molten chocolate desserts – any failures can always be eaten. veenus@hindustantimes.com

Cointreau Pudding On The Run INGREDIENTS

• Egg yolks - 10 • Sugar - 275 gm • Butter - 500 gm

PROCESS

• Flour - 50 gm • Orange zest - 20 gm • Cointreau - 30 ml

Mix the egg yolks and sugar together. Whisk it, add orange zest. • Then add the melted butter and melted chocolate, followed by the ﬂour and ﬁve spice powder (a mix of cinnamon, star anise, bay leaf, szchewan pepper and clove). • Add the Cointreau. Set the mixture in the fridge for 10 minutes. Then put it in a mould and bake at 180° for 10 minutes. After taking it out, put the pudding on a grill and glaze it with melted chocolate. • Plate the pudding, decorate it with orange chocolate

curls and garnish with orange syrup or strawberry sauce, fresh strawberries or other fruit. Recipe courtesy: Nasim Ahamad Delvi

• Selbourne chocolate (melted) - 600 gm • Five spice powder - 1 tsp

TIP

You can serve this with vanilla or butterscotch ice-cream.

DIWALI SPECIAL

When The Bite Is Right Two chefs suggest creative, festive appetisers, guaranteed to leave your guests licking their ﬁngertips by Parul Khanna

MANISH MEHROTRA

Baked king scallops with Thalassery pepper butter and a moilee reduction My recommendation is that instead of scallops, you could also use a small piece of fish or prawns. Place them in a small baking bowl and top with moilee sauce. This has a beautiful coconut flavour and should become more popular than butter chicken. Those looking for a modern option can serve this. It’s versatile, and not very difficult to make.

Pulled kathal phulka taco with roasted almonds

It’s my version of a taco. Kathal (jackfruit) is a very old vegetable; it has a texture similar to meat. But since this is a season when many people abstain from non-vegetarian meals, it is a great option. And it’s extremely tasty as well.

INGREDIENTS For Kathal Mixture

300 gm kathal, cleaned 20 gm roasted almonds Salt to taste Red chilli powder to taste 1tsp turmeric powder 1tsp garam masala 1tsp crushed black pepper 75 ml olive oil 10-15 curry leaves 10 gm ginger, chopped 5 gm green chillies, chopped 10 gm garlic, chopped 50 gm onions, chopped 50 gm tomatoes, chopped 10 gm tamarind paste 10 gm coriander, chopped 2 gm mustard seeds 5 gm jeera powder 1tsp honey 6 atta phulkas 1 lemon 2tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

METHOD Heat the kathal in olive oil with salt, red chilli powder and turmeric till cooked and soft. Drain, cool and cut into small shreds. Keep aside. For the masala, heat olive oil in a pan and crackle mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add chopped onion, ginger, garlic, green chilies

and sauté till golden in colour. Now mix the red chilli, turmeric, jeera powder, coriander powder and salt with a little water. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and cook. Simmer for 10 minutes, stir regularly. Mix in honey and the tamarind paste. Add cooked kathal and cook for 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning and ﬁnish with crushed almonds, crushed black pepper, lemon juice and chopped coriander. Place a spoonful of mixture on each phulka, fold like a taco and serve sprinkled with grated Parmesan.

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

For Scallops

For Moilee Sauce

4 king scallops 40 gm yellow butter 2 gm crushed black pepper

For Moilee Sauce

15 ml oil 1 gm mustard seeds 2 gm urad dal, washed 3-4 curry leaves 20 gm onions, sliced 2 gm ginger, julienned 1 green chilli, julienned 60 ml coconut milk 5 gm tomatoes, deseeded and chopped Pinch of turmeric powder Pinch of red chilli powder 1 gm sugar 1 gm coriander, chopped Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan and crackle the urad, mustard seeds and then the curry leaves. Add the ginger and green chilli juliennes and cook till the ginger changes colour. Add the sliced onions, cook till translucent. Put tomatoes and sauté. Pour coconut milk and cook for another minute. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and sugar. Simmer the gravy for a few minutes.

For Baked Scallops

Add crushed pepper to the yellow butter. Clean, wash and pat the scallops dry. Spoon some moilee sauce on the scallop shell or any other baking dish. Place the scallop on it and top it with the pepper butter. Bake it at 180C for 3-4 minutes till done.

Manish Mehrotra is the executive chef at Indian Accent, New Delhi Don’t tire yourself making snacks that take ages to put together, says Ritu Dalmia. Prepare the bulk of the food beforehand, so that you are not running around at the last minute. Keep things simple for your guests, says Manish Mehrotra. Put a drop of chutney on what you are serving, rather than putting the chutney in a separate bowl. You’ll avoid spoiling the dipping bowl, which can be a big turnoff. No one likes messy plates and bowls.

Dalmia recommends that you make your parties more about appetisers than the main course. People tend to keep streaming in and out of a party. They will party hop. It’s safer and easier to give them snacks rather than laying out a table and wondering when to serve dinner. Keep appetisers bite-sized so that people have the other hand free to hold a drink, advises Mehrotra. And avoid snacks that drip. People wear expensive clothes and spilling even a drop of food on them can spoil their mood for the whole evening.

OCTOBER 27, 2013

Also don’t make the snacks too garlicky. In a party, people often stand close to each other, especially if rooms are small. The whiff can get uncomfortable. Get creative, Dalmia says. Watermelon and halloumi cheese on skewers, chocolate pudding in shot glasses, a cheese platter with dips, served with jams and marmalades. Serve appetisers on spoons or skewers. It’s more hygienic and your guests won’t have to deal with grimy ﬁngers (your upholstery and curtains will deﬁnitely get spoilt, says Mehro-

tra). It will also cut down the number of dirty napkins strewn everywhere and the bother of replenishing the snacks and washing the plates. For a house party, put out three vegetarian and two non-vegetarian ﬁnger foods. And serve the warm snacks in smaller quantities so that they don’t turn cold. Dalmia, a Marwari, gives a thumbs up to traditional foods. “I love kachoris, ghewar, aloo puri during the festival season – even at card parties. So I would heartily recommend them.”

DIWALI SPECIAL

RITU DALMIA Halloumi skewers with cherry tomatoes & onions Even though some people are of the opinion that halloumi has no taste, I absolutely love this salty, dense cheese that features prominently in most Middle Eastern and North African menus. It has a very high melting point, which it makes it one of the few cheeses that grill really well.

INGREDIENTS 250 gm halloumi cheese, cubed 100 gm cherry tomatoes, whole 100 gm baby onions, whole (The tomatoes, onions and halloumi cubes should be roughly of the same size)

For the Marinade

100 ml extra virgin olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced A handful of mint leaves, torn

Salt and chilli ﬂakes to season Lime wedges to serve

METHOD Pre-heat the grill to 200°C. Soak long, wooden satay sticks in water for a couple of hours. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade and keep aside. Thread a piece of the halloumi, a tomato and an onion onto each skewer, or you could do individual skewers for the vegetables and the cheese. Brush them with the marinade. Place the skewers on a hot grill till the halloumi gets a nice brown colour, about 10 minutes, and then turn it around for the other side to cook. Serve with the remaining marinade and a wedge of lime.

Warm caramelised potato and onion salad Whenever I have had a rough day and nothing seems to cheer me up, I need to eat something with potatoes in it. They are my favourite pickme-ups. One bite of a potato dish and I immediately feel stronger and the day ahead looks inﬁnitely better. This potato salad has been the perfect antidote for many restless, cheerless days for me, and I hope it performs the same magic for you.

INGREDIENTS 500 gm baby potatoes, washed and halved 250 gm baby onions, peeled ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped 25 gm butter 1tsp brown sugar 2 spring onions, ﬁnely chopped 2tbsp raisins, soaked in water 1 lime, juiced Handful of parsley, chopped Salt and pepper to season

For the Garnish

50 gm goat cheese, crumbled

METHOD Boil the baby potatoes in salted water for about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. In the same water, boil the baby onions for about 10 minutes, drain and keep aside. In a non-stick pan, toast the walnuts over medium heat and keep aside. In the same pan, heat the butter, add brown sugar, and when it becomes dark in colour, toss in the potatoes and onions. Cook for a couple of minutes till they are nice and brown. Remove from heat. In a clean bowl, mix the potatoes, baby

onions, spring onions, toasted walnuts and raisins. Drizzle with lime juice and chopped parsley and mix again thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with crumbled goat cheese and serve.

Ritu Dalmia is a celebrity chef, best known for her Delhi restaurant Diva

OCTOBER 27, 2013

PERSONAL AGENDA

twitter.com/HTBrunch

Actress

Shraddha Kapoor

BIRTHDAY SUN SIGN PLACE OF BIRTH March 3 Pisces

SCHOOL/COLLEGE

Jamnabai Narsee School and American School of Bombay

Mumbai

FIRST BREAK Teen Patti (2010)

HIGH POINT OF YOUR LIFE LOW POINT OF YOUR LIFE CURRENTLY I AM... The release of Aashiqui 2

Seeing how Teen Patti fared at the box ofﬁce

Shooting for The Villain, and endorsing Wella Professional

Sridevi, my father and Govinda. The best thing about your dad, Shakti Kapoor. One household chore you’d rather do yourself. That he is a funny person. Organise and clean my cupboard. Are you practical or romantic? You’re sentimental about… Both now! My family. Is it harder/ easier to be a star kid in Bollywood? Three places you love shopping at. It’s hard no matter where you come from. London, boutique stores in Paris You have your own struggles. The turning point of your life. WHAT DRIVES YOU and flea markets across the world. Going to Boston University to UP THE WALL? The gadget you’re lusting after. pursue Theater Studies. An Apple TV. If you could eat anything and never Your fitness routine. put on weight, what would you live on? I go to the gym three times a I do eat everything and luckily, week. That’s all. don’t gain much weight. Your 3am friend. Tell us about your experience of My sister, Eshanka Wahi, who watching Aashiqui (1990). lives in Delhi. I was told by my director not You have faith in… to watch the movie at all. I still The universe. haven’t watched it. Your essentials for great hair. Five essentials if you were stranded Quality products, proper rituals on an island? My iPad with lots of movies Photo: THINKSTOCK and healthy diet make a difference. Always research the prodon it, food, my dog, a comucts before use. It’s a little extra effort, fortable blanket and a knife. but it’s worth it. You’re also a singer. Which song or film The craziest colour you would want for your hair. would you love to do playback for? Purple! Any of my own films. I’d like to sing What do you do in a crisis? for my character. I call my mom. It always works. If you could go back in time, which period Your favourite street food. of history would you visit and why? Sev puri. I am happy being in the present as You destress with... I relate to it the most. Music. It’s the best way to unwind. If you had to make a comedy film, whom would you cast? — Interviewed by Veenu Singh

Wasting people’s time

my movies

THE FILM YOU HAVE SEEN MORE THAN 5 TIMES.

Andaz Apna Apna THE MOST PAISA VASOOL FILM.

3 Idiots

A MOVIE THAT WAS A PART OF YOUR CHILDHOOD.

Chaalbaaz OCTOBER 27, 2013

THE FIRST MOVIE YOU SAW ON THE BIG SCREEN.

I was too young to remember which one