Exotica february 2016

EXOTICA

RNI NO. DELENG/2006/18084 POSTAL REGN. NO. DL (C)-01/1151/2016-2018 Posted at NDPSO on 10th, 11th & 12th of same month Published on 30th of Advance Month

VOL 10 NO 3 FEBRUARY 2016

Editor-in-Chief CHANDAN MITRA EDITORIAL BOARD Vice-chairman & Joint Managing Director Amit Goel Group President Aparna Sengupta 09958000128 Chief Executive Officer Abhishek Saxena EDITORIAL Editor-in-charge Rinku Ghosh Feature writers Rupinder Kaur, Priyanka Joshi & Devi Singh Chief Designer Anand Singh Rawat Senior Designer Santosh Kumar Yadav Pre-press Manager Syed Nawab Raza Staff photographer Pankaj Kumar SALES & MARKETING General Manager Kumar Gurudutta Jha Deputy General Manager Ravi Khatri Manager Bharat Singh Sajwan, Prabhakar Pathak GOVERNMENT & PSU General Manager Tapan Ghosh Assistant Manager Neeta Rai Media Coordinator Neelu Sharma MUMBAI OFFICE General Manager Devendra Adhikari 09867575933 KOLKATA OFFICE Vice President Suzanna Roy 09830197332 General Manager (Circulation) Rajeev Gautam Printed and published by Chandan Mitra for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd, printed at Lustra Print Process Pvt Ltd, Killa No. 51/21, Village: Rohad, District: Jhajjar, Bahadurgarh, Haryana and published at 2nd floor, Patriot House, 3, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110002.

Editor: Chandan Mitra. Entire Contents Copyright (C) 2006 CMYK Printech Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation in any language in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Requests for permission should be directed to CMYK Printech Ltd. Opinions carried in Exotica are the writers’ and not necessarily endorsed by CMYK Printech Ltd. The publisher assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material or for material lost or damaged in transit. All correspondence should be addressed to CMYK Printech Ltd; 2nd Floor, Patriot House, 3, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002 Phone: 23718296/40754136 Fax: 23755275 Email: exoticapioneer2016@gmail.com

FROM THE EDITOR

YE HAI BOMBAY MERI JAAN

I

n the early 1990s, I was a frequent visitor to Bombay (now Mumbai), travelling to India’s commercial capital at least twice a month, if not more. Those days, there were only two flights to Mumbai from Delhi by the only airline in the country, namely Air India. Similarly there were two return flights. Now I believe more than 80 flights fly in and out of Delhi to that city. But even those days it took over one hour to reach Nariman Point from the airport and despite the BandraWorli Sea Link now, it takes even longer to cover that distance.

Despite having been to Mumbai at least 200 times, the bulk of them being in the years that I was Editor of the now defunct Sunday Observer, I had never been to one of the city's prime tourist attractions — the Elephanta Caves located in an island some 10 km from the Gateway of India. Earlier this month, I found a visit to the Caves listed among the sight-seeing programmes lined up for a Sunday afternoon to enable Members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Commerce (of which I happen to be Chairman) to savour. Usually, I skip such sight-seeing tours during Committee visits. But this time I decided, I would accept the offer.

However, before boarding a luxury boat belonging to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), my enthusiasm for visiting the Caves ebbed rapidly. This was on being told that after walking approximately 2 km from the jetty, one was required to climb about 100-odd steps to reach the Caves atop the rocky outcrop, that is the Elephanta Island. Our delegation comprised mostly senior citizens, none in the pink of health. Initially when I proclaimed this was too daunting for me, some of my colleagues greeted this with derisive sniggers. But when the boat took a round of the Island and we had a glimpse of the steps, everybody’s enthusiasm evaporated. Eventually, we thought it better to do a parikrama of the Island by boat and proceed to JNPT instead.

Indeed, no middle-aged person, leave alone senior citizens can attempt this feat. The Government should consider constructing a ropeway to ferry tourists to the peak so that more people can see the interior of the Caves, which among other things has a depiction of Lord Shiva in his Trimurti posture. Although the boat trip through the harbour and on to the JNPT container docks was thoroughly illuminating, my trip to the Caves will have to await the next birth unless a ropeway is built rapidly.

For me, the biggest attraction of Mumbai lies in its variety of seafood, particularly fish, prawn and crab. Cooked in traditional style, seafood preparations of Mumbai are delectable, although my fellow Bengalis refuse to believe that anybody else can prepare fish as supremely as Bengalis. Well, I think we should not compare apples with oranges. Bengal specialises in river fish, whereas Mumbai and the Konkan coast in general is known for Fruits de’l Mer, that is, Fruits of the Sea. Mustard fish is a Bengal speciality while fish on the West coast often has coconut as the base. On the other hand, the size and taste of crabs from the Arabian Sea are far superior to those found along the Bengal/Odisha coastline.

But our packed schedule prevented us from visiting seafood restaurants like Mahesh Lunch Home, Trishna, Apurva and Bharat among others that serve such delicacies. Further, we were staying at the Taj Land’s End in Bandra, far from the South Mumbai eateries. In any case, Taj food was delicious as always and I did not miss partaking of Mumbai’s usual culinary extravaganza. So I took a rain check, hoping to revisit Mumbai yet again soon and garnish my memories of its spectacular sea food.

[CHANDAN MITRA] Editor-in-Chief

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[p44]

[p18] Little Black Book [p18] Dino Morea: A quick peek into his style file Actor Prepares [p28] A woman of grit and grace : Feet on her ground, Nimrat Kaur Chat room [p38] A question of Answers : Leap Year Vine Trail [p44] Grapes of worth: Sula vineyards Globetrotter [p58] A tale of two cities: Poland Rhythm & Beat[p67] Desi roots Foreign Eye [p68] The bard of change: Steve McCurry The outdoors [p76] Waited on by nature: Glamping is picking up [p28] in a big way in the Northeast

I N S I D E FEBRUARY 2016 VOLUME 10 NO 4

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COVER PHOTO: THE ULTIMATE TRAVELLING CAMP

CONTRIBUTORS Magandeep Singh [p110] Blithespirit Drink for two Anjali Mukerjee [p112] Foodfacts Listen to your body Sri Sri Ravi Shankar [p116] Guruspeak Time to connect Bharat Thakur [p118] Fitness How to manage Diabetes Sanjay Jumaani [p120] Numbergame Count your fate

Wanderlust [p82] Rannkshetra: Gujarat’s salt marsh Bloom isle [p94] Flower of the island: Orchids of the Andaman Motown Pitch [p100] Revolutionary road: Time to make hybrids a viable option Style Mantra [p104] Spectator Friday dressing [p105] Dapper as ever!

Wellness [p106] Seek your senses: Jiva spa Let’s go [p107] India’s the biggest adventure: Purab Kohli’s escapades

TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES 124 INCLUDING COVER

OUR

PARTNER

HOTELS

Send us your feedback at exoticapioneer2016@gmail.com

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TRAVEL NEWS

THE

CSIA LOUNGE WORLD’S BEST

opulent GVK Lounge at Terminal 2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai has been selected as the “world’s leading airport lounge — First Class 2015” at the recently concluded World Travel Awards in Morocco. The first class section boasts of amenities like à la carte dining, individual spa treatments, relaxation rooms, shower facilities and concierge services among others.

LUXURY TRAVEL

INDIANS

are willing to spend more on travel as 30 per cent of them preferred international destinations over domestic in a survey conducted by online portal yatra.com. Thirty per cent people are willing to spend above `50,000 as against 25 per cent last year.

Kashmir and other hill stations topped the list for domestic travel. Southeast Asian countries turned out to be the current international favourites. Budget hotels have emerged as another profitable sector with 60 per cent of travellers opting for lodging options under `4,000. Family topped as travel partners followed by spouses, friends and solo travel.

More than 30 per cent have started using apps for their travel bookings and only a mere 10 per cent prefer travel agents, while the remaining book holidays on their desktops.

EXOTICA [10] FEBRUARY 2016

THE FORCE AWAKENS

THE

magnificent Skellig Michael islands, which stand tall in the Atlantic Ocean, some 12 km southwest of Valentia Island, County Kerry in Ireland — provided the most picturesque shooting location for the recently released Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The UNESCO World Heritage Site and neighbouring Little Skellig island have

2016

featured in various ancient Irish legends and were even visited by Vikings. But it wasn’t until 2014 that these remote peaks welcomed their strangest visitor yet… one of the biggest movie-making phenomena in history. So all you sci-fi fans might want to get hold of your lightsabers and enter the jedi mode for the ultimate Star Wars experience.

EPIC PLATTERS

is the Year of Adventure in Wales and people are being asked to “find your epic”. Well, how about “finding your epicurean” adventure on one of Loving Welsh Food’s Cardiff Tasting Tours? The tours run every Friday till November 25 and include plenty of walking (to work up a good appetite) and some delicious tasters.

There’s a strong emphasis on Welsh food but the cosmopolitan city of Cardiff has a thriving food scene — ethnic and continental foods, traditional and street markets and festivals. The tastings include charcuterie, cheeses, Welsh beverages, cockles and laverbread (seaweed) and more.

THE

SAIL LIKE A PHARAOH

Oberoi group’s luxury Nile cruiser, Philae, will sail between Aswan and Luxor, offering a four and six-night itinerary. This is in addition to its other luxury Nile cruiser, The Oberoi Zahra. The Philae will offer guests unrivalled views of the river, as they experience the legendary Oberoi service and explore 5,000 years of Egyptian culture.

EXOTICA [12] FEBRUARY 2016

THEME HOLIDAY

FROM

popular film franchises Frozen and King Kong to Orlando’s tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster, the theme park capital of the world is a destination where unique experiences mix with activities for kids and families.

While Orlando has long been known as home to seven of the top theme parks in the world, Disney, Universal and SeaWorld constantly evolve each year

with one-of-a-kind attractions, resorts and retail, dining and entertainment complexes. With vehicles diving into movie magic and immersive themed environments, Orlando’s newest openings this year are celebrity chef cookouts and “Skull Island: Reign of Kong.” Guests will board large vehicles and explore ancient temples while encountering hostile natives and fending off unspeakable terror.

YEAR OF FOOD AND DRINKS

NORTHERN

Ireland will be serving a Year of Food and Drink in 2016 – 366 leap year days dedicated to its artisan producers, chefs and delicacies from every corner and county. And the world is invited.

Thanks to its wild coastline, endless green fields and famously fickle weather, the country produces some of the world’s finest and freshest ingredients – from fabulous seafood to rare meats and iconic breads, organic vegetables, artisan cheeses, premium spirits and craft beers.

From a Game of Thrones Afternoon Tea at Ballygally Castle Hotel in County Antrim to the Titanic menu at Rayanne House on the edge of Belfast Lough, the local food reflects local stories.

EXOTICA [15] FEBRUARY 2016

EXPERIENCE THE BEST WITH GOD’S OWN COUNTRY!

KERALA

has been the ultimate destination to unwind with its picturesque landscapes and other exciting getaways to rich culture and heritage. The Government of Kerala has rolled out a lot of initiatives to create a destination pull like the ‘Seaplane Project’ that aims at improving last mile connectivity by air to its destinations across the state. Then there is ‘Project Muziris’ which would reinstate the historical and cultural significance of the legendary port of Muziris, which makes a part of Central Kerala.

With unique tourism programmes like NATVENTURE, which uses the state’s key tourism products — wildlife, hill stations, beaches, backwaters, and engage the possibilities of adventure activities they offer — Spice Route Revival Project and others, the footfall of travellers is also on a rise.

In 2015, the number of foreign tourists that visited Kerala, from January to October, was 7,75,390 (up by 6.60 per cent) and number of domestic tourists, from January to August, was 76,71,277 (up by 7.40 per cent).

SHARE

MALPE BEACH OFFERS FREE WI-FI

the experience of walking through the silver sands of Malpe beach, in Udupi district of Karnataka, with your followers on Instagram or tweet those #blissful moments as Malpe becomes the first beach in India to have Wi-Fi connectivity. The facility will be available to tourists free of cost for 30 minutes at any time of the day during their visit and the duration of free access would be extended later. The service is being provided by BSNL, supported by the Centre’s Digital Drive Initiative.

EXOTICA [16] FEBRUARY 2016

Walking down in a pair of comfy Toms is what I prefer. When picking a pair of stylish formals, Gucci is the brand for me.

I purchase loafers from Vans and Converse.

Though I’m not a very huge fan of watches, I do own a few. I have a really funky watch by ITA which surely grabs eyeballs.

FAVOURITE HAUNTS OF STYLISH PEOPLE

Dino Morea is a former model, actor, entrepreneur and runs a fitness company

I pick the sunnies on the basis of what really suits me. I own a few pairs of sunglasses by Gucci and, of course, the classic RayBan.

I love travelling and the closest getaway destination for me is Goa. The moment you land there, you enter a certain state of peace and calmness. The wanderlust in me wants to explore the continent of South America. Though I’ve been to Rio de Janeiro, I’d love to checkout Argentina and Peru.

Davidoff Cool Water is the evergreen fragrance for me and I use Abercrombie & Fitch’s cologne.

I’m currently going through the Ramayana Series by Ashok K Banker and recently read Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink.

I have many designer friends who would assist me in creating the perfect formal get-up. I also prefer Tom Ford and Dolce & Gabbana for suits and tuxedos. For denims, I usually go for G-Star or Diesel and simply love the quirky Japanese apparel stores.

I am a foodie and love to sample different cuisines. If I’m craving Japanese and I’m in Mumbai, then I’ll head to Wasabi at the Taj Mahal Palace. I head to Royal China near my place in Bandra for some great Chinese grub.

EVENT CALENDAR

THEDATE’SON! Make way for quirky, fun days coming up in February

3RD FEB [CARROT CAKE DAY]

4TH FEB [HOMEMADE SOUP DAY]

5TH FEB [BUBBLEGUM DAY]

Indulge your sweet tooth with the goodness of some carrot cake on this day with some finger-licking cream cheese or lemon icing.

It is the ultimate comfort food when you’re all snug in your pajamas. Get cooking, throw in some veggies, garnish it with cream, croutons and herbs.

Get yourself some gum of different flavours, share it with your friends, colleagues, maybe even have a ‘Most Pieces Of Gum Chewed Once’ contest.

9TH FEB [STOP BULLYING DAY]

11TH FEB [DON'T CRY OVER SPILLED MILK DAY]

12TH FEB [LOST PENNY DAY]

It’s time to stop bullying – whether it’s on the playground, home or at the workplace. Stop Bullying Day encourages you to work together cordially.

The name says it all.

Sometimes, if at first you don’t succeed, the answer lies in forgetting and moving on.

On this day take out time to gather those ever-wandering coins and finally do something more useful with them like donating them to a charity.

21ST FEB [SINGLE TASKING DAY]

22ND FEB [WALKING THE DOG DAY]

29TH FEB [TOOTH FAIRY DAY]

Trying to focus on multiple tasks dilutes focus and introduces delays. Single Tasking Day is all about embracing one and concentrating on it.

Presumably it was started by an animal lover. Whosoever took the initiative, you take that beloved pooch of yours to his/her favourite haunt.

At one time or another, all of us have been visited by the tooth fairy. The day pays homage to the spirit of leaving treats or coins underneath our pillow.

EXOTICA [20] FEBRUARY 2016

HOT WHEELS

Team Forza Racing of Pune's Sinhgad Academy of Engineering and Orion Racing India of KJ Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai, emerged triumphant at the 2016 JK Tyre Baja Student India and JK Tyre Formula Student India with their inventive car designs

A

year-long dedication, design planning, hardships to procure material and endless hours with welding equipment came to a happy culmination for the winners of JK Tyre Baja Student India 2016 and JK Tyre Formula Student India 2016, Pune’s Sinhgad Academy of Engineering and KJ Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai, this week. Working under the team names Forza Racing and Orion Racing India, respectively, these future engineers have taken an important step in realising their dreams by winning the two national-level design competitions.

Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida was like a second home to about 4,000 engineering students from across the country. The occasion was the simultaneous finals of the two nationallevel competitions- JK Tyre BSI 2016 and JK Tyre FSI 2016. Both competitions test the students’ calibre and knowledge but the key difference in the category of cars they design. BSI contenders have

to build a working model of an all-terrain vehicle while FSI participants design formula design cars. Toiling from dusk to dawn, beating the January chills, these aspiring young geniuses had only one goal in mind - to build the best performing model in their category. The most important aspect was the competitions' inclusivity. Divided into over 43 teams in BSI and 47 teams in FSI 2016, these students represented some of the most renowned engineering institutions in big metros to lesserknown ones in smaller towns.

In the end, BSI 2016 trophy was lifted by Team Forza Racing - Sinhgad Academy of Engineering, Pune, followed by The Road Runners - Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore and Team Piranha Racing - Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune. The winners were awarded the JK Tyre BSI 2016 trophy by Dr Raghupati Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Limited.

Team Orion Racing India from KJ Somaiya

EXOTICA [22] FEBRUARY 2016

Team Forza with Dr. Raghupati Singhania (above); an all terrain vehicle at the Endurance race on the final day of Baja Student India 2016 at Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida (top)

College of Engineering, Mumbai, won for the second consecutive time in FSI 2016. Taking a leaf from their previous year experience, the team ensured its win by clinching the all-important endurance event. The second and third positions went to the Team Camber Racing from SRM University and Team Raftaar Formula Racing from IIT Madras, both from Chennai. over the trophy to the winners, Dr Raghupati Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Limited, said, “These competitions are providing the next generation of engineers a platform to learn the real life applications of their classroom knowledge. The zeal that we see in these young engineers is extraordinary and surely reassuring for the future of India's journey to becoming technologically at par with the world superpowers.”

JK Tyre’s association with the two competitions is not a mere coincidence. Credited with the

HANDING

introduction of radial technology in India, JK Tyre has always been leading the industry with its passion for innovation and focus on research and development. For the same purpose, JK Tyre has been associated with motorsport as well as off road action in the country. JK Tyre Formula Student India and Baja Student India are yet another milestones with which JK Tyre aims to strengthen its bond with tomorrow's engineers and their vision.

The organisers, Delta Inc., which is run by B.Tech/BE are alumni from engineering colleges across India including the IITs who have participated in similar international competitions.

The team, the jury and their volunteers adhered to stringent international guidelines. It made sure that all safety measures were followed by the participants while designing the cars and also during testing phase. The competition has experienced global experts from across automotive design, manufacturing and business fields to judge the prototypes by the students.

EXOTICA [23] FEBRUARY 2016

ACTOR PREPARES She began as the demure housewife, who expressed her love to her husband packing lunchboxes. Benumbed by his lack of response and surprised to find another admirer instead, NIMRAT KAUR imprinted herself on our collective consciousness as a woman who shed her inhibitions and dared to go after her own happiness. A woman of grit and grace. Having done the arduous drill of theatre, advertisements and small films, the actor has now powerfully etched her space in the industry, impressing studios in the West with a deglamourised, hard as nails ISI agent in Homeland, much before Priyanka Chopra sassed up the formulaic Quantico. The “seeds of a performer�, as she says, had been instilled since childhood when she performed on stage and basked in the applause. And that approval of artistry is what she wants even today, not bothering about time, tide and fortune.

The no-nonsense girl speaks to RINKU GHOSH in between a homecoming tour

EXOTICA [28] FEBRUARY 2016

Q: There are a lot of expectations after your pivotal performance in a film like The Lunchbox and then playing an ISI agent in the US TV series Homeland.

Why did you then choose the male protagonistdriven Airlift?

A: As an outsider in the industry hoping to get noticed, I was very fortunate that The Lunchbox came to me as my first film. When you are in the first few years of your career, you don’t have the privilege or the upper hand to select the subject or the kind of films you want to do or who’d you like to work with. You have to earn your stripes. I’m very lucky that The Lunchbox came to me as a script and that the director of the film had faith to place that character in my hands.

I would call Homeland was providence. I’ve lived my life not knowing what’s going to happen next. I

feel life has done that to me and I’ve learnt to live like that as well. It is an energy that I attract somewhere because I really don’t know what’s around the corner and why things just come at me.

Genuinely, Homeland was once such. I was on a holiday with my cousin in London, a city I had never been to before. My agents set up the audition for me knowing I was there. Nothing was decided or planned. Within three days of my testing for the character role, I was told I was part of the series. I hadn’t even watched the show before. It was only after I went to Cape Town for the shoot that I asked the production people to send me DVDs. That is how I am (laughs).

But then I cannot leave everything to chance.

After a while, I had to make a choice of what I would like to do after The Lunchbox, which was very

I COME FROM AN INDEPENDENT FILM SCENARIO. I’VE DONE THEATRE, AD FILMS AND A STINT ABROAD. SO IN THAT SENSE AIRLIFT WAS A VERY UNLIKELY CASTING COUP. WHEN FILMMAKER NIKHIL ADVANI CAME TO ME WITH THE SUBJECT, HE TOLD ME THAT “I HAVE A POSTER OF YOU AND AKSHAY IN MY MIND AND I FIND IT VERY EXCITING. SO HOW ABOUT WE THINK OF THIS AS A PROJECT?”

tough. From an opportunity point of view, it was something that happens once in a lifetime. That kind of magic, it was an event in its own way and it wasn’t just a film that I got to do.

Airlift came to me at a time when I really did want to pick up a subject and shoot in India because I felt that there was too much time passing by and I wasn’t being able to connect with any of the things that were coming my way. I really liked a couple of subjects but those films didn’t take off. I found myself saying yes to Airlift and there were a couple of reasons why I did that. One, that it was a true story, it was an event that had been documented as part of our history. It was not something I knew about and it interested me immensely. It is really a guilty pleasure for an actor to attach himself/herself to something that has already happened. It is a hero-centric film and is completely around the male protagonist. That being played by Akshay Kumar was a huge billing point for me because I feel he’s someone who handles his stardom in an incredible way. The choices he makes are superb. The virtue of him being in a film like this and the opportunity, for an actor from my background, to work with him, was too huge to ignore.

I come from an independent film scenario.

I’ve done theatre, ad films and a stint abroad. So in that sense Airlift was a very unlikely casting coup. When filmmaker Nikhil Advani came to me with the subject, he told me that “I have a poster of you and Akshay in my mind and I find it very exciting. So how about we think of this as a project?” It was kind of a no-brainer for me. I just had to figure out a few things. Akshay is someone who has done 135 plus films over 25 years. You seem a bit unsure until the time you meet someone like him and then take off from there.

I know I don’t play a part that is pivotal to the story moving forward because the plot isn’t such. It is about an event, a crisis and how people react to it. There is

EXOTICA [31] FEBRUARY 2016

MY FATHER WAS IN THE ARMY. SO I CHANGED SIX SCHOOLS AS I MOVED TO DIFFERENT PARTS OF INDIA. BUT ONE THING WAS CONSTANT. I WAS ALWAYS PERFORMING ON STAGE AT SCHOOL EVENTS. I HAVE ALWAYS CONSIDERED MYSELF AS SOMEONE WHO LOVES A REACTION. I LOVE AN AUDIENCE AND HAVE BEEN AN EXTROVERT. I ALSO ENJOY GETTING TO KNOW PEOPLE AND OBSERVING THEM

drama and movement. But as an actor you have to lend yourself to the story and make sure that you’ve played your part with integrity. I’ve attempted at just being truthful to the part given to me. I have tried to make sure that my chemistry with Akshay doesn’t seem plastic. We had to be like a couple much in love and who’ve been seasoned and married for a few years. That was important to me as an artiste and lend supporting heft. It’s been a win-win situation for me in every way.

Q: What were your earliest film inspirations which made you become an actor? Did you always want to become one?

A: My father was in the Army, so I changed six schools as I moved to different parts of India. But one thing was constant.

I was always performing on stage at school events. I have always considered myself as someone who loves a reaction. I love an audience and have been an extrovert. I also enjoy getting to know people and observing them.

So I feel that the seeds of a performer were all there. It was just a matter of time before I got around to accepting that this is something I want to follow as a career. I was academicallyinclined as well. I passed out of Shri Ram College of Commerce and it was an unlikely career choice for someone like me but I knew this was my calling. Deep within you know, even if you’re in your early 20s.

Q: Did you do a lot of theatre then?

A: I didn’t do theatre in Delhi at all. I had my portfolio clicked back in Noida from a family friend and went to Mumbai straight away. I circulated my pictures at every production house I found on the internet. I personally went everywhere, submitted my file and auditioned.

God was kind. In about three months of being in Mumbai, I got picked up for two music videos for an album called Tera Mera Pyaar (2004). That really set the ball rolling. I did a lot of ad films, the Cadbury Dairy Milk one being noticed particularly. After four years, I needed a stronger footing and a little more sense of belonging, so I got into theatre. I wanted to understand how to read a scene as I had no idea about how to read a script or conceive a scene in

EXOTICA [32] FEBRUARY 2016

I HAVEN’T BEEN TO ANY ACTING SCHOOL, I DON’T HAVE ANY TECHNIQUES UP MY SLEEVE. I JUST BREATHE, FEEL, REACT AND ACT IN THE MOMENT. I LOVE TO GATHER MATERIAL AND I AM A BIT OF A GEEK. I LIKE INFORMATION MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE BUT THEN YOU HAVE TO LET GO OF ALL OF THAT AND FORGET ABOUT EVERYTHING. YOU JUST LIVE IN THE MOMENT its totality. The vocabulary is so different. I had never seen a camera set up before I did those music videos back in 2004. Brick by brick, you make the foundation of a structure you want to live in or stand on.

I did about five-six years of theatre, was a part of seven-eight experimental plays in Hindi and English with people whose work I admire.

Q: Bombay has a vibrant theatre scene...

A: Very vibrant and multilingual. Theatre thrives even in the smallest and unlikeliest of venues.

Q: Then The Lunchbox happened...

A: That is a different chapter in my life. I know that my career can be sliced down to before and after after The Lunchbox.

Q: Are you an instinctive actor or a tutored one?

A: An instinctive actor who has learnt from life. I haven’t been to any acting school, I don’t have any techniques up my sleeve. I just breathe, feel, react and act in the moment. I love to gather material and I am a bit of a geek. I

like information more than anything else but then you have to let go of all of that and forget about everything. You just live in the moment because once the camera is on, it is the same thing whether you’re doing Homeland, The Lunchbox or Airlift. You just have to breathe and speak.

Q: Your part ended in the Homeland franchise. Have they approached you again?

A: No. It was a season set in Pakistan and it was always going to be finite.

I’m very happy that it ended there because you can’t survive for too long being the bad guy on an American show (laughs).

Q: Have you been approached by other American studios?

A: Yes, I have. I couldn’t take up anything in between because Airlift was being filmed from January till December.

We filmed 45 days or so but it spanned over the entire year.

Q: How do you pick your roles now that you’ve set a certain standard with your appearance in Homeland,

The Lunchbox and Airlift? What kind of offers are you getting now and how are you trying to find your place within those offers?

A: A script has to be exciting enough to make me want to enact the scenes. The first criterion when I read a script is to put myself in the audience’s shoes and ask myself if I want to watch this. I react to the script as a viewer. That is what happened with The Lunchbox as well. I was the first one to sign that film. I had no idea about who was going to play what. I loved the script and I knew that I had to be a part of it.

The same was the case with Homeland.

I read a couple of scenes and had no clue about what my part was and whether I was going to live or die but I knew that I had to play it.

That is what happened with Airlift too.

Having said that, I must say it’s a great time to work in the industry because the genres and subjects have really opened up. I’m being offered different kinds of roles. Recently, I was offered a comedy and the role of a 1940s’ diva though I didn’t take them up.

Q: The kind of roles being offered to women actors today have a bandwidth...

A: Absolutely. I don’t think that existed 10 years ago. Had I been in this position ten years ago, I don’t think I would’ve had this choice.

TRAVELLER’S TIPS THE MANTRA IS TO BE COMFORTABLE ESPECIALLY DURING FLIGHTS. I ALSO KEEP MYSELF HYDRATED BY SIPPING ON WATER AND MOISTURISE OFTEN. FAVOURITE DESTINATIONS CAPE TOWN IS ONE DESTINATION THAT I LOVE EXPLORING AS IT HAS EVERYTHING FROM THE SEA TO GREAT FOOD. NEW YORK IS ANOTHER FAVOURITE THAT NEVER CEASES TO MESMERISE YOU. I’D LIKE TO GO TREK IN SOUTH AMERICA. FITNESS FILES I PRACTISE ASHTANGA YOGA AND ALSO GO FOR A RUN WHENEVER I GET THE TIME FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR.

EXOTICA [34] FEBRUARY 2016

A SCRIPT HAS TO BE EXCITING ENOUGH TO MAKE ME WANT TO ENACT THE SCENES. THE FIRST CRITERION WHEN I READ A SCRIPT IS TO PUT MYSELF IN THE AUDIENCE’S SHOES AND ASK MYSELF IF I WANT TO WATCH THIS. I REACT TO THE SCRIPT AS A VIEWER. THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE LUNCHBOX AS WELL. I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO SIGN THAT FILM. I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT WHO WAS GOING TO PLAY WHAT Q: You’re getting a range of very definitive roles...

A: Yes and that too considering I am very new. I don’t really have that audience base like the actresses who have been around for many years and are many films old. I am willing to take it slow and steady. There is no rush and I’m sure that the right work at the right time comes to all of us.

Q: Do you think that women-centric or womendriven plots are new or being packaged better?

A: I think they were always there. I don’t really have a strong grip on filmography but I do know films that have revolved around women who have been stronger and fuller. Think Shyam Benegal, Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak. We’ve had filmmakers who’ve celebrated all kinds of women.

You don’t have to be a career-driven and an aggressive woman to be interesting and the protagonist. We have seen women holding their own amid their everydayness. I feel that somewhere in the 80s and mid-90s, things shifted a little bit and the industry went through a different phase. We lost track of these women characters until Vidya Balan rescued them back with Parineeta and set a trend. With her Dirty Picture and Ishqiyaa, people woke up to the

unconventional heroine or someone who doesn’t conform to stereotypes, a full-bodied person who speaks her mind and has a sense of self-worth. She was a person first, woman later. Balan delivered hit after hit. So much so that mainstream filmmakers dared to make Queen and Piku with mainline actors. People are waking up to the idea of just making a good film and it doesn’t matter if your protagonist is an old man or a young woman.

Times are changing and for the better. I feel that there is a lot of space for actors like us.

Q: With quality being prized over quantity, even mainstream actors are very picky ever since films like Piku and Tanu Weds Manu worked. How does this cloud up the prospects for someone like you?

A: I don’t think it does. I feel it is a waste of time and energy to think of all these things. Who knows what fate will any film have or not have? There is already so much on your plate to worry and think about. We need to concentrate on the right things.

That is what I do at least. I’m fairly onedimensional from that perspective.

Q: You don’t like to be in the rat race...

A: I don’t think there is a rat race. A filmmaker or a

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producer, for whatever reasons, wants to rope in a particular actor and will go to that person anyway. If that person is not available, then he/she will go to the next available person. There is a preference for sure and for good reason. That has always been the case and will continue to be so. It is not like it’s something new.

I truly believe that anybody or any actor, who is doing anything anywhere in the world at this point in time, is there because he/she truly deserves it. Commercially, from an audience-based point of view, I feel that anybody who gets anything is truly deserving of it. Very rarely you do see someone and say, “I don’t think this person deserves that kind of success.” I never find myself asking how is this actor doing so well?

If you really look into his/her work, you’ll see why and how.

Q: Did you personally feel disappointed when The Lunchbox didn’t make it to the Oscars?

A: I think it was unfortunate that it didn’t go forward for whatever reasons. We got to know about it the evening before it was to be released in India. There was disappointment and, of course, we all felt really sad about it. But in the end, it’s just an award. We got something bigger in terms of audience appreciation back home and we were overwhelmed. I think the audience’s love and acceptance are eventually what takes you a long way.

Q: The Lunchbox had the advantage of the Karan Johar label attached to it. As a member of the industry, do you think even big producers are trying to make space for something meaningful?

A: I think people are ready to take risks. That’s because there really is no formula as some seemingly commercially successful films have failed. People have gone to the theatres to watch some other films instead of making expected choices. Our viewers are sharp and make smart choices. From a trailer, they can sniff out a good or a bad film. So producers cannot ignore this counter trend and it is really wonderful and brave of them to pick up subjects that are so called offbeat. Akshay himself has part-produced Airlift.

Q: Will we ever have a legendary woman actor in the industry like in the olden days? Do you see that happening in this age?

A: We’ll find out. I’m hopeful that it will. Time will tell and I’ll know when my life passes me by. We’ve had Zohra Sehgal who worked on her own terms up until the last days of her life.

According to an old Irish legend, St Bridget struck a deal with St Patrick to allow women to propose to men – and not just the other way around – every four years. This is believed to have been introduced to balance the traditional roles of men and women the same way a Leap Day balances the calendar. The tradition began in 5th century after St Bridget bitterly complained to St Patrick that women had to wait far too long for men to propose. It was then that St Patrick decreed that women could propose on this one day in February during the leap year. EXOTICA asks stand-up comedians RADHIKA VAZ, ABIJIT GANGULY and VASU PRIMLANI to give their unique spin to this tradition if it were to be replicated here

KATARINA KOJIC

C H AT R O O M

AH

the Leap Year is here! A mystical beat in time that, in addition to having an extra 24 hours attached to it, is a reminder of the fact that women are incapable of asking important questions. We live in a time when we can trust a chick to run a RADHIKA VAZ country, biopsy a tumour and maybe even direct a film. But the question of “will you marry me” is too delicate a task to leave to us ladies. And so marriage proposals remain firmly in the domain of dude-stuff, with us girls being entrusted with the weight of this request just once every four years.

The great Gloria Steinem famously said, “A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space.” She isn’t wrong. The tradition of man asking woman is designed to keep us in our place; we don’t get to choose, we have to wait to be chosen. Sure some of us get a big fat diamond ring for our patience, and some

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of us even get a romantic story out of it that we can use to bore people to death with. But make no mistake ladies; the power in this equation rests with the asker, not the askee and it’s a lesson I learnt as a child.

Back then, we kids had a system for when a boy wanted to ask a girl to be his babe. The lad in question would simply inform one of his friends of his desire, this person would in turn carry the information to the lady who would then decide what to do. This process was called “asking for a ya.” What irritated me then, as it does now, is that we girls had no such system. We had to wait, hoping like hell that the object of our affection would pick up on our heat and ask for a ya. We couldn’t do anything to help the process along

other than be thin and pretty and follow instructions that included “play hard to get” and “don’t give it all away.” I didn’t understand any of this but I did understand that the privilege of taking an active lead in the direction of one’s own life was for men alone. Like motorbikes and armpit-hair, this was one of society’s gifts to them, a gift that if appropriated by a woman, would instantly deem her less feminine and in turn, horror upon horrors, less desirable to men.

Look, the damage of misogyny is ancient, it is in our blood, and it will take way more than halfbaked tokenism to move the needle on equal rights. In truth, I almost considered being a leapyear feminist myself — but I chickened out at the last minute. Because seriously people, how else could I prove my worth as a woman if no one asked me to be a wife?

— The writer is an award-winning, stand-up comedian whose book Unladylike, A Memoir is available on Amazon and Flipkart

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lm called n Adams fi y m woma A e h T lt with a a e d r a e arry Leap Y man to m a d e k s a who 29 ebruary her on F

HELLO,

make his own mistakes? Is this really the best I’m Vasu thing for mankind? What if he doesn’t propose?

Primlani, What if he wanders off? What if he proposes to the and you wrong girl? What if he gets dazzled by koi fish in a are...one of the 25 million women in India between pond? The risk is just too great. I mean, let’s face it. the “marriageable” ages of 20 to 30. Of those, you If it were up to men who to marry, Dolly Parton are lucky enough to have found a person you’d like would win. Each time. to marry. And boy this man is tardy. He is taking If you were in Scotland, you would his time to propose (like, dude, I’ve been have been allowed to do that provided you waiting for him to pop the question ever wore a red petticoat (translation: since I laid eyes on him). So you decide to petticoat) to warn your proposee that you, take matters into your own hands, the proposer, are about to propose. er…knees, and get down to pop the Okay, first. It’s not a warning. It is a question. Or not. Or you order him, “thou promise of pleasant things to come. When shalt marry me.”

Now if India were Ireland, you’d be you see a red petticoat, if you haven’t shaved yet, go home and spritz some of allowed to do so on the leap day of each VASU PRIMLANI that Axe and rush back and lounge leap year. Really? One day for a wise yourself on the red sofa waiting for the question. woman to gently guide a man into doing the right Good thing India isn’t Ireland. thing, and leave him for the next 1,460 days to

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Think of all the mistakes our not-so-sharp beau can make. Like following whoever is wearing a red petticoat that day with wiggling eyebrows, hoping their attire is popping-the-question attire, and not going-to-work attire, or in the case of the Gulabi gang, much worse. Men are famous for confusing pink with red, don’t-you-know. You just don’t want to be the guy who wiggles his eyebrows in front of the Gulabi gang. Trust me on this. They’ll just end up seeing red.

Or if he shows up in front of a woman attired in all red because she has already been proposed to.

And what does the northern tip of the United Kingdom have against women anyway? It sounds like a great privilege given to women, “you’ll be allowed to propose.” Dude! I didn’t even know women aren’t allowed to propose! You mean tomorrow a woman goes up to a man she’s loved for four years and asks him to marry her and he’ll

wiggle a finger with a tut-tut? You’re not allowed?

Who are you to do the allowing? The marriage police? India has more than enough of the love police, the Bollywood-propriety police and our Panties-In-A-Wad police.

So like, hellooo! It’s just impossible in India, really. Even if half our marriageable women decided to propose, that would equate to 86,400 proposals per second. The Western proposal takes 1.61 seconds to make (“Will you marry me?”). The Indian proposal, a few days, with an assorted mix of pundits, kundalis, laddoos and badhai hos. At least 1,72,800 days. Or 480 years. Good luck trying to fit it all in one day.

And I shall wear a red petticoat when I damn well please. The day I wear a red saree, thank you very much.

— The writer is a stand-up comedian and a corporate trainer

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AND

years old, hats off to the Irish for bringing such yes, the year 2016 is already forward-thinking traditions. But the real question on course. While most of my here, a curious mind is bound to ponder, is what mindspace, with respect to would the implications of this tradition, if followed, the beginning of the year, was occupied with ways to be on our lovely nation? tackle the odd-even situation, it seemed to have quite Of course this happens to be a personal issue for slipped off my mind that 2016 is indeed a leap year. me as well, since fortunately/unfortunately I happen Not that it makes much of a difference to my worthy to be getting hitched this very year itself and had I life. Considering that I, someone who swears by the known about this tradition some time back, lofty values of absolute laziness and gleeful I might have considered waiting some time time wastage, have repeatedly managed to before popping the question. Of course, achieve nothing of great significance in the when I say popping the question, I mean to general 365 days, it’s not likely that an extra the parents of my betrothed because let’s 24 hours is going to make a lot of difference face it, that’s how our country rolls. to my life. But so I thought.

Honestly, by the time I was done trying to Some recently acquired information convince my sweet Gujju in-laws (love you has, however, quite changed my guys, if you happen to be reading this) that perspective towards the concept of leap ABIJIT GANGULY I am not a cigarette-smoking, non-veg years and 2016 in particular. So apparently devouring, rice-guzzling, communist Bengali, who an Irish tradition says that in a leap year the traditional men-women roles are reversed and happens to have a fish in every pocket of his, traits women are to supposedly propose to their that have incidentally all been true at some point of life, I was too tired to even consider asking the girl in prospective partners instead of the other way round. question. But let’s not get too personal with this.

Now first of all, god bless the Irish. Courtesy some good old whiskey consumption, those guys Truth be told, I am not quite sure how much of difference this would indeed make to our great have truly been miles ahead of the times. While even country. Now for starters, India has obviously had centuries later, the only association India has gone to the long-founding problem of “Where the hell are the ever have with the concept of leap year is limited to girls?” Courtesy which most Indian public places jokes on how Morarji Desai was in reality only 25

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14

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look like a boys’ hostel with that one odd female passing by as circumspect and overawed by the situation as a squirrel chilling among 20 odd salivating hyenas. Indeed, such has been our fascination with lofty principles of female foeticide that a new-born girl is not just a girl but also a survivor and possibly a bravery award nominee. So considering girls are anyway few and far between, adopting this practice of only female kind proposal might just cause drastic reductions in the number of marriages and thereby, even population. Which might just be a genius idea. Let me go and put it on social media before Kejriwal tries taking credit for it.

Of course the whole idea itself has a bit of a sadistic tone to it. Considering that with marriage an Indian woman’s life transforms from thinking about life, freedom and ambition, to mother-in-law’s knee problem, husband’s underwear, breakfast and “how to become a kid supplying machine”, it really would be quite sadistic making them ask for it themselves.

Almost sounds like making it mandatory for the goat

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to approach the butcher himself. Not to mention how much of shock and awe it would cause among us severely limited men when women themselves would be asking us the question. Gives you the mental image of an over-eager fast food counter guy asking a Somalian-starving kid, “would you like some cheese with that sir.” In our head, we’d be going “arre what cheese, idhar doodh dekhe sattar din ho gaye.”

Then there’s also the tweaking required for the concept of arranged marriages which I’m not quite sure was ever faced in Ireland. So how exactly will it work? Will the girl ask the guy’s parents? Or will she ask the guy’s parents to ask him? Or will she ask her own parents to ask the guy’s parents to ask the guy?

Oh, the confusion. It seems this would require more exemptions than the odd-even rule itself. Can we just go the good old way of “all these Western notions are bad for our culture” and continue with life as is. So there. Peace!!

— The author is a stand-up comedian

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VINE TRAIL

A sojourn at Sula vineyards, nestled in the lap of nature and luxury, can awaken not only your senses but up your quotient of wine etiquette as well.

Whether you are an oenophile or a novice, just wander through the perfect getaway tasting offerings of the estate.

DEVI SINGH settles in

Balcony view of the Sula vineyards

WHO

knew Riesling could ever grow in India? Indian wine- makers have never even thought about it because of the technicalities involved, not that they were not ambitious. Even Sula, which pioneered wine-making in India, had not tried its hands at growing the versatile grape until an English gentleman living in Germany mentioned about it. Rest is history. The fine brut from Germany is today one of Sula’s most loved wines and ours as well.

Its multi-award winning produce hits the palate with notes of honey infused with a tinge of zest. The acid is not too overwhelming but does leave you with a citrus tang for a few minutes. The sweet finish is well-balanced. We would recommend you consume it chilled. Sula has done a good job at that for which it has even got accolades from the Germans themselves.

The tasting room at sunset

The deconstruct

KNOWN

for its versatility, Riesling can be used to make dry, low proof and even sweeter versions of wine. It’s a perfect grape for a wine maker to play with. It was in 2008 when Sula grew its first Riesling with Stuart Pigott, world renowned Riesling expert, flying down to Nashik. “We couldn’t believe when he told us Riesling could work here as it grows only in the cold but nonetheless we went ahead,” says Ajoy Shaw, chief wine maker. Keeping the doyen’s advice in mind, they planted an acre of Riesling and to their surprise, it did give out typical aromas and

flavours. So what exactly worked for Riesling in Nashik? Pat comes the reply, “It’s because of the diurnal variations. Nashik is elevated at 600 metres and with each 100 metres, there’s a drop of one degree temperature. Cold nights help in maintaining the acid levels in grapes and warm days bring up the sugar level. It’s a good balance of sugar and acidity,” says he.

The winery’s Dindori Reserve Range has been recognised for its premium quality, with its Shiraz being selected to be the first Indian wine aboard Air India, the country’s national carrier. “I’m personally quite partial to our Riesling,” says Rajeev Samant, founder of the vineyards.

The Beyond resort

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The hilly ride

YOUR

journey to Sula starts when you set eyes on the nameless hills in shades of black in contrast to clear skies of the tropical city of Nashik. The rolling hills with patches of green and brown make for an exquisite Gothic frame. They stand in their stoic glory; unheard and unsung, occasionally giving you that familiar eerie feeling as if something more powerful is watching over. Hills indeed have eyes, it feels. Lost wondering about the story behind these amazing pieces of gigantic rocks, a water body appears in the distance covered in mist. It turns out to be the Godavari river which apparently is the source of water for the balmy city.

Thoughts and moments later, a barren, rocky, path snails you to the beauty of lush green, with acres of vines impeccably arranged in innumerable rows. That’s when you know you have hit the right road and arrived at Sula vineyards, the country’s most popular wine getaway. Almost three hours from the bustling city of Mumbai, although it took us four, Sula estate, set conveniently in an idyllic setup in the outskirts of Nashik, doesn’t disappoint you making the exhausting journey worth it. You are welcomed with the obvious, no brownie points for guessing, a glass of wine. Yes, they do ask for your preference, sparkling, dry or red. By this time your jaded muscles start to relax and the serene calming effects of the country resort start working on you in a therapeutic way.

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The tasting room at the vineyards

The winery

OUR

guide keeps us amused with his humorous tidbits while dispensing his vast knowledge on wine. Before he walks us down level after level of the distillery, Shaw explains the dynamics behind the destemmer while a truck loaded with Sauvignon blanc grapes passes by. There are two destemmers here, one for whites and the other for reds. It’s fascinating to know that the juice from red grapes is colourless, the colour being present only in the skin of grapes.

“Even in Champagne, they make whites out of black grapes like Pinot Viognier. Likewise we make our Brut Tropicale which is a Blanc de Noir,” says Shaw.

As we enter the distillery, we come across huge steel vats where the “must” is fermented. The sweet whiff in the air gets stronger as we proceed, which is the smell of wines being fermented. The capacity of these vats varies from 10,000 to 30,000 litres.

Taller tanks are for whites as they help in settling the liquid better, we are told. For the reds apparently, broader and shorter tanks are preferred as there is more skin contact with the juice which helps in extracting better colour. As we can see, there are over 120 vats here.

What catches our eye is the use of natural lighting in the entire distillery. Sula illuminates

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its halls with solar panels which generate 20 per cent of electricity. Artificial light is only put to use post-sunset. Not just the winery, turns out the entire Sula estate follows sustainable practices; the farmers have a rain water harvesting plant, they also grow veggies and make their own honey and more. “After crushing grapes we utilise the skin to make compost with earth worms and with seeds we make grape seed oil which is high in antioxidants. We believe in recycling everything,” Shaw tells us.

The management also incentivises grape growers for bringing in grapes before a stipulated time and retain their flavours and

aroma. For this, they get one rupee per kilo extra. “If you harvest and store the grapes, they start to deteriorate. It’s a multi-pronged approach. It’s not only about having the best grapes, you also have to see how to preserve the freshness,” he adds.

Methode traditionelle

THE

next floor is where we see bottles lying in demarcated lots. This is where the light starts to fade a little. We get to see how sparkling wines are fermented naturally in the traditional manner with yeast inside the bottles. This will stay for 12-15 months just like they do it in Champagne. It’s when the yeast breaks down and starts giving out its character that the bottles are slightly tilted. This is how they get aged.

“It’s a very expensive and complex process as the assemblage or the blending of the cuvee is very critical,” explains Shaw. The winery looks a tad confined but has three basements and around four lakh bottles.

(Left) Grapes being crushed. (Bottom) Sula’s Brut Tropicale

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The barrel room

AFTER

our newly- acquired knowledge about sparkling wines, we head to the barrel floor where the reds or reserves are aged. Their finest of wines, like the Rasa Shiraz, are kept for a year or so in some 1,000 barrels made of French oak which gives a different character to the wine, bringing out its complexity compared to American variants.

In India, there is only silver oak which doesn’t give a very good character. Not many wineries use it. People have also tried using Malaysian oak but it doesn’t give out the desired character too. That’s why American and French oaks are the preferred choices. “We have used Hungarian oak for trials as well but the quality is not that good,” says Shaw.

“Depending on the quality of wine, you can judge when you want to take it off the barrel. Once the wine is out of the barrel, we keep it in the bottles for six months and then release them,” he adds.

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(Left to right) The French oak barrels and Chenin blanc grapevines

The vineyard

OUR

next stop is the vineyard itself, where the story starts. The rows and rows of vines might get you confused, as all of them look the same. So how do you figure out which grape is for what varietal?

That’s where the science of ampelography comes handy, which is nothing but a field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines. They study the leaf pattern and tell which particular grape is meant for which wine.

We first make our way through the vines of Cabernet Sauvignon, the king of red grapes.

We pluck one for taste, the juice is colourless

and it tastes like any other normal grape. It has a pattern of five tear drops with a thick skin which gives the tannins.

Next to Cabernet are Zinfandel grapes which are used for making pink Rosé wine and they have a different pattern but again taste the same. In the front, red roses have been planted as indicators to check any disease like mildieu.

Interestingly, white grapes have white roses as their indicators.

Apparently, growers don’t spray their grapes with any pesticide three months before harvest.

“It’s difficult to be 100 per cent organic but we try our level best in being as sustainable as possible,” adds Shaw.

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(Top to bottom) The amphitheatre at Sula estate and visitors enjoying stomping the grapes

Wine tourism

BUT

if you think of the intricacy involved, wine still lags behind at less than one per cent of all liquor sales. “When we started, wine sales were even lower. Per capita consumption was around 8 ml per person a year, now it has come up to 18-20 ml,” avers Shaw. With Sula having a 70 per cent market share in India, it is natural the onus of encouraging wine consumption falls on it.

“Wine tourism is a relatively new concept in India but one that is slowly gaining popularity across all demographics. Wine is best enjoyed at source, which is something I learnt at Napa Valley in California,” says Samant.

Which is why he has started SulaFest every February.

It gets around 12,000 music aficionados enjoying wines

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from their cellar. Then they have their tastings going all around India where they try to expand their market. “It’s all about breaking the snob value attached to wine and bringing it to the masses.

It’s also a healthier option than other hard liquors and we have to promote it as a healthy drink,” Shaw notes.

Homegrown hits

THE

global export of Sula to 25 countries is about 45,000 cases. The attitudinal shift is definitely on the rise as a lot of Indian wines have been winning awards lately.

“UK has become our largest market outside of India. It is encouraging to see the increased interest in Indian wines across the world. The influence of Indian cuisine and culture is also driving the growth,” says Samant.

Even after winning a Decanter, which is the biggest award for wine in the world, Sula still feels domestic wineries need to work together to boost the growth of wine industry in India.

“The Indian wine industry is evolving at a steady pace with 15 per cent growth in consumption of wine over the past years,” adds he.

Wine consumption among women throughout India has increased by 30 per cent in the last five years as compared to a 17 per cent surge in demand from men,” points out Samant.

Whether the world is finally accepting or getting comfortable with the idea of Indian wines is still debatable. Meanwhile, as Indians, we can chuck imported wines for a while and get cozy with more domestic wines helping boost their sales, learning more about them and visiting the lovely plantations.

Apart from being lazy, there are plenty of things to do. A weekend of debauchery, good food and wine, brag a little around your friends with your new-found knowledge, or even plan on becoming a full-time connoisseur and yes not to forget the mesmerising sunset at the tasting room. A mustvisit for a transitory escape from the mundane madness of our banal lives.

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GLOBETROTTER

AtalEof

twocities While Warsaw is stiff and formal, business and politics, Krakow is laidback and friendly, colleges and culture.

Warsaw is vertical with tall buildings and grand avenues full of traffic; Krakow is horizontal. RANJAN PAL savours a unique ‘poles apart’ experience

The Palace of Science and Culture, Warsaw EXOTICA [58] FEBRUARY 2016

Inside Enklawa nightclub, Warsaw

I LOOK

down at the remaining pierogi (Polish dumpling) on my plate and ponder whether to spear it. Sitting outside the Zapiecek restaurant on the main strip of Nowy Siat, the nightlife on the streets is beginning to pick up.

Next to me the dark-haired Polish guy is wolfing down the last of his kaszanska (blood sausage). He notices me looking at his plate and we strike up a conversation. Turns out that Nima is actually German but of Iranian extraction while his friend Florian looks more Teutonic. Like me they have just arrived in Warsaw but from just across the border, the Polish capital being an overnight train

ride from Hamburg.

Having downed several bottles of Tyskie lager, my new friends and I stumble tipsily down Nowy Siat looking for some action. Eventually we find it on Mazowiecka Street where the trendy nightclub Enklawa is drawing the beautiful young people like a magnet. I don’t fall into either category but the bouncer lets me in anyway, maybe he doesn’t get to see many Indian punters. Inside, the club is alive with wildly gyrating bodies and we are seriously impressed with the Polish female talent on display. Unfortunately the jet lag and the alcohol have begun to catch up with me and I fall asleep on a couch near a group of PYTs. I am shaken awake and find myself being

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unceremoniously deposited on the pavement outside. Wearily I flag down a taxi and make it back to my friend Ajay Bisaria’s home by 4 am, add being thrown out of a Polish nightclub to my list of lifetime achievements!

By day, Warsaw is a big impersonal city with tall Soviet-style buildings that block out the sun.

The tallest of them is the Palace of Science and Culture which is to Warsaw what the Empire State building is to New York. Originally built in the early 1950s as a gift from the Soviet people, it survived the fall of the Soviet Union though the name of its benefactor Stalin was summarily removed. I ride the elevator to the 30th floor on a Sunday morning hemmed in by chattering Polish tiny tots and their doting parents. Most of the viewing terrace has been given over to a free arts and crafts centre and the splashes of bright colour light up the sombre interiors of the palace.

Later that night the view is even better from The View, Warsaw’s most happening rooftop

nightclub and I’m not just referring to the city. The people-watching is amazing as glitterati, celebs and business tycoons, all crowd around the iconic circular bar. Nima and I try to look the part in our trendy leather jackets as we sip at our dirty martinis but I don’t think we have successfully cultivated the I’m-so-bored-but-I’m-so-rich look. Paradoxically this draws the attention of a stunning tall brunette called Maya who speaks with a definite American twang. Turns out she is originally from Minnesota, has lived in Warsaw for half her life, hates Polish men and is clearly looking for a hook-up. The evening has suddenly got a lot more interesting!

It also helps demonstrate the elemental truth that if you are with one beautiful woman at a bar then it serves as a positive signal to others. We succeed in chatting up two striking blondes visiting from Frankfurt and for a giddy moment Nima and I are the envy of all the other men in the place as we manoeuvre our companions on to the dance floor. We do our best to persuade the babes

Nightclub The View, Warsaw EXOTICA [60] FEBRUARY 2016

to hit Enklawa but the Germans have an early morning flight home and so we settle for an exchange of digits and a promise to reconnect someday sometime. Somehow I’ve taken Nima under my wing and we have become fast friends and comrades-in-arms all in the space of 24 hours!

Franciszek Chopin remains

FRYDERYKWarsaw’s most popular son.

Enklawa

Mazowiecka street

Pardon To Tu Bollywood lounge Palace of Science and Sulture

Lazienki park

Map of Warsaw; Chopin’s Statue, Lazienski Park, Warsaw

Although the great composer left Poland at the tender age of 20 never to return, his heart remained in Warsaw. Quite literally because after his death in Paris, this life-giving organ was carried back to his native home and interred in a pillar of the Holy Cross church.

His name is everywhere from the international airport to a popular brand of high end vodka though there is no evidence that he was fond of the stuff.

I decide to remedy matters by raising a vodka toast to the great man while sitting on a bench in front of his statue in Lazienki Park. It is a Sunday afternoon and the crowds are gathering for the free Chopin concert performed by specially invited pianists from around the world. Today it is an attractive local musician called Monika Rosca who has the audience’s attention as she launches into the Polonaise in A Major, one of his most famous compositions. The airy notes of this beautiful piece waft out into the evening air and the audience listens in rapt silence. My eyes are closed and I feel as if I have been transported into another world— maybe even the Paris salon of George Sand, a French Romantic

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First Warsaw Golf and Country Club

novelist and Chopin’s lover in the years before he fell terminally ill. my last weekend in Warsaw, my host Ajay, who is our Ambassador to Poland, returns from an extended trip around the country and we spend a few hours catching up in his beautiful mansion over several glasses of Chopin. Jokingly I assure him that I have done nothing that would bring disrepute upon him or our great country — plausible deniability being the name of the game. We are great friends and he laughs uproariously at the suggestion. He is laughing considerably less later that afternoon as I match him stroke for stroke on the fairways of the First Warsaw Golf and Country Club. Ajay is a far better player than me but beginner’s luck is on my side and I play an unexpectedly good round!

Ajay is also a man after my own heart which translates into enjoying the finer things in life and that evening he takes me to

ON

the strangely named Pardon To Tu billed as Warsaw’s finest jazz bar. The Swedish group Fire! are in full swing and the place is packed with standing room only. We squeeze our way through to the bar and Tyskies firmly in hand, watch the group side on as they jam in front of a backdrop which has the name of every known musician from Chopin to CCR to Coldplay, the epitome of cool.

The evening ends back on Nowy Siat at the garishly decorated but extremely popular Bollywood Lounge, a Polish sheesha fantasy of what India is like.

Ajay has invited a group of Polish diplomats and IKEA executives to celebrate a three-way deal which will have Polish furniture makers manufacture in India and channel their product to Sweden for further processing. In exchange, IKEA will have greater access to the Indian market...truly a win-win-win for all.

The Indian food is quite average but everyone is in good spirits and the booze is flowing quite liberally.

I sit next to the affable IKEA senior guy and it turns out that he is based in Gurgaon, ten minutes from where I live. Talk about a really small world.

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the second city of Poland, is about as different from Warsaw as chalk from cheese. They also exhibit a rivalry which matches other great pairs in the world: New York and DC, Sydney and Melbourne, Mumbai and Delhi. While Warsaw is stiff and formal, business and politics; Krakow is laidback and friendly, colleges and culture. Warsaw is vertical with tall buildings and grand avenues full of traffic; Krakow is horizontal with a sprawl of brick and slate roofs clearly visible from its spiritual and physical heart Wawel Castle.

I am met by my guide Bruno as I disembark from the PKP Intercity express at Krakow station.

He is instantly likeable with a boyish smile and a roguish charm that I am sure makes him a big success with all the ladies. Our destination is Zakopane, a mountain town which is the takeoff

KRAKOW,

point for the Tatras and a couple of hours drive due south. After lunch, Bruno takes me for a stroll through the town but I find it a little too touristy and full of kitsch. We unwind in the heated pool and jacuzzi at the luxurious Aries hotel hoping for better company but finding only old German pensioners. Even the pretty PR manager Kascia politely but firmly rebuffs our suggestion that she try out the facilities in the line of duty.

As adventure travel is my passion, I had specially requested a trip up to see Morskie Oko (meaning Eye of The Sea) a beautiful lake nestled in the heart of the Tatra mountains. However, this morning the weather has turned against us and we trudge up the asphalt path in halting rain, chilled to the bone by the freezing wind. I am amazed at the number of Poles who are making the same pilgrimage, some even pushing toddlers in prams — the whole experience is a world away from the solitary trails

Wawel Castle, Krakow; Two views of the mountain lake Morskie Oko

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at Krakow, I am handed over to my new guide Darek who seems as different to Bruno as Warsaw from Krakow. Older, heavier, more plodding and pedantic, he is a stark contrast to Bruno’s twinkling charm and engaging banter. Still Darek is a complete professional and his knowledge of Krakow is considerable as I am to find out over the next two days. Wawel Castle dates back to the 10th century and the cathedral is a hodgepodge of architectural styles imposed by successive rulers — it looks like something a child might have slapped together. However the numerous staterooms and royal chambers are richly appointed and under Nazi occupation, Governor General Hans Frank made it his home, knowing a good thing when he saw one.

That decision alone saved Krakow from the awful fate that befell Warsaw of being bombed and razed to the ground, so the city appears much as it did in medieval times.

The one thing that remains seared into my memory from my stay in Krakow is my visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is an appropriately gray and overcast day when we reach the largest concentration and death camp ever built by the Nazis, just an hour’s drive from Krakow. One has heard so much about the horror of these places but nothing quite prepares you for it. I stop at the entrance and look up at the words Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Will Set You Free) wrought into the metalwork of the entry gate. The Jews that entered thought it might mean some small chance of survival. The

PHOTO: RANJAN PAL

I am used to in the high Himalayas. Finally we reach the lake and even with the lowering cloud which obscures the high peaks that surround it, one can see that it is quite a magnificent sight. A few photos and a couple of massively overpriced coffees later in the solitary chalet and we are on our way down, this time opting for the horse-drawn cart which carries us down at a rapid clip.

BACK

Big Head sculpture, Wawel castle, Krakow; Entrance gate to Auschwitz concentration camp (below)

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PHOTO: RANJAN PAL

Jousting with a knight outside Wawel Castle; dancers perform in a public plaza; view of the river Vistula from Wawel Castle

Nazis knew otherwise: in a grotesque parody, it meant that the Jews would be worked to death and thus set free from life. I feel a cold shudder run down my spine; it is hard to tear my eyes away from these chilling words, frozen in metal against the sky.

The hours that follow feel almost interminable and their impact on my emotions is wrenching.

There’s a massive glass chamber full of human hair shaved from the Jewish victims. The black wall where political prisoners were executed with a shot to the back of the neck. The iron rail from which eleven prisoners were hung as a reprisal for others

who escaped. The cruel narrow cells where prisoners were made to stand for 72 hours as punishment. And, finally, the gas chambers where the Jews met their final solution, all the time thinking they were being sent in for a hot shower.

In the lowering dusk, my guide David and I walk back the length of the Birkenau death camp in total silence. Behind us is the International Monument which marks the murder of 1.5 million people, almost all Jews, with an inscription translated into 24 languages for all the countries the victims came from. The train wagon that

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Getting T H E R E

BY AIR: John Paul II Int’l Airport is located in Balice which is 13 km from Krakow.

If your health permits, the city centre can be easily explored on foot or on a bicycle. There are some picturesque walking routes, try the Royal Way or the Planty Park. You may also get around using trams and buses.

transported Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz stands alone at the end of the railway line which enters the camp, a forlorn reminder of the horrors of this place of suffering and death. I look at the date and notice with a shock that it is September 11, a day to remember the slaughter of innocents. I know I will never forget this afternoon as long as I live.

It is Saturday night, my last in Poland, and Krakow has the reputation for being the most rocking party town in Poland, if not in Central Europe. Horses for courses, I quickly ditch Darek and hook up with Bruno for the evening. We start out at Teatro Cubano, one of the hottest new places on the Krakow clubbing circuit. Bruno has invited his neighbours Eva (a lively blonde who could pass for Reese Witherspoon) and her banker husband Jarek. The ambience is all Havana with Cuban flags and symbols and even laundry hanging from the balconies above and the salsa beat is compelling.

Several mojitos later, we stagger out on to Jagielloska Street and my new Polish friends head for Stalowe Magnolie (Steel Magnolias), a well-known dance club a stone’s throw from the Barbican. This is one of the advantages of clubbing in Krakow. You can walk everywhere and so no worries about driving home drunk. The club is an amazing place, all decked out in opulent red velvet with low lighting so that you feel like you are entering an Aladdin’s Cave. But the best part is the live music and a local band is belting out Smoke on the Water which gets us all out on the small dance floor.

Eva is dancing with me and my theory about the Rules of Attraction proves right again. But that’s another story and now my Polish adventure is done!

Teatro Cubano (top); Stalowe Magnolie

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R H Y T H M & B E AT

A big shout-out to the homegrown artistes for creating unique sounds by blending in classical into folk with different genres including rock and electronic. CHRISTY J VARGHESE lists some of them for you

SIMRAN JAGDEV

HARI & SUKHMANI This duo is perhaps the most popular with appearances on BBC Radio UK and shows like Star World’s The Dewarists, Coke Studio on MTV and others. Their popularity is to be credited to Hari Singh’s audio engineering abilities and Sukhmani Malik’s vocals. Inspired by Sufi poets like Bulleh Shah, Baba Farid and Kabir, they have been creating fresh and eclectic sound, fusing traditional Punjabi folk music with ambient electronic sounds since 2009. Check out the quirky Challa Dubstep, the soothing Boohey Baariyan or Mahi ve Mahi.

MAATI BAANI Nirali Kartik formed this widely acclaimed music group with her husband Kartik Shah with the aim of putting Indian classical music within the different sounds, cultures, languages and voices.

A quick glance at their music would reveal a smattering of Hindustani classical, blues, funk and ambient sounds, thereby enforcing the claim that Maati Baani's genre is world music. Check out the video for Balma which comprises the efforts of 11 artists from five countries.

SWARATHMA The Bengalurubased Indian folk fusion band came together in 2002 and is regarded to be one of India’s biggest folk rock bands. It draws its sounds from Indian folk and classical music, blending it with Western elements, thus gaining a significant reggae-like touch with the bass and percussion. Its one-off single with classical chanteuse Shubha Mudgal named Duur Kinara will make you swoon in ecstatic pleasure.

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PHOTO: PANKAJ KUMAR

FOREIGN EYE

Photography legend STEVE McCURRY may be known for his iconic Afghan girl but over the course of his long career, he has kept coming back to India, documenting our ever-evolving world.

And though he may not have panned conflict-zone drama, he has a soul connect with each photograph of his India series. Not dramatic, but eternal.

Having traversed the world of news dissemination and creative imagery, the balding man with his sparkling wit and twinkling eyes reminds us how his frames are history in motion and how he revisits his subjects and places to spin a story of evolution. With simplicity and respect.

By RINKU GHOSH

Your current book has a lot of past images juxtaposed with new ones and this is more like a mosaic. Why doesn’t this one have a thematic unity?

India defies definition. It is my constant inspiration too. So though I have done thematic journeys with the Railways and the monsoon, this one is really a collection of pictures that expresses the reason why I’ve been so fascinated with India over the years and why I kept coming back. It’s that simple. Besides this book compiles more of random moments that I feel are poetic. It’s like a poem.

Obviously, there are many things in India that are not there in the book but that is not what it is about. I am not being an exclusionist, it’s more about me and my journey through India.

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What struck me was again your fascination with portraits, a mirror of the human soul...

Everywhere I go in the world, I’m fascinated with people and faces. How we look and how we compare. We’re similar yet we’re not similar. There is a powerful human spirit that manifests in all of them. Portraits are also about a dialogue of trust and respect between you and your subject. Far more potent than words. An unseen bridge.

PHOTO: INDIA BY STEVE MCCURRY PUBLISHED BY PHAIDON/ROLI BOOKS

We all know the elaborate story of the Afghan girl, how you found her and re-shot her after many years. Do you have any particular moving story from India that features in this collection?

The Afghan girl was a dramatic story no doubt.

These Indian stories may not seem so dramatic but are small stories in their own right. The cover for me was an interesting moment. A group of women in Rajasthan, out to get water from a well on a normal day, and suddenly putting their pots down in the

face of a sandstorm, pulling their veil over and huddling under an old acacia tree. It’s such a fluid moment of fighting adversity collectively.

Or take the case of the old widow of Vrindavan.

She has a terribly bent back and seems like she would keel over any moment. Yet she walks on.

I remember this encounter because I found she had a wonderful heart and was generous in spirit. She also had a great sense of humour. She had a really wonderful soul in that body despite all the odds stacked against her. Then I recall the tenacity and smile of the tailor with his sewing machine, holding his tool of trade proudly aloft his shoulders and wading through the flooded streets during the monsoon. He wet himself but not his machine, the reason for his being who he is. And he would resume his trade on high ground. Similarly, I admired the husband and wife who power their way through the water to save their life together.

And home. The great thing about a place like India

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PHOTO: INDIA BY STEVE MCCURRY PUBLISHED BY PHAIDON/ROLI BOOKS

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PHOTO: INDIA BY STEVE MCCURRY PUBLISHED BY PHAIDON/ROLI BOOKS

is that you find many of these images that bring out the essence of life. And it doesn’t take a challenge to rise up. Which is why I took a photograph of this old man on Holi.

Normally, you associate kids with hurling colour at each other but this gent had this wonderful colouration on his face like he had had a lot of fun.

The same obsession with adding colour to life I found in a man who had applied henna on his beard, the traditional method of adornment. And he looked so powerful and triumphant despite trying to hide his age.

Portraits are also about a piece of history being made and sometime in the near future these guys won’t exist. Neither would their style of the beard or the turban. I don’t think men would apply henna on their hair 50 years from now. In the future, people will be amazed by the look of this guy with a red beard.

PHOTOS: INDIA BY STEVE MCCURRY PUBLISHED BY PHAIDON/ROLI BOOKS

Given the digital age we live in, how different is a journalistic photo from creative imagery?

Well, they are different if you’re doing journalism in the spirit of a documentary. If you’re doing photography as art, you’re using the medium to interpret your subjects. A great photo is about bringing many people into the same moment and speaking to them universally.

Is your Afghan girl a news photo or great art?

Sometimes, pictures can transcend the original use because they are so powerful that they burn into people’s consciousness. They come to symbolise a period of time. Sometimes pictures that were created for documentary purposes can end up being considered very creative expressions. They are profound statements which you can also make in the newspaper. It all depends on your eyes and your heart.

In an age of photo-sharing apps and enabled cameras on every device, how is it possible to stand out in a collection of images and put your definitive signature?

You are not a story teller just because you can photograph or text. You may sit there and text all day long and it may not have any meaning because it’s just information. It is just noise if it doesn’t talk to you. There are so many songs but only some of them break through. There are so many books being published but only a handful of gifted writers. Glut doesn’t discourage quality or talent.

Same with photography.

What brings you back to India every time?

Your study of the Indian Railways is probably the best we still have....

It is my past unique memories of moments that goad me to return every time. I was the first person to take the picture of the steam engine with the Taj Mahal in the backdrop. There was one shunting track which is gone now. But while it was there, I don’t think anybody realised that if you waited at this one particular spot, then you could frame modernity against tradition. It’s not a big deal but I’m proud of it.

Nobody has documented the monsoon or the

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Railways the way you have. What made you choose these two topics?

I was in Kodaikanal when somebody gave me The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux. I read that book and said wow. He inspired me to explore South Asia with the Railways and I remember experiencing the heart of India while travelling by train between Delhi and Chennai.

Of course, the Indian monsoon appealed to me as a kid. When I was 12, there was a photo essay on monsoon in the LIFE magazine by a New Zealand photographer Brian Brake. He spent a few months in the subcontinent for this project and growing up in Pennsylvania, the photos seemed to me like a fairytale. I knew then that I had to experience this first hand. Later, when I was working with National Geographic, I proposed to reinvent that story. I wanted to experience my space, understand and then give my take on it. And that is when I saw both the nurturing and destructive elements of the season. I saw heavy rain and flooding on one side and severe drought on the other. Either way crops suffered and I saw how the monsoon could make or mar an agriculture-based economy. From June

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AIDON/ROLI BLISHED BY PH PHOTOS

PU EVE MCCURRY : INDIA BY ST

Globalisation has imposed homogeneity. What is your impression of India in change?

Indian culture has evolved over time and is one of the greatest cultures of the planet. One of the great civilisations ever created, whether it is the music, the way people tie their turbans or dress. I see the biggest change in dress codes something that lent you identity and defined it over time is now assembly line Western wear at cheaper rates. May be they are more efficient and work-friendly. Maybe they are aspirational for a generation that wants to be hip. The Indian-ness then starts breaking down. You can’t stop it but in a way it is kind of sad that what was unique to your culture is fading away. And rather easily without an attempt at incorporating some strands of originality. Then you have the food, music and architecture, all of which have lost their thread to a certain sameness. Everybody now has a cellphone, a laptop or a TV. I loved how movie hoardings were hand-painted but now are pushed to the corners.

Evolution is a necessity. Life moulting into something else, I find that fascinating. So photographs are a great way of retaining memory of how we were. I compare and contrast with my past work many a time. I even revisit my spots to understand change. I remember witnessing Holi in Mathura in the early 90s. It was

BOOKS

to late September, there are a bunch of festivals that may not be directly connected to the monsoon but which you see through the filter of the rains. It is dramatic.

It was during the rains in 1984, in a flooded Porbandar, that I saw this tailor carrying his sewing machine and wading through the water. The water had gotten into people’s homes but the inmates were making do with cramping up on the upper floors. There was no power, TV or phone connections. People were hanging around on rooftops and windows, yelling and joking.

And then there was this guy, shifting his work tool to dry ground so that his deadlines were not affected. As I trained my camera on him, the young men signalled to him. And he gave me such a valiant and winsome smile.

That resilience humbled me. There was so much happening in that one moment of life that needed to be crystallised. Each photo should have this richness.

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PHOTO: PANKAJ KUMAR

incredible, the explosion of colours, though still touristy. Yet I went around without being noticed in the gush. When I went back there last year, I found many young aspiring Indian or foreign photographers. Not that the moment wasn’t authentic but the presence of cameras had changed the crowd behaviour. The boys were not just shooting down colours in merry abandon but their actions were more self-conscious. There was an unspoken code of performing to the shutterbugs.

There was so much chaos, people were dancing and it was still unbelievable. But I can’t forget how the glut of images everywhere had changed the perception of subjects about the camera itself.

Have you ever been to a hotel and spotted this cultural curio in the lobby? That is where we are all going. My fear is that what was once real will end up as a cultural showpiece in the lobby. World culture

will become unanimous, it will be different in another 100 years. Maybe people will look at the way life was through these photographs. They will wonder in amazement.

Having said that, I must say that India has a real strong culture, perhaps stronger than other south or southeast Asian nations. It’s like a world in itself. It is so strong that you end up influencing music and food, the two most potent expressions of popular culture. Half of London is all about curry. You are changing other people too. I would like to be the keeper of change. And India as a subject makes you want to dig deeper and deeper beyond the obvious.

THE OUTDOORS

LUXURY SUITE TENT o `1,16,000, per person on a twin-sharing basis o `2,14,600 for single occupancy o An additional `54,540 for third person supplement (above 11 years) o `7,998 for child sharing bed with parents (6-11 years) o `16,998 for one child with extra bed (6-11 years)

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THE

hornbill couple is having a tough time. The female has just sealed herself up in the cavernous depths of a tree hole and the male is feeding her so that she can draw up the heat from each morsel and ensure her eggs hatch. Job done, he pulls down the pulpy purdah with his curved beak, grating the silence of the forest around me.

I am seated on a deck outside my tent, my butler having poured me my favourite wine a while ago.

The chatter of the returning birds is now a distant hum with the amber glow of the setting sun.

Inside the tent, the butler is running the hot tub and tucking the white linen under the down duvet, pampering me for the day’s end. He needn’t bother...The cook has already tempted me with his special of grilled salmon with lyonnaise potatoes, baby spinach parma salad and caper cream sauce. That too in my private patio. The notebook lies idle on the grandfatherly desk by the window. Somehow, it beckons me to take up the pen. The wi-fi has its web but I am too lazy to give up this moment of being waited upon. By nature and humans. And most importantly, time.

This is not the days of the Raj but present day.

And I am no hunter but pleasure-seeker. I am at Kohima camp, the posh, modern-day chauni, for travellers to the Northeast, complete with luxuries of a five-star suite. Welcome to glamping or “glamorous camping”, the new address for luxury tourism in northeast India’s hill state of

Glamping is picking up in a big way in the Northeast and tempting unprecedented tourist footfalls.

ANUP SHARMA checks in for a wine dine experience under the starry sky and tribal beats

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Nagaland. Reclining against the foothills of the Japfu Mountain, the CEO of one of the glamping companies, TUTC (The Ultimate Travelling Camp), Rajnish Sabharwal, tells me, “Nagaland and even the other parts of the northeast are full of virgin forests blessed with immense natural beauty. The Nagas are also one of the most homely and hospitable people in the world. However, there has been a lack of infrastructure in terms of hotels and resorts, which has remained one of the main bottlenecks for tourists, particularly international visitors, whose priorities are always comfort and luxury. So we have created this uber, colonial era experience.”

The TUTC organises glamping once a year, during the colourful Hornbill festival that takes place in the picturesque Kisama village, located only 12 km away. “Our intention is to make luxury available without disturbing the environment and ecology of the place. We follow sustainable practices, employ and train local youth, use solar lighting and dip panels so that wildlife is not disturbed,” he adds. Outside, near the restaurant area, there is bonfire, barbeque, some country music and conversations. It has been three years since the concept of glamping has taken off at Kohima during the Hornbill festival and occupancy has been no less than 85 per cent.

The cemetery of World War II soldiers

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The guided tour begins with a drive to Kisama village, where all 16 Naga tribes show off their plumes, headgear, music, handlooms and, of course, character and friendliness. The model heritage village has an interesting, tableau-like set-up, where each tribal representative presents his culture from his kind of traditional house. As for their colourful performances, you can sit around an arena on wooden benches while savouring each tribe’s culinary specialities, ranging from chicken to insects. Nagas love their rice beer, which seems to be the drink of choice – even over coffee — in the early mornings!

I find it quite tasty too.

While there are physical pursuits like wrestling and archery, there are cerebral gatherings around a local literary fest. Not to mention the absolute fun events like climbing a greased bamboo pole or chilli-eating contests. But I find their soul in their songs as they relay the fascinating tales of their tribe’s history. Kisama has history on its side as it was here that the Japanese lost their initiative to the Allies for the first time in southeast Asia. Night crawls in Kohima are an interesting mosaic of listening to the talented Naga rock bands, scouring the night bazaar for local artefacts, picking up stuff of local designers and relishing some Naga delicacies.

If you are in for the longer haul, head to the nearby Kigwema village, which is a quaint old village of the Angami tribe. The guests can soak themselves in the history of World War II when the Japanese forces came to Kigwema on their way to attack Kohima. The guests can walk through the lanes of the village observing the traditional houses with their impressive wooden pillars, arriving at a local house to experience the Angami way of life over a cup of traditional tea. Historically

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warriors, Angamis spent much of their time in combat with other tribes and villages. The intervillage feuds came to an end in 1879 with the annexation of their territory by the British and the replacement of their primitive religion, animism,

by Christianity. Yet for all their martial heritage, they are also innovative cultivators, an example being the 20 different strains of rice developed by them to suit variations in temperature and landscape.

Jakhama village, which literally means “laying resistance against intruders,� was the first line of defence against the neighbouring kingdoms of Manipur. Jakhama’s prosperous houses, built in unique styles and designs, are a sight to behold.

The guests can visit the great granaries, where families can store grains for years, and conclude their visit in high spirits with a glass of the local rice beer called khie. The return of the native I would say.

Living with the tribes at Kisama village

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GOOD DEEDS

A hand for bravehearts Taj Palace Hotel celebrated its fifth Black Tie Charity Ball dedicating an evening to the unsung heroes in uniform

FROM

Sunil Sethi, Taljinder Singh and Kalyani Chawla at the Charity Ball at Taj Palace, New Delhi

an engaging art auction, curated by Vadhera Art Gallery, to a five course dinner crafted by executive chef Rajesh Wadhwawas with sounds of jazz keeping the guests amused, the Taj Black Tie was an affair to cherish.

The spirit of eternal patriotism of the knights of the borders was honoured at the annual Charity Ball held at Taj Palace Hotel. It threw light on daily lives of these brave hearts who protect our borders keeping us safe. The event saw a congregation of people from the corporate and social circles coming together to show support to the noble cause by raising funds for the soldiers.

Since its inception in 2011, the Taj Black Tie Charity Ball has addressed contemporary societal needs and challenges through Taj Public Service Welfare Trust.

Gaurav Pokhriyal, General Manager, Taj Palace Hotel, said, “The idea behind the evening is to contribute to the families of soldiers and looking after them beyond their monetary needs. It is a platform to bring together the crème de la crème and give recognition to the soldiers who have made sacrifices and fought valiantly to safeguard our nation.”

The Taj Public Service Welfare Trust provides aid for education, setting up of micro-enterprises, insurance policy, distributing laptops and computers to the jawans and their families.

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WANDERLUST PHOTOS: RANA SIDHU & PANKAJ KUMAR

At Gujarat’s salt marsh, we forget about the world and surrender ourselves to the parched whites.

And find a lot of colour in life

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THE

ground beneath our feet is parched.

Cracking up into bits. Gasping dead white at the edges. Whichever direction we look, we cannot see the end. It runs endlessly into the horizon and you feel that Galileo was rightly persecuted for claiming the Earth was round and moved, for you believe that if you drive long enough in a straight line, you will fall off the edge. It is as vast as the ocean. Ceaseless as the desert. A vacuumlike nothingness. There is no cool whisper of the wind, no creature announces its existence, the sky is a colour of grey that gives the impression that the sun has never set and never risen. If there was an end of the Earth, then this is it.

A desert of salt

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Wild asses in Little Rann of Kutch

There’s a concrete road piercing through with an intersection that makes for a dramatic prop in this theatre of the absurd. Crossroads of life? The black velvet of the night engulfs us like a shroud as we stand in the middle of the road, the moon a daylight white on the horizon, lending perspective.

It’s the silence to be on your own. The unending flatness glistens far and wide, ready to take off on an inter-stellar journey. Jupiter twinkles on the western sky.

Then, Creation restores faith. Bit by bit. The long, stark night takes pity on the bleached salt marshes, looking for life, now that the rains have long gone. And on the horizon, the colours change.

The sun begins as a diamond dot, rushing mercurially to become a sliver of fire, breaking the monotones in a burst of fiery orange, yellow, amber,

purple and blush. We are standing in the Little Rann of Kutch as it takes our breath away. But this is later, the journey to the seeming end of the Earth began with a flight to Ahmedabad from where we were to traverse to Dasada by road. Sometimes you consider an uneventful journey a blessing.

And sometimes good clean comfort can be fun too. That’s what the tent city of Dhordo offers. The bhungas (traditional Gujarati huts) made by three different tribes of the area offer us our first brush with the art and culture of Kutch. As we get talking with our host , I end up asking him the one question that every outsider wants to know about the land that has survived on the edge of nature’s fury and extremities. The reply is short, in fact anything longer and we might not have understood. “Spirit,” Malik says.

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BEAST WITHOUT BURDEN

AS

the good butler Jeeves might have told Bertie Wooster in a PG Wodehouse novel, “Ignorance is the starting point of knowledge.” We nearly jump in our seats on seeing a couple of small brown birds fly past in front of our jeep. They happen to be just partridges. A few minutes later when we see a flock of white elegant birds take to the sky, we realise they are egrets, common field birds who evolve into something else in flight. Just then a herdsman dressed immaculately in a starch white dhoti, kurta, turban with large golden rings in his ears crosses us. He is a Rabari tribesman, a bright spot of determined survival in these barren lands.

The cotton fields give way to marshland, the metalled road turns into a dirt track and then

there it is — mountains of salt piled up — as we drive into the salt flats, home to the wild ass and hundreds of exotic species of birds.

And then the horizon opens up and the land beneath our jeep seems to crack under its very weight. Far, far away not a soul is in sight, and you will be led to believe that you are the first explorer of this barren land — except for the proof of jeep tracks ahead of yours. At that moment, we are awestruck by this unique experience of Nature and at the same time the lonely expanse stuns us with the sheer solitude of our existence. And there they are, not related to us, but surely the untamed friends of the washerman’s favourite animal — the wild ass. If we are asked to describe them, we will simply say — short, brown stripe running from head to back, very fast runners and quite beautiful.

Painted storks in the Banni grasslands and slated surface can be mistaken for a beach

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The moon ecstatically lights up the white desert

But then will such a description for the Empress of Blanding be just? If not, then surely a fine beast without burden, an animal that is its own master required a closer look.

The wild ass cannot be tamed, hence the adjective “wild.” They are fast and swift runners and on occasions they can put your jeep to shame. Every time we edge too close for comfort, they break into a canter and the race is on. Even as our jeep puffs its way diagonally to an entire herd of 20-40 wild asses, I see a solitary wild ass standing lonely by the side.

“Aren’t wild asses herd animals?” we ask Junaid, our guide. “They are. But a herd usually has only one dominant male. This one probably lost a fight that could have gone on for many days and got shunted out,” he explains. He also tells us that the wild ass graze between dawn and dusk. Mating season is during the rains.

When a mare comes into heat, she separates from the herd with a stallion who battles against rivals for her possession. After a few days, the pair returns to the herd. The mare gives birth to one

foal. The male foal weans away at the end of two years, while the female continues to stay with the family herd.

Junaid is a good guide, patient and knowledgeable about birds and beasts. As we drive towards the water, a dark wave seems to pass under our vehicle — these were the short toad lark that fly in a flock very close to the surface. We are informed that McQueen Bustard is one the rarest birds to spot here, and we have seen seven! Lucky strike I guess. Pink flamingos, falcons, egrets, cranes, spoonbills, kingfishers... all hover over a large water body, turning it into the finest pool party I have ever seen. There is such chaos as hundreds of birds take to the sky at the same time, such precision as kingfishers dive in the water for a catch, such innovation of Nature that pelican can store a fish in a sort of beak bag and such freedom when they turn the sky into their playground. It’s not just the birds or the wild ass of the Little Rann that are impressive but the sheer beauty and generosity of Nature.

(Clockwise) A potter at work; the peaceful model village of Hodka; view of tent city and artisans with their embroidery

CONSTANT TRAVELLERS

HOMESTAYS

IF

you want to understand the land in all its complexity, in all its turbulence, its fury, its kindness, then just look into the eyes of those who inhabit it. We meet Muslim cattle farmers concerned about the cycle of the environment and how one false move can shake the ecological balance of the land, craftsmen and artisans in various villages, who go about their work, do not look at curious visitors with apathy, but in fact look at us with hope, that someone will come from distant lands and help them. But the eyes of the land belong to a nomadic tribe called the Rabaris. They are constant travellers. They move throughout the year, over tens of kilometres a day, on foot, carrying with them their livestock and entire worldly belongings. They have perhaps seen more than any traveller in this country — from the north to the south. They are doomed always to travel. Or perhaps blessed. The Rabaris live off the land.

They love the land and the land loves them back.

For someone who doesn’t enjoy solitude, Hodka is the place to be. A model village, it is not so much about the authentic Kutchi cuisine or the lavishly done up bhungas, but in fact, about the state of mind of the people there.

From my brief stay there, we can only tell you about our states of mind — quiet and peaceful. Everything, indeed, is fine with Hodka’s model village.

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HODKA: Rate per night: `3,500 (negotiable) Facilities: Three meals Number of home stay huts: Six (but they are adding more) BHINDARIYARA: Rate per night: `3,000 (approximately, but negotiable) Facilities: Three meals Number of home stay huts: The area around the village has over 50 accommodation facilities.

NOTE: If you are planning to stay in any one of these places, it is advisable to arrange for your own transport. Cars and cabs can be availed from Bhuj.

FLIGHTS: Air India [19]: 5:00 am- 6:30 am SpiceJet [195]: 5:45 am- 7:20 am IndiGo [217]: 6:50 am-8:25 am Vistara [955]: 7:45 am- 9:15 am Jet Airways [688]: 12:50 pm-2:25 pm

DAY OF THE JACKAL

WE

are not about to unfold our arms and proclaim “Lo ang” (take my body parts) to a pack of shy, hungry jackals as lord Dattatreya is said to have done according to legend. In fact, we are content watching them being fed sweet rice from a safe distance. We have travelled to Kalo Dungar for two reasons, to watch the ancient customs of jackals being carried out and because the place is said to have offered a breathtaking view of the Rann. It is true we are shy of the jackals but then they are shy of us too. They prove no shows even 15 minutes after the food is left for them. The birds wet their beaks into the offering, a curious dog comes smelling lunch as do a couple of donkeys. And finally, a shy jackal goes back and forth till he decides he must take what is his, probably with the realisation that in this world of scarcity, even what is rightfully yours must sometimes be shared.

The view of the Rann? A guide book about the Kutch had said that you could spend hours surveying the land from here — honestly forget hours, you can set up camp here. If the Little Rann is the end of the earth, then the Great Rann is the beginning. The water, still as newborn life, has not receded, or maybe it had just broached the land. The green of the land, merged with the white of water that dissolves in the blue sky. The impact is the coming together of the elements.

PHOTOS: SANJEEV KUMAR

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THE ART TREE

“ART

is from the hand. Design is from the heart and mind.

If we artisans live, there is art and craftsmanship,” a young girl, with wisdom beyond her years, had told Judy Frater, the founder of Kala Raksha, an NGO that is trying to keep Kutchi art alive.

The art of Kutch is, however, alive. You can see it in every village you cross, in every second home, in the fingers of the women of the region, in their clothes. In fact, the Kutchi art has never been more vibrant. And the world has never been more aware of it.

There are many communities which practise embroidery, pottery, leatherwork and mud work for hundreds and if you believe in legends, then thousands of years. To an untrained eye that is learning even as we go along, the art is breathtakingly beautiful. Without getting into technicalities, the embroidery produced by the

Rabari, Harijans, Jat, Muthwa and Kahi communities is unlike one you will find anywhere else. The tools are simple — wool, cotton, cloth, thread, mirrors, beads — and an unbelievable degree of patience (a single bedcover could take up to a year to make).

Baiya Bai, an elderly woman we meet, has become famous ever since she showcased her handiwork at an exhibition in Paris a few years ago. Another villager Narayan, takes us to his hut which is more like a store and shows off his handmade darki. “It is made with many layers of a cloth, like a kantha, and can be used both sides,” he tells us. This takes two months to complete and is usually given as dowry.

The reason why the women of these communities labour as they do is because they believe they are creating “wealth.” Embroidery was the dowry for a young bride — art was never commercial and artisans usually did embroidery for their family members. And if ever it was

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Shop at Kala Raksha NGO

commercial, the relationship between artisan and client was very personal. Each traditional textile had an immutable identity and communicated minute details about the user — for instance a Harijan and Bharvad couldn’t look the same, hence each group was given a unique design.

Embroidery and craftsmanship of Kutch have no doubt increased but it is not necessarily the same thing as art. Market forces came into play, as did demands for new textures and designs, and in recent years, though there is food on the table of the communities, the joy seems to be missing. If you put art up on sale, more often the artist goes on sale too.

The market will not only determine the lifestyle of the artist but of the art itself. On one hand the embroidery and other art of the Kutch has reached out to the world, its branches spreading out, and on the other, it is slowly losing its roots. For art or life to sustain, growth must be in both directions — from the branches and from the roots. If the roots are weak, the tree will one day collapse.

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BUILDING BLOCKS

Rock

solid

The National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd. has already crossed its target by bagging work orders over `17,170 crore. DR ANOOP KUMAR MITTAL, CMD, shares that the company's focus will be on development and redevelopment plans for government properties What would you list as your various achievements (projects bagged, tie-ups, awards and others) for the company in the year 2015-16?

In the current financial year, NBCC, till January 2016, bagged work orders worth over `17,170 crore which is already more than our target for FY 201516. These include some major works like `2,149 crore for redevelopment of Pragati Maidan involving construction of integrated exhibitioncum-convention centre at ITPO, New Delhi; about `8,000-crore AIIMS works for development of trauma centre and redevelopment of residential complexes in New Delhi; `400-crore WAQF Board property development works in Bengaluru and Jodhpur, `200-crore works for construction of Institute of Security and Law Enforcement Studies in Maldives among others.

The company’s outstanding order book already reads approximately `30,000 crore. It is focussing more on redevelopment works after the huge success in implementation of Delhi’s New Moti Bagh GPRA Complex. The Ministry of Urban Development is now coming up with more redevelopment plans for government properties and has awarded another `5,000-crore project named Redevelopment of East Kidwai Nagar in Delhi to NBCC. The Odisha government has awarded two major redevelopment works to NBCC and the state governments such as West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh have also approached us.

NBCC, in 2015-16, entered into tie-ups with various organisations at home as well as overseas.

Of these, significant ones include: (i)MoU with DDA in July 2015 for integrated development of

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operation area contributing about Lake View Complex in New Delhi 80-85 per cent revenue. on a DDA land of 25 acre. Prior to this, we signed another MoU with Introduce us to the landmark DDA for development of their 75 projects that you have undertaken acre land at Karkardooma, Delhi, and successfully executed in the to be developed on TOD norms year 2015-16. and Smart-City concept and to be We have undertaken several named as East Delhi Hub; (ii) MoU with CRECM, Malayasia for Dr Anoop Kumar Mittal, CMD, NBCC projects in 2015-16. The company is going to implement huge work redevelopment of area around order of AIIMS which includes redevelopment of New Delhi Railway Station; (iii) MoU with its colonies worth `6,000 crore at Ayurvigyan Korea Land & Housing Corporation in connection Nagar and West Campus, New Delhi and with Smart City Projects in India and Republic construction of AIIMS Trauma Centre Phase-II of Korea. valuing approximately `2,000 crore. The other Financially, too, NBCC has been performing works undertaken include development of East consistently well and there has been 8.09 per cent Delhi hub under TOD norms and Smart City surge in profit after tax in 2014-15 as compared concept and Lake View Complex in Delhi for DDA, to previous year and the company has paid a Crafts Museum works at Varanasi and many more. dividend of 55 per cent to the government. In this Major projects that NBCC has successfully FY 2015-16, NBCC has been putting up bold completed in 2015-16 include NDRF works in Pune; performance with Q1 profit up by 31 per cent and National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurgaon; Q2 by 12.50 per cent.

National Intelligence Academy Building in Delhi; Public Toilet works under Swachh Bharat Mission You oversee policy and strategic decision-making in different states and others. at NBCC. Share your specific plans for the year 2016-17, and how do you see it impacting the Along with DDA, you are also planning the Iconic growth of the company?

Tower — with over 100 storeys — on lines of the Our focus in 2016-17 shall certainly be government's Smart Cities concept. How do you redevelopment and development of government see this being a landmark in Delhi, further adding properties. Further, the `5,000-crore East Kidwai to NBCC's growth as well?

Nagar project would substantially add up to the This is a very significant project. It will be company’s revenue in 2016-17. The second designed to frame and will be seen as an iconic important emphasis shall be the real estate landmark which will not only enhance the pride of segment. We shall be putting on sale quite a Delhi but also of the nation. It will directly impact number of real estate projects pan India and would NBCC’s growth because this will surely enhance expect earning of approximately `700 crore in the portfolio of brand NBCC substantially and in FY16-17. But, nevertheless, I would say that Project turn, will attract other states and authorities to Management Consultancy (PMC) segment would take NBCC on board for their prestigious projects still remain our main revenue earner in 2016-17 of this nature. also, since this segment is company’s core

ECOLOGIC

PHOTO CREDIT: NAINA.COM

of the island

The environmentally fragile and economically vulnerable islands of Andaman are typically home to some of the earth’s most exclusive life-forms and ecosystems

THE

islands of Andaman and Nicobar are known to harbour 27 genera, 32 species and four varieties of orchids. Although the number of species of orchids is not very high, it is important to consider that a significant number of these is endemic to the islands and not found elsewhere.

Orchids, widely known as mighty miniatures, are flowers with variety of patterns belonging to the family of Orchidaceae. It is one of the highly evolved, diverse and successful families of flowering

plants. It is usually found in tropical and subtropical regions with high humidity.

A very large variety of beautiful, abundant orchids is found, growing as terrestrial, epiphytic and mycoheterotrophic plants. Due to its richness, the orchid flora in the Indian subcontinent has long been a group of interest for many botanists right from the colonial period. It is the third largest family of flowering plants in India having 1,141 species in 168 genera. Orchids, declared as flagship species, grow luxuriantly in the Great Nicobar Island. They can be seen in a

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variety of habitats from seashore to the hilltops.

This shows that local conditions existing in the island are extremely suitable for the growth and survival of orchids, which can be exploited to commercially raise the orchids in the Great Nicobar Island and also maintain their gene pool in the biosphere reserve. Since the island was declared as a biosphere reserve only in 1989 and the settlements which were established before occupied only 15 per cent of the area, some of the species which were found previously may not exist today.

Plantation crops like coconut can also be used for growing orchids as intercrop, providing shade.

Other than orchids, a number of flowers, ferns, cycads, succulents, bamboo and ornamental medicinal plants grow naturally in forests of the pristine islands of Andaman and Nicobar.

the Western Ghats and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

CONSERVATION OF ORCHID GENETIC RESOURCES are three prominent methods of conservation of genetic resources of orchid species namely -Legislative measures, In-situ conservation in Sanctuaries /Reserves, Ex-situ conservation in Orchidaria /Botanic gardens by cultivation. As per laws, no wild orchids can be traded with and so, plants listed above cannot be allowed for export.

THERE

A few orchids of Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Arachne Bulbophyllum lepidium Cymbidium aloifolium Dendrobium secundum Eria andamanica Geodorum densiflorum Malleola andamanica Rhynchostylis retusa

A REVIEW OF THE ORCHID DIVERSITY Earth’s 100,000 islands are exceptionally rich reservoirs of biodiversity. Islands cover about three per cent of the world’s surface yet they typically support a substantial proportion of biodiversity and endemic species in particular.

Patterns of species diversity on islands have yielded significant insights into the evolutionary and ecological processes such as immigration, speciation and extinction.

Some of the regions with high orchid diversity within the country are the Himalayas, northeast India,

THE

BIOSPHERE RESERVE are versatile protected areas to preserve the genetic diversity in the representative ecosystem which are internationally recognized.

The first biosphere reserve of the world was established in 1979.

Presently, 564 biosphere reserves have been developed in 109 countries across the world. India has 17 biosphere reserves for conservation of endemic, endangered and vulnerable orchid species.

THESE

IN-VITRO CONSERVATION technique can be used for revitalisation of orchid germplasm affected by virus and viruslike diseases through apical meristem culture. As a matter of fact, orchids are first plants to be tissue cultured. There is need for studies on genetic stability to avoid the soma-clonal variants and slow growth cultures for longer storage duration to avoid frequent transfers.

THIS

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HOT STOP

The Airports Authority of India recently inaugurated a terminal at the Khajuraho Airport and is providing state of the art services that will help travellers have an easy access to the glory and splendour of the majestic temples at Khajuraho

IN

order to experience the architectural magnificence and brilliance of intricate carvings from the medieval era, you would definitely want to explore the temples of Khajuraho which have also been recognised as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Located in Chattarpur district of the land of great antiquity, Madhya Pradesh, the Khajuraho group of monuments has 20 Hindu and Jain temples that

were built during the Rajput Chandela dynasty.

It is around 600 km away from south-east Delhi and you may travel by train or take the National Highway route but for a quick trip, you can now make use of the increased air connectivity courtesy a revamped Khajuraho Airport.

Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju recently inaugurated a new terminal building at the airport in the presence of Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma, MP Chief Minister Shivraj

FLY HIGH EXOTICA [96] FEBRUARY 2016

Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju (centre), Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (right) and Chairman of Airports Authority of India RK Srivastava during the inauguration of the new terminal building

Singh Chouhan, Chairman of Airports Authority of India RK Srivastava and other leaders and officials.

The new terminal, constructed at a cost of `91 crore, is equipped with facilities of international standard. Made of glass and steel, the structure is equipped with state-of-the-art services and passenger facilities. They include, inline X-Ray baggage inspection system, escalators, flight information display system, CCTV for surveillance and other facilities. Energy efficient and eco-friendly material like low heat gain glass and energy efficient chillers are used in the terminal building.

The new facilities will also allow more flights to

commence their services and help bring in more visitors. Though it continues to handle domestic flights, it has a capacity of handling 100 international flights in future that will bring in more domestic and foreign tourists.

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S Raheja, Member (Planning) delivering the Vote of Thanks (left); Dignitaries lighting the ceremonial lamp on the occasion of inauguration of the new facility (right)

GET EXPLORING! Discover the ancient and rich archaeological site of the surviving 20 temples, built between 970 to 1030 CE, that are spread over six square kilometres. A few temples have been dedicated to Jain pantheon and the rest to Hindu deities — Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Hanuman and goddesses such as Devi Jagadambi. Built using sandstone, they also depict the traditional lifestyle of women in that period.

Facility of audio-guided tours are also available.

Every year in the month of February and March, Khajuraho sees a week-long dance festival celebrated with full grandeur. Witness classical dances from different Indian states including Bharatnatyam, Manipuri, Kuchipudi, Odisha, Kathak, Mohiniattam and Kathakali.

The Archaeological Museum in Khajuraho gives insight into the royal past of India. Though most of the temples here are well-preserved, some are partially in ruins. This museum was established to

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protect the ancient sculptures and remains of those temples.

Jain Museum, popular as Sahu Shantiprasad Jain Kala Sangrahalaya, is situated amid the Eastern Group of Khajuraho Temples. The museum is known for housing more than a hundred Jain sculptures.

The Khajuraho temple complex offers a mesmerising light and sound show every evening in both English and Hindi.

The hour-long show covers the history, philosophy and the art of sculpting of these temples.

MOTOWN PITCH

THE

Auto Expo this year begins with mixed feelings. In the last 60 days, the government has been mulling over some ideas which will surely impact the auto industry like never before. This might take the sheen off the positivity that was seen during the launch of Tata Nano or the jubilant mood of manufacturers to showcase their futuristic ideas and increase sales.

This year will see a jittery mood because of some new rules for manufacturers, the most important being the 2000 cc limit for diesel vehicles. However, it is being disputed. No matter what is decided, the underlying reasons for these rules will be that of the 20 worst polluted cities in the world, 13 are in India. Delhi, our very own capital, is the worst. Only hard and consequently harsh measures can be the answer to offer respite.

Tesla Model S 90D

For the last few decades though, well-known manufacturers have been experimenting with different systems to move vehicles. And the expo will showcase some of these models with the underlying theme of “mobility for all.�

Hybrid cars: the next big thing

HYBRID

Electric Vehicle (HEV) is one where Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) has to be there. The advantages of the Electric Motor Drive/ Assist are handy for accelerating, overtaking or going up steep hills. It allows a smaller engine to be more efficient. At slower speeds, like in the city, the electric motor alone is sufficient. Zero pollution!

The Auto Expo 2016 may lack some sheen due to stringent pollution norms that are compelling manufacturers to change tack but options are limited. Time to make hybrids a viable option, suggests H KISHIE SINGH Another advantage is the Stop/ Shut Off/ Start in the city traffic. When the car comes to a halt, at a red light for example, the engine automatically shuts off. No energy wasted while idling. The light turns green, press the accelerator, the car moves off battery power, silent, smooth and no pollution.

Regenerative braking is another advantage of the HEV. To slow down, the electric motor applies resistance to the drive train and the wheels slow down. However, wheels continue to rotate and turn the motor which now functions as a generator, converting energy, which would be wasted during coasting or braking, into electricity.

This charge will be stored until required by the electric motor.

Actually, The Hybrid Electric Vehicle is not a new concept. In 1901, Ferdinand Porsche, the man who gave us the People’s Car ( Volkswagen!) had developed the Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid, the first petrol-electric automobile in the world. He was a genius, a visionary and a man well ahead of his time to anticipate a possible crisis. At the turn of the last century, there was no shortage of fossil fuels and the frightening word “pollution” was not part of our vocabulary. There was no reason for a hybrid vehicle. Expectedly, the idea was shelved as too futuristic.

It was almost a century later that Toyota introduced the Prius in Japan in 1997. The Honda Insight followed in 1999.

The step forward from the hybrid was the Tesla, propelled by a lithium-ion battery. Launched in 2008, the Tesla Model S was hailed as the world’s first premium electric sedan. It was the pinnacle

HIGH-TECH SOFTWARE Exorbitantly priced cars are not enticing premium car owners anymore. The latest fad is seeking luxury in the form of jazzed up software for cars. Brands like Mercedes, Audi and BMW are adding software engineers to their staff due to this new found craze while Ford Motor and General Motors are pushing advanced semiautonomous driving functions o BMW has created a 200-strong digital innovation hub in Chicago, hiring software engineers who previously worked for Nokia, to get ahead in assistance systems and software applications. It’s a typical example of a traditional metal-bashing carmaker hiring mobile phone and software experts. o The most sought after technology is going to be the smartphone connectivity and advanced driver assistance systems like automated braking and sophisticated cruise control. o BMW's Chicago team recently unveiled "Bumper Detect", a new system which uses BMW's onboard camera and sensors to photograph potential thieves or vandals. The feature lets your car click the pictures of the vehicle which may have put a dent on it and send it to your phone.

of perfection of a four-door sedan. A seven-seater with a huge storage. The flat battery below the cabin is part of the chassis. This lowers the centre of gravity for outstanding road holding and cornering.

The battery, alas, holds a charge for only about 400 km. This means that you can’t do Chandigarh-Delhi and back home in one charge. There has to be a charging station somewhere along the way. That is what a lithium-ion is good for.

Tesla Motors was founded in 2003 in Silicon Valley by engineers who wanted to prove that electric cars could be better than gasoline-powered ones. That remains to be seen. The Tesla is powered by an AC induction motor which gives the car amazing performance, 0-100 kmph in 3.2 seconds! The fastest four-door sedan in production. In 2013, the Model S was the Car of the Year and the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave it a five- star safety rating.

A little confusing this. Are we looking for safety standards or non-polluting vehicles? And where did Tesla come from? Tesla Motors is named after Nikola Tesla who patented the AC induction motor in 1883. Tesla, like Porsche, was way ahead of his time but his time has come. Or has it?

Plug-in hybrids

INSTEAD

of petrol/diesel pumps along the highways, charging stations will have to be built at existing stops, hubs and shopping spaces. Special bays will have to be created to park cars, electric cables will have to be laid and a continuous supply of electricity ensured.

The batteries must have the capacity for a quick-charge. A driver from Delhi to Chandigarh will not wait two hours in Karnal waiting to recharge. That defeats the purpose of a super-fast highway.

All this means an additional expense for the government and the car manufacturer plus the continuing expense of maintenance of the charging station.

Tesla does have a Supercharger which can give the car battery a half-charge in 20 minutes. This translates into additional costs. And the moot point, will a half charge get the driver home?

Then there is the question of the lithium-ion batteries. Like all high-tech batteries, it will contribute to toxic waste. A lithium-ion battery could be the size of a mattress.

EXOTICA [102] FEBRUARY 2016

Tesla Model X

In the UK, the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership showed that more CO2 emissions were recorded during the production of hybrid and electric vehicles than traditional gasoline vehicles. The high tech battery packs and the second motor share the blame for this.

Whether hybrid or electric, both need electricity to charge the battery. Chances are that the electricity comes from a thermal power plant fired by coal, a fossil fuel. So the Tesla won’t pollute but it will continue to deplete the planet of its natural resource.

Auto Expo 2016 threatens with 80 new vehicle launches. How many will be internal combustion engines, how many hybrid or electric? All vehicles, in any of these categories, will contribute to environmental pollution and degradation. The answer for zero emissions with a sustainable energy source that will last the human race for perpetuity is wind power and solar power.

Most important, both are free. But both are too experimental at this stage.

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Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid

Honda Fit

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FRIDAY DRESSING

DAPPER AS EVER!

3

2 1

Give your wardrobe a tweak and glam up your style as you head for a work meeting on a sunny day

[1] MY SKIRT: A-line skirt in canvas with box pleats and side pockets from Bhane.

Price: `1,900 [2] GENES- LECOANET HEMANT SLEEVELESS DRESS: Inspired from the iconic sheath dress favoured

by Jackie O, this new interpretation translates into a comfy sheath with a contrasting round neckline.

Price: `8,699 [3] STANDARD ROUND COLLAR SHIRT: The classic slim fit button down shirt with a round collar.

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[4] KIMONO JACKET: A blue new style in indigo denim, the kimono jacket accentuates all your basics with comfy ease.

Price: `2,900 [5] STANDARD KHAKIS: Pants that fit exceedingly well, the slim fit khakis are created to precision.

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WELLNESS

SEEK YOUR SENSES Unwind in ultimate luxury at the newly opened Jiva Spa at Taj Palace Hotel for some downtime

THE

soothing ambience of Jiva Spa at Taj Palace Hotel brings two of its signature experiences to the capital, ‘Vellana’ therapy and the Salt room. Vellana has been introduced for the first time in north India at the Taj Palace.

It is an hour long rejuvenating experience wherein the therapist rolls the Velan, a rolling pin over the entire body touching on various muscles and pressure points, instantly releasing tension. It helps in improving blood circulation leading to better cellular function. The linen used in the massage room is made of hand combed organic cotton ensuring there are no skin allergies.

The salt room is where you can simply sit and breathe in the salt infused air. The halogenerator churns the micro particles of salt clearing the airwaves and is very beneficial for smokers, people suffering from bronchitis or asthma. The entire room is filled with salt which has been imported from places as far as Europe,

Gujarat and Himalayan region. The translucent bricks have been imported from Pakistan.

Spread over a sprawling 13,000 square feet, Jiva spa has a couple spa suite, yoga studio, a halotherapy room, a unisex salon and a gymnasium.

There are also separate wet rooms for men and women with a six bencher vitality pool. The place also has a unisex salon with dedicated professionals and a fitness area including a gymnasium and yoga studio.

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LET ’S GO

Actor PURAB KOHLI likes to describe himself as a tree hugger and a travel junkie. He discloses details about his passion for adventure to SHRABASTI MALLIK

‘India’s the biggest adventure‘ Is there a certain discipline that you follow when you travel?

Oh gosh! No. That kills the thrill. The only discipline to follow is to expect anything. Except if you are packing for a planned holiday.

How do you travel then?

I just pick up my bags and leave. Of course, I make sure that I have a substantial amount of money (laughs).

Most of the time I end up landing at strange places.

Which place do you think is best suited for adventure?

India’s the biggest adventure ever. Just the sheer amount of things to see and do are endless. I have spent some good eight years travelling the length and breadth of the country for a travel show that I hosted. I’ve had the luck to take numerous trips on buses and trains, and there is so much that I’m yet to see.

Favourite destination in the country.

I am in awe of the entire Himalayan range. It is my favourite — the entire belt, including Nepal.

What is it about adventure that excites you?

Truthfully, it makes me feel human

again. Be it trekking the mountains or being in the sky or deep in the ocean — it makes me feel good about everything around me. It is during that time when you realise how insignificant you are in front of nature.

Tell us about your adventures.

Life mein ek bar toh skydiving karni chahiye (you should skydive at least once in your lifetime). There is a rush that you feel and the sense of freedom that you get — with the parachute and all — is unparallel. Yes, you do fear that the parachute would not open at the right time but that apart, it is an experience.

I enjoy deep-sea diving as well because it calms me down. When you are fathoms below the water surface, it is a lot like being in space. You reach a state of equilibrium where you neither float or sink. A position where you can spin around and see a school of fish swimming over your shoulders.

What are the deep-sea diving locations that you’ve explored?

The Andamans, mostly in the Similan Islands. I also did that in Bali. I’ve snorkelled in the Mediterranean.

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ART SPOT

IT

was English poet and playwright Robert Browning who said that “our aspirations are our possibilities.” The Universe brings to you the opportunities when you direct your focus to your dreams. When we speak of aspirations, we often describe it as an endless journey where one enters a spiral that would often lead to an individual’s progress.

Many have penned those aspirations to inspire humanity to move forth and never give up but to display them is quite a task. Artist Aarti Zaveri managed to do that and bag appreciation for her installation by the viewers at the India Art Festival held in Delhi.

She created spirals using a 25-feet long thick metal sheet that was twisted and aluminum rods were later welded on to it which also stabilises the movement of the installation. Feet-shaped cutouts had been placed with inspiring messages and drawings from various other artists and visitors.

“I thought about aspirations visually which we create and engage with throughout our lives. As an artist, I thought it would look like a spiral as it’s not something linear and has it’s ups and downs, there will be also movement as well as change. It is a movable installation with forward moving footsteps that are strong as we all have intense aspirations towards what we want to do,” shares Zaveri.

She has been painting and working on installations since long but for the last six months, she has only been concentrating on the latter.

“I’ve been travelling and did one installation project in an architect college of Baroda followed by another in Ahmedabad last month. I also feel that installations are more creative and multidimensional,” she says

PHOTO: SANJEEV KUMAR

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AARTI ZAVERI’S inspiring installation ‘Spiralling Aspirations’ at the India Art Festival conveys every individual’s unending engagement with what they aim for.

By RUPINDER KAUR

“You cannot separate art from nature and to create art out of it is a brilliant idea. We’ve all been taught to love and respect nature. It isn’t difficult art.

You come across an idea and you work on it. If the common folk are made aware of this, they will definitely view nature from a different perspective and respect it more,” says the artist.

She plans to work on a project on the banks of Ganges and has also received a fellowship from the Ministry of Culture.

The artist laments the lack of distinguished art fairs and how the young artists in India don’t get exposure or the required equipment to work or paint. “There are not many good art fairs happening yet in India. Compared to global art fairs, the ones held here are still very inferior. There are less opportunities for the new artists but still many galleries are encouraging. Our artwork is still underrated which nobody in the world can compete with,” Zaveri tells us.

Inspiration can come from “anywhere”, she says

while sharing details about her last project called Global Nomadic Art Project where 31 artists, from both India and abroad, moved around Gujarat and picked an area to work in.

“We worked in Velavadar which is truly an artist’s paradise and is still untouched with its salty backwaters. We did nature art installations which would eventually vanish into nature with time. It is a new concept here,” Zaveri explains.

The glistening cracked salt flats are marked with foot prints followed by a miniature hay structure, done by an European artist, that resembles a hut. A mud land has patterns created using mud balls and then again we see some spirals. A few Korean artists express their thoughts through writings on the mud.

and further speaks of a place named Shukrawari in Baroda where there is a two-three km stretch of a flea market with sellers selling old wares. “You’ll see many artists flock the market for inspiration.”

Even the chaos of the city holds something positive for her. “I try to listen to the sound of nature in that mayhem. When I step out for a walk in the evening, you hear the birds chirping away animatedly. I tell people to stop for a moment and enjoy. Don’t rush to reach the destination but relish the process,” she signs off.

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BLITHESPIRIT Magandeep Singh Sommelier

F Drink k FOR TWO

‘Tis the month of love so get set to paint the town red, or maybe pink for a change

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F k

ebruary is the month to celebrate commercial love; unconditional love can be celebrated anytime. But it is still good to mark an occasion to declare your love out in the open, no matter how contrary to nature it may sound.

In the same vein, pink is somehow seen as the colour of young, fresh love.

Red is for old schoolers perhaps. And if you wish to fall back on either of these shades to paint your evening a certain shade of amour, here are some drink options to appoint at your tables.

ROSÉ WINE From the famous Brangelina brand made in the south of France to the idea of “bros bonding over rosé” (a concept “coolly” known as Brosé), pink is more than the colour of love. In fact, it’s the new black. So stock up and uncork generously. There has never been a situation where something could be perceived to be lovey-dovey and yet manly at the same time. The best rosé wine is a fresh one; fizzy or still, try something from one of our reputed Indian winemakers.

CAMPARI/ APEROL These are wine-based aromatised aperitifs and best enjoyed with soda (or lemonade).

Given their red colour, when a mixer is added, the colour dilutes to a deep pink hue. Definitely attractive and good to taste.

ANGOSTURA BITTERS This is a rare ingredient for the home bar and more found in the mixologists’ stash.

Given how bitter it is, less than a dash is enough to do the job, so one small bottle can last a really long time. A neat trick is to put a few drops in an empty glass, roll it around and then throw it away.

Anything that you pour into this glass next will acquire a subtle pink tinge. As for the bitterness, it shows up more as a gentle aftertaste, thus making the drink

seem more complex, rich and lasting.

Pink Gin was a famous cocktail made in this manner. Maybe it’s time to revive it.

RED WINE If the winter chill can still be mildly felt, then nothing like a good hearty red to warm the heart’s embers.

From Italian Barolo to Australian Barossa Shiraz, Chilean Cabernet to Argentinian Malbec, the options are many and cover all pocket sensibilities.

Decant it before serving and the wine will truly sing with your supper.

PORT Few wines can match a good Port in richness and affability. Serve it with a gooey chocolate dessert or just by itself, slightly cooled and in small glasses — the perfect nightcap! Quick caveat: plonk that’s made in India and labelled port is to be utterly avoided; this imitation swill is the shame of our winemaking industry and not only should it be steered clear of but also proactively shunned. There was talk of pink port too but didn’t catch on. If you make a Port pick-me-up (by adding some soda to Port) then you will get your desired pink hue.

PINK SANGRIA You’ve had it mostly red, sometimes white, and this year, you can pop the question over some pink one. Trouble is she may be more taken by the pink Sangria than your, well, never mind. It’s easy to concoct, just replace the red wine with pink and choose fruits you would like to see visibly floating in your drink. Add some sugar, some vodka (or gin) to ensure potency, and you are ready for love.

THE RED FRUITS Not everything needs to be tinged with alcohol even though it certainly helps. From grenadine to grapefruit and the entire range of berries (strawberry, raspberry, cranberry) they are all brilliant for fruity.

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FOODFACTS ANJALI MUKERJEE India’s leading nutritionist, synonymous with health and wellbeing. Researcher, columnist, Miss India consultant, author, founder and director of Health Total

BEGIN

Do not wish away vague symptoms like back pain, muscle ache, low energy, bloatedness, constipation, mild depression, dry skin, unexplained weight gain and hair loss. It’s time to make changes in your daily diet regime

with me — It’s a journey, not a destination. It’s about a process, not an outcome. It’s about being “alive”, not just living. What might it be like if you truly felt “vibrant” and “alive” not just occasionally but throughout your life — decade after decade?

Perhaps the catalyst that propels most of us towards healthy living is a major one, like the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness, or as minor as the passing remark of a stranger. Nevertheless, when the right conditions prevail, seeds of change germinate in all of us sooner or later and we prepare ourselves for the road to health. Once you have made the choice to move in the direction of optimum health and vitality, you will begin to feel

in control of your life and take responsibility for your own health and healing.

Good health can be achieved by each and every one of us. And the means to achieve this lies within you rather than in global remedies. This is because our body has self-healing powers or “prana” or “bioenergy.” All that we need to do is to support the activity of this energy system by correcting our eating and living habits. As we continue to grow in technology, we create conditions that systematically interfere with our state of health.

We use chemical fertilisers to increase yield, we use pesticides to increase the shelf life of our fresh produce. We use food additives to increase the shelf life of our packaged products. In our pursuit to improve the shelf life of edible products, we are

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in turn reducing our own shelf life! The net result is that we suffer more from bad eating and living habits than from actual disease. Today we suffer more from lifestyle diseases like diabetes, cardio vascular disease and cancer, rather than from germ-based diseases like cholera and typhoid. How should we take charge of our health? First, listen to your body. Many people drag their way through life. They complain of vague symptoms like back pain, muscles ache, low energy, bloatedness especially around abdominal region,

constipation, mild depression, dry skin, unexplained weight gain and hair loss. They just don’t feel good. But instead of listening to their body’s wisdom, they just pop a pill and “wish” it away. Your body is screaming to be heard. Take time out to listen to your body. Minor changes in your diet can help make major changes in your health.

Change your diet: To begin with, stop eating white flour. That includes rumali roti, naan, white bread and all other foods made from maida. It borrows more nutrients from your body in order to get metabolised. Switch to whole wheat bread instead of white bread, brown rice instead of white rice, soya

milk instead of whole milk. Snack on sprouts, roasted whole chana instead of farsan and fried snacks. Eat whole fruits instead of juice concentrates. Eat whole grains like jowar, bajri, naachini and whole pluses.

Detoxify regularly: Inner cleansing or detoxification is a process of clearing toxins from the body, thereby cleansing it of mucus and congestion. It makes you feel energised, light and revitalised. It is important as an overall lifestyle and needs specific dietary changes. It is an important tool in treating obesity, as obesity is always associated with toxicity. Almost everyone needs to detoxify from time to time. Some of us who lead a life of excesses, and those who eat excessively at night, need to detox more frequently (twice a year). Others with toxicity symptoms like headaches, congestion, backaches, digestive problems, allergies will benefit greatly by detoxification.

Consume antioxidants. Free radicals are known to accelerate the ageing process. Antioxidants like vitamin E, C, A, selenium, bioflavinoids and polyphenols are known to douse free radical activity and slow down the ageing process. Today’s modern man eating “civilised

food” is overfed and unnourished. He needs to consume antioxidants.

Get in shape: Eat food with a new approach.

Look at its nutrient density rather than its caloric value. For example, almonds, pumpkin seeds and peanuts, though rich in calories, contain beneficial oils and a full range of nutrients that improve your health. They do not cause weight gain if eaten in moderation. While eating less fat is good, eating oil-free diets may deprive your body of fat-soluble vitamins and also affect your menstrual cycle. Eating less sugar is beneficial but consuming large quantities of artificially sweetened dessert will cause more toxic overload in the body. By learning to make the right food choices, coupled with a 40-minute brisk walk, we can begin a healing process unlike any other. Most diseases are a result of toxic overload. When you overeat denatured foods, which are improperly prepared, over-fried, boiled to death, refried, containing artificial flavours and preservatives, your body gets filled with toxic wastes and all this upsets your digestion.

In spite of being aware of this, abstaining from such food is unpleasant for most people. When you begin eating healthily, drink vegetable juices, eat freshly prepared food and snack on nuts, seeds, fruits and juices, you will develop a healthy immune

system, which can add meaningful years to your life and help delay the ageing process.

Control stress: It begins with the mind. A youthful state has more to do with what’s going on in your mind than with what’s going on in your body. Each one of us participates consciously or unconsciously in creating our own illnesses. Your attitude towards life shapes your health and looks.

Some people remain calm and collected under most situations. Stress has little impact on the physical and mental health of such people.

There are others who get irritated over small issues like traffic jams, loud music, delayed breakfasts, waiting for appointments and so on.

Ordinary day to day events seem to be very stressful to such individuals. They are more prone to stress-related conditions like high blood pressure, migraine, eczema, insomnia, backache, muscle pain, etc.

Stress eventually wears out the body.

The role of relationships in health: Try to develop loving relationships with your family, friends, spouse, pets — anyone! Love is rejuvenating. It makes life meaningful. It has

healing energy. It is a powerful stimulant to the immune system. People who bond well with family and friends feel contented and are better equipped to fight disease. The act of giving and receiving love acts as a shield from the stressors of life and prevents needless ageing. A loving relationship with anyone — even plants and pets is good for longevity and youthfulness.

Stop negative thinking: Negative thoughts make you take negative action, which bring about negative reactions from others. This increases stress in your life. Negative thinking can make you depressed and look old. Every time you become negative, consciously shift your thoughts. Alternatively go for a walk on the beach or in a garden or tend to your plants at home.

Connect with nature. It helps dissolve negativity.

Stop smoking: Stub out that cigarette! This is probably the single best thing you can do to stay young and healthy.

They say, that middle age is when your age starts to show around the middle! Why not have a flat belly and stay young for as long as you wish to!

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GURUSPEAK

THE Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Spiritual Guru

Pause for a moment in life and learn the mantra for true bliss which comes from sparing quality time for the Divine

Divine has given you all the small pleasures in the world but has kept bliss to Himself. To achieve the highest state of bliss, you have to go to Him and Him alone. Don’t be too smart and try to fool Him. Most of your prayers and rituals are just attempts to trick the Divine. You try to give the least and get the maximum out of the Him and He knows. He's an astute businessman and will trick you even more. If you go underneath the carpet, He will go underneath the floor.

Be sincere in your attempts. What type of time do you give the Divine? Usually you give the time that is leftover, when you have nothing else to do, when no guests are coming, there are no parties to go to, no nice movies to watch, no weddings to attend.

Give quality time to the Divine and it will be rewarded. If your prayers are not answered, it is because you have never made an effort to give Him quality time.

Suppose you go to God, get a boon and walk away. When your intention is only to get gain something for your own self, then you are in a hurry. An individual who knows he owns God is not in a rush for anything. He or she will be filled with infinite patience. Your hurry to gain something throws you off balance and makes you small.

Wait for the eternal and have infinite patience. Then you will realise God belongs to you. Either through awareness or practice, you reach the same spot. Divinity belongs to you. It's not like shopping at the supermarket in a hurry and rushing back home. To develop patience, observe the thoughts and feelings and don’t regret them.

TIME TO

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When you know you are part of the divine plan, you stop demanding. Then you know everything is being done for you. You are taken care of. Usually we do it the other way: we hurry the mind and are slow in our actions. Impatience means hurrying the mind; lethargy means slowness in action.

Patience in mind and dynamism in action is the right formula.

The Divine does not test you. Testing is part of ignorance. Who will conduct that test then?

The one who does not know will, isn't it? God knows your capacity, so why does he have to test you? Then, why the misery? It is to bring out thithiksha, or forbearance, in you. And forbearance

can be increased by prayerful surrender or vigorous challenge for patience.

Attachments cause feverishness which takes away peace of mind. Then you are in pieces and fall prey to misery. Before you get scattered too much, gather yourself and rid your breath of the feverishness through surrender and sadhana. Unfortunately, most people do not notice this until it is too late.

When someone is drowning in the ocean of attachments, surrender is the life jacket they can put on and wait for the rescue team. Without fighting the attachments, observe the feverishness and drift to the cool place of silence within. Your first step in this direction is directing your attachment to the knowledge and the Divine. Your non-attachment to the mundane is your charm. Your attachment to the Divine is your beauty. www.artofliving.org

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FITNESS

DIABETES

Bharat Thakur is a renowned yoga guru and founder of Artistic Yoga

Living a fast-paced life brings incidences of health problems and among these is diabetes. With a proper balance of diet, exercise and meditation you can beat diabetes

is on the increase with approximately 382 million sufferers worldwide and 62 million in India. It's a lifestyle disease that is linked to genetic inheritance but also with obesity and lack of physical exercise. So how can yoga help?

To break it down, when you eat, the body turns carbohydrates into sugar, or glucose. Simultaneously, your pancreas releases a hormone, insulin, which allows your body cells to store this glucose. This is then released as energy in the body. If the pancreas can’t produce enough insulin, body cells can’t store glucose and sugar levels rise above 80-120mg in the blood.

The result is that the body’s cells starve from the lack of glucose and, if left untreated, the high level of “blood sugar” can damage eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and cause high blood pressure and obesity.

There are two types of diabetes - Type 1 makes up 10 per cent of diabetics in which the body produces little or no insulin and Type 2 in which less insulin is produced. Type 2 accounts for 90 per cent of diabetics and occurs in adults at age 35-40. Medical Science has not yet found a cure for diabetes and symptoms are managed through medication (or insulin injections for type1), a controlled diet and exercise.

Yoga, on the other hand, has a different approach to diabetes. The 5,000 year-old science taps the body’s regenerative ability looking at it as a psychosomatic disease that affects the mind-body matrix and can be treated at all levels, if not cured altogether.

There are specific asanas (postures) which massage and exert gentle pressure on the pancreas and abdominal organs, improving function of pancreas and the production of insulin. Bandhas (neuro-muscular locks) help to re-balance the entire endocrine (hormonal) system.

Here are some yoga exercises that can help you relax and improve the functioning of your kidney. These should be done under supervision of a teacher.

how to manage

BHRAMARI PRANAYAMA o Sit in padmasana (lotus posture) or cross-legged, back straight o Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths o Close your ears with your thumbs, with fingers resting at your head. o Inhale deeply to a count of 5 o Exhale with a humming sound o Repeat 3-5 times.

BENEFITS: o Eases constricted blood vessels o Develops focus and concentration o Relaxes the vocal chords

ARDHA MATSYENDRASANA o Sit with your back straight and your legs stretched out in front of you o Bend the left knee and place it under the right leg, with the foot close to the right buttock o Bend the right knee and place the right leg across the left knee. o With your left hand, lock the right knee in place o Place the right arm behind the back o Now twist the back o Hold for 10-30 seconds BENEFITS: o Helps in the production of insulin. o Helps digestive ailments o Increases flexibility

YOGA MUDRASANA o Sit in padmasana (lotus posture) or ardha padmasana (half lotus posture) o Close your eyes, breathe in deeply and exhale o Take both arms behind your back holding one wrist with other hand o Inhale and then, exhaling slowly bend forward, taking your forehead towards the floor o Hold for 10-30 seconds, breathing normally and relaxing the body o Inhale deeply as you return to the starting position o Repeat 2-3 times BENEFITS: o Massages the internal organs, including pancreas o Massages the abdominal area and helps indigestion

MERUDANDASANA o Lie on your back, arms outstretched. o Place your right foot on your left knee. o Inhale, and then exhale while dropping your right knee to the left towards the floor. o Face turned in the opposite direction. o Hold for 10-30 seconds, breathing normally o Repeat the other side.

BENEFITS o Puts gentle pressure on the pancreas and stimulates the production of insulin. o Helps with spinal flexibility o Stretches the sciatic nerve, helps sciatic pain SHAVASANA o Lie flat on your back with legs slightly apart, arms relaxed by the sides, a little away from the body with your palms facing up o Close your eyes and relax o As you breathe in, feel the stomach rise and chest expand o As you breathe out, feel the chest and stomach fall o Begin a countdown of breaths, starting at 11 BENEFITS: o Relaxes the entire body, removing physical and mental tiredness o Develops awareness of the body and mind

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NUMBERGAME Sanjay Jumaani Numerologist

COUNT YOUR FATE

NUMBER 1 (Ruled by Sun, people born on the 1st, 10th, 19th and 28th) You might be high on energy during the start of the fortnight which might help you attain difficult tasks with ease. Avoid getting overconfident about monetary matters. The romantic aspect of life might keep you busy during the later part of the month. Try to take the next step ahead in your relationship.

NUMBER 4 (Ruled by Uranus, people born on the 4th, 13th, 22nd and 31st) Organising yourself with respect to your financial matters as well as your work priorities in life might be on your agenda.

People in the creative field might progress if they plan out their administrative responsibilities in a way that if helps them take their ideas ahead. You might see your dreams being fulfilled.

NUMBER 7 (Ruled by Neptune, people born on the 7th, 16th and 25th) Be positive as far as work progress is concerned. There might be issues that need your attention on the professional front. Resolve such things at the earliest or they might take a bigger shape in the end.

Relationships on a personal level might need to be handled with more tact and practicality.

NUMBER 2 (Ruled by Moon, people born on the 2nd, 11th, 20th and 29th) Try to spend as much time as possible with your near and dear ones. You might be so occupied with work later that it might be impossible devote time for your personal relationships.

Nevertheless, take the opportunity of being engrossed in work positively as it might lead to better future prospects.

NUMBER 5 (Ruled by Mercury, people born on the 5th, 14th and 23rd) Be on the lookout for an important opportunity coming your way in the first quarter. This might be the right time to avail the fruits of your sincerity and hard work to propel the speed at which you plan to achieve your targets. Financial matters might also get better and domestic troubles might end.

NUMBER 8 (Ruled by Saturn, people born on the 8th, 17th and 26th) Frustrations of the past seem to end during the first fortnight leaving you with bright ideas.

Professionally, the month would go by smoothly, whereas there is a lot of activity indicated on the personal front. Money matters might need attention and you might also need to consider alternative ways to earn.

NUMBER 3 (Ruled by Jupiter, people born on the 3rd, 12th, 21st and 30th) Try to be vocal about your insecurities and confusion, especially if they exist within intimate relationships. This might help you to probably find solutions to situations. Relations with your colleagues at work might improve and enhance your optimism. Seniors might be appreciative of your efforts.

NUMBER 6 (Ruled by Venus, people born on the 6th, 15th and 24th) Your efforts to change the way you work and improve your financial condition fall in place.

Loved ones might be critical about your lack of consistency as far as certain important issues are concerned. Try to leave things as they are and take them up when you are in a more positive state of mind.

NUMBER 9 (Ruled by Mars, people born on the 9th, 18th and 27th) Chances of hearing good news as far as career progression or studies abroad is concerned might seem high this first quarter for students as well as professionals. People planning to start their business might be able to finalise their plans and also arrange the finances for the same.

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AT L E I S U R E BOOKWORM SHAMMI KAPOOR: THE GAME CHANGER,

BY RAUF AHMED

UDAIPUR WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL

SHAMMI

Kapoor, the charming greeneyed ‘junglee’ of Bollywood, was an absolute original, who redefined the profile of the Hindi film hero in the late ’50s and cast him in a unique, highly individualistic mould. He was a far cry from the selfrighteous “hero” of the time. He broke the existing rules, made his own.

Kapoor became the first hero to break into the formidable cordon of the Big Three of the time: Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand, who had dominated the scene unchallenged for more than a decade. To be released this month, we look forth to Rauf Ahmed’s inspirational tale of Kapoor’s indomitable spirit.

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— the Venice of the East — will come alive with the first edition of India's first World Music Festival. Conceptualised and produced by SEHER, the fest will take place on February 13 and 14, 2016 at Fatehsagar Paal and Railway Training Institute Ground. This city-wide, multi-venue, music festival, cutting across several genres of music, will bring together more than 100 global artistes and ensembles from over 12 countries including Spain, Ghana, Venezuela, Italy, France and India. The festival also marks the celebrations of 60 years of the diplomatic relations between Spain and India.

The line-up includes interesting performances by artistes including Carminho, a Fado singer from Portugal, French composer Mathias Duplessy, who will collaborate with outstanding Rajasthani vocalist Mukhtiyar Ali, and many others.

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KALA GHODA ARTS FESTIVAL is again time to explore the brilliant amalgamation of diverse art forms encompassing art, music, dance, theatre and much more at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival which will be held from February 6 to 17, 2016 (Extended by three days at Cross Maidan for Make In India Festival) in the Kala Ghoda area in South Mumbai.

Known for quirky and vivid art installations and performances, you would also love to savour the delish organic fare.

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WORLD SUFI SPIRIT FESTIVAL

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quest to connect with oneself and the creator by embarking on a musical journey is what this festival offers. The prestigious sites of the Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur (February 26-27) and the Ahhichatragarh Fort in Nagaur (February 22-24) open their doors to this extraordinary voyage. The fest will feature both homegrown and foreign artistes like master of Robab Daud Khan Sadozai from Afghanistan, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan with his sons Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan, Madan Gopal Singh and many more.

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SIGNOFF

By RINKU GHOSH

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ART MART

PHOTOS: PANKAJ KUMAR

European style art village, complete with courtyard cafes, bench sitouts around installations, herbarium, talks, workshops and live music performances, lazy layabouts..... art festivals in Delhi have progressed from the staid and stiff cocoon clubs they used to be.

And though Mumbai has the definitive Kala Ghoda and many cities nowadays are associated with festivals in one or the other discipline, Delhi is host to several festivals at once the whole of spring. So it is quite a task to lend a different flavour to each and yet attract and engage the masses with a slew of interactive experiences.

The turnout at the just concluded India Art Fair was just as mammoth as the India Art Festival though both were about a fortnight apart. The art festival was more about affordable art and smaller galleries while the India Art Fair, partenered by none other than BMW, had a line-up of topline European and Indian galleries with the masters displayed liberally.

But what struck us at both were the new ideas of amalgamating all kinds of media in the artwork rather than just the traditional canvas. Perhaps the digital revolution has had an impact on pushing the frontiers of creativity from the uni-dimensional to the multi-dimensional.

The messaging was rather strong too at the India Art Fair, from political too personal, be it with a painting made of pulled out cassette tapes, a collection of women’s fanciful shoes reproduced with blades and pins, hurtful and egoistic, or our native

carpet weaves being used to create a mesh of a russet womb, the source of all creativity and selfintrospection. While the masters held their own, we were told it was the young artists who were silently revolutionising the market with their innovation and specific ideas than abstracts. The youth engagement was also the reason why many chose to abandon their cool hangouts and mall spaces to the pursuit of art for art’s sake over the weekend. One of them actually created a vine by photographing a part of all artworks.

Rajendra, India Art Festival Director, stressed the need for organising more participatory art fairs. China, he said, had around 32 per cent share of the world art and antique market while we just have one per cent. This was largely because of the poor infrastructure of selling art and lack of auction houses. The US, which holds the second biggest pie of the art market, had managed to market many isms like classicism, expressionism, post-modernism and abstractism. “Indians were doing abstract art in the 16th and 17th centuries. We experienced our early classical period in the third century BC. We don’t really have art historians who would help market it,” he told us.

Which is why the galloping footfalls at the art fair offer a ray of light. Even if the backdrops were often used for selfie moments and boast value. At least some minds opened up in the process.

EXOTICA

RNI NO. DELENG/2006/18084 POSTAL REGN. NO. DL (C)-01/1151/2016-2018 Posted at NDPSO on 10th, 11th & 12th of same month Published on 30th of Advance Month

VOL 10 NO 3 FEBRUARY 2016