talk Volume 1 | Issue 8 | October 4, 2012 | Rs 10
the intelligent bangalorean’s must-read weekly
AYYOTOONS Anna Hazare in phools paradise 5
ukh R h a . h m S i a g l n c i c s a lex eclip p , i t n l a u h rK dm a n l a u p s r o a ll tp o 6-18 s 1 d o s I e m R g N pa ’s g r d n a o i t o s s a w e h olly ativ sy c B n u s b e e h e g t r r e of oa INDEPENDENCE m h n e r w u n , t a r e i r m l m e a S Elders build a plush and Aa endra on th retirement village 8 av h g a R MK GADGETS Why you shouldn’t drool over iPhone 5 13
ONLY HERE New series on self-defence for women 27
Talk, the magazine you just can’t miss. At your doorstep every week. Ask your news vendor or call 95388 92600
talk|4 oct 2012|talkmag.in
team talk
Surrogacy story an eye-opener Your cover story Baby Bazaar (Issue 7), on the booming surrogacy business in Bangalore, was a revelation of sorts. Not only was the story informative and wellresearched, but it also handled the sensitive topic well. I would like to see more eye-openers like this in future editions of Talk. For a tabloid that is only a few months old, the work you have managed to do is tremendous. Good job, I have to say. Varsha Suresh, by email Varied content I couldn’t stop myself from reading the latest issue of Talk. It was gratifying to see so much varied and authentic content packed into just one edition. The cover story on surrogate mothers revealed a wonderful development in Bangalore. Thank you for enlightening me on how the city is becoming a hub for bringing happiness to couples who are struggling to make their family
complete. Your interview with A R Vasavi about farmer suicides too was excellent. Agriculture is the backbone of India, but city folk tend to close their eyes to the dark realities of the Indian farm sector. I congratulate Sandra Fernandes for offering a glimpse into the world of RJs and the problems they sometimes face from their own fans. I also like ‘Keywords’ , which describes the hidden histories of words we commonly use. Bibek Kumar by email Refreshing perspective I like the layout of the magazine. It is easy on the eye. It is less messy than most other publications. The contents are different from what the regular publications offer, and the stories come with a refreshing perspective. However, I feel the cover page though can do without the advertisement. Overall, it is a
really nice size that you can roll up and read on the go. Vivek Madan, Whitefield Needs more pep No doubt, Talk is a richly produced and interesting weekly. I feel you need to add more pep into its pages. I am not sure what the contemporary English readers expect from a weekly magazine, and I’m willing to admit I may be wrong too. All the best to your team, anyway. N S Shankar Writer and film director, Bangalore How do we get Talk? We tried a lot to to get Talk, but did'nt have any success. We will look out again this weekend. We wish you all the best in the new challenge you have undertaken... a tough one! Paul D’Souza, Whitefield (Please call 8884411716 or 95388 92600, and our circulation department will supply your copy) What do you think of this edition? Write to letters@talkmag.in
EDITORIAL
EXECUTIVE TEAM
S R Ramakrishna Editor Sridhar Chari Consulting Editor Prashanth G N Senior Editor Sajai Jose Chief Copy Editor Savie Karnel Principal Correspondent Basu Megalkeri Principal Correspondent Bhanu Prakash E S Senior Reporter Prachi Sibal Senior Features Writer Sandra Fernandes and Maria Laveena Reporters and Copy Editors Anand Kumar K Chief of Design Shridhar G Kulkarni Graphic Designer Ramesh Hunsur Senior Photographer Vivek Arun Graphics Artist
Sumith Kombra Founder, CEO and Publisher Ralph Fernandez Manager - Marketing Aaron Jones Asst Manager - Marketing Abhay Sebastian Asst Manager - Sales Aman Preet Singh Asst Manager - Sales Kishore Kumar N Head - Circulation Vinayadathan K V Area Manager - Trade Mahesh Javvadi Asst Mgr - Corporate Sales Yadhu Kalyani Sr Executive - Corporate Sales Lokesh K N Sr Executive - Subscriptions Prabhavathi Executive - Circulation Sowmya Kombra Asst Process Manager
Printed and published by Sumith Kombra on behalf of Shakthi Media Ventures India Pvt Ltd - FF70, Gold Towers, Residency Road, Bangalore -560025 and printed at Lavanya Mudranalaya, Chamarajpet, Bangalore-560018. Editor: SR Ramakrishna. Editorial Office: FF70, Gold Towers, Residency Road, Bangalore -560025 Email: info@talkmag.in Phone: 08049332100, 08040926658. © All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited.
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language question
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Political correctness is sometimes lame Ever changing terminology tells us how to refer to people with disability, but heartwarming words don’t automatically guarantee a change in attitude
SAVIE KARNEL savie.karnel@talkmag.in
n Barfi!, the hero, played by Ranbir Kapoor, is referred to as goonga-behera, or ‘dumb and deaf’. So what is the politically correct term for him: ‘hearing and speech impaired’, ‘auditory challenged’, ‘disabled’, ‘differently abled’, or the more recent, ‘person with disability’? In the film, the rude ‘dumb and deaf’ makes sense as it is a loud policeman calling him that. But how much of a consolation is heartwarming terminology for people with disability? Prof R Rajaram, the first Indian with cerebral palsy to earn a PhD in English, believes there is a strong case for sensitive phrasing. “It makes a crucial difference. Such terms not only raise the level of consciousness of those who are unaware, but also helps acknowledge the self esteem of the challenged person,” he told Talk. The use of incorrect terms gives a sense of superiority to the speaker, which is uncalled for. Social worker Tara Ramkumar agrees. “Words and their connotations have
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REFRESHING The hit romantic comedy Barfi! has won praise for its positive and unsentimental portrayal of people with disability
What is political correctness? It refers to terms that attempt to describe people in the most neutral and objective way possible. The ‘correct’ terms try to soften words or phrases considered offensive or humiliating. Why should we use the politically right terms? Some words could hurt and bring down the selfesteem of people with disability. Use the politically correct word unless the person you are addressing asks you not to. This is a way of showing respect.
an impact. A change in the vocabulary can bring in social change,” she says. While this is the standard view among educated disabled people in urban areas, we also came across some exceptions. For instance, when Talk recently interviewed the mother of H N Girisha, London Paralympics silver medallist in highjump, she referred to him in Kannada as a ‘kunta,’ which translates to ‘lame’. His brother too used the word. Here was a world-class athlete from a Hassan village, whose closest relatives continue to call him ‘lame’ even after his glorious high jump win, simply because they are unaware of the concept of political correctness. G K Mahantesh, founder of Samarthanam, an organisation that has trained hundred of people with disability for BPO jobs, says, “In villages, a short person may be called kulla or gidda.” Outsiders may find such words
crude and insensitive, but there is no insult intended. Mahantesh says the lack of awareness is one problem, but there is also the difficulty of coining politically correct words in the regional languages.” Prof Rajaram suggests TV soaps should take up the cause and sensitise people in the regional languages. Bangalore-based writer Deepa Bhasti, who has an impairment in her hand, doesn’t care what people call her. Her classmates in school called her handicapped, but it never affected her spirit, she says. “In government records, people with disability are still referred to as handicapped. The word doesn’t make a difference and the main thing is how people treat you,” she says. She believes she is ‘normal’, and gives credit to her mother, who treated her as normal, and asked her to do her work on her own. “Even if it was the simplest of things like tying shoe laces, I had to do it myself. If I said I couldn’t, she would
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editor talk South Indian cinema is shaping many Hindi blockbusters. The Salman Khan picture on our cover may remind you of the southern stars of yesteryear: Rajkumar (Kannada), N T Rama Rao (Telugu), M G Ramachandran (Tamil), all of whom sported moustaches, combed their hair back slickly, and played larger-than-life characters. Salman Khan’s Dabanng (2010), with its over-the-top portrayal of a policeman’s life, can be dismissed as a masala film that harks back to a more fantasy-craving era. But today, the masala is consumed with relish all over India. Some see Dabanng as a spoof, but for most, it is cinema of reassurance. Salman Khan has delivered four hits in two years. Film scholar M K Raghavendra presents a fascinating thesis—that Salman Khan represents trust in the state and its institutions. The hero stands out from his contemporaries Shah Rukh and Aamir, who now represent a post-liberalisation enthusiasm for private enterprise and a deep cynicism for all things government. Mumbai is coming to the southern states for inspiration, which is why we decided to run the remarkable Salman Khan story on the cover. There was a time when at least three generations lived under one roof, but today’s Bangalore families are increasingly nuclear. Margot Cohen’s intensively researched story tells you how some distinguished elders, who have built a plush colony for themselves, look at questions of self-sufficiency, loneliness, and meaning in their twilight years. Our self-defence series, featuring Sensei Avinash Subramanyam (whom we profiled in Issue 7), begins this week. The text accompanying Ramesh Hunsur’s photos goes well beyond martial arts: it attempts to encapsulate the wisdom of a guru who has spent decades absorbing what many esoteric disciplines have to offer. Happy reading! S R Ramakrishna ram@talkmag.in
language question have empathetic feelings towards ask me to find a way,” she says. The TV programme Satyamev those with disability. “I have seen Jayate had an episode dedicated to people use the correct words when people with disability. One of the they are on stage. As soon as they participants found the politically are off, they show scant regard to people with disabilicorrect word “differty. More than using ently abled” patronisthe right words, ing. He preferred to Euphemisms they have to be conbe called ‘disabled’. gain negative siderate,” says P K A similar senticonnotations Paul, founder of IDL ment was voiced most Foundation, which famously by Bill over time works with blind Veeck, an American people. baseball team owner, Both Paul and Samarthana’s whose 1962 autobiography is titled I’m Not Handicapped; I’m Mahantesh vote for the use of Crippled. He writes, “You will politically correct terms, but their notice I always use the term ‘crip- organisations continue to use the ple.’ It isn’t a word you normally word ‘blind’. Paul’s organisation hear, is it? It has become custom- has a band called IDL Blind ary, in our euphemistic world, to Band. He says: “Blind is a describe us cripples as ‘handi- universal word. We cannot capped’... Webster defines ‘handi- change it. It is better to use capped’ as ‘to place at a disadvan- it for a group than for an inditage’. I don’t believe I am. I believe I vidual.” Samarthanam is organising a can do anything that anybody else can do that doesn’t involve quick cricket event, the ‘T20 World Cup sprints, high jumps and a fast buck- for the Blind’. “Everywhere the and-wing. And so, although I am word is used, even in government records. So, we’ve stuck to it,” he crippled, I am not handicapped.” Many times, those who use says. A blogger who calls himself the right words may not necessarily
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Bock the Robber says new euphemisms often gain negative connotations with time. One of his posts says: “Banning particular words won’t change anything. The word ‘retarded’ was originally a well-intended euphemism to replace ‘slow’ but it gradually acquired pejorative overtones. So will all the new terms that replace it, because the problem lies inside people’s minds, not in the words they use.”
NEVER MIND H N Girisha, who won a silver medal for India at the Paralympics, is still called ‘kunta’ (lame) in his village
Political correctness guide Unacceptable
Acceptable
The disabled
Disabled people People with disability
Crippled
Mobility impaired Mobility challenged
Handicapped
Physical impaired Physically challenged
Mentally retarded
Developmentally disabled Developmentally challenged
Invalid
Person with special needs
Imbecile
Intellectually challenged
Spastics
Persons with cerebral palsy
Deaf and dumb
Hearing and speech impaired
Dwarfs
Persons of short stature
Hunchbacks
Persons with spinal curvature
Paraplegics
Persons with paraplegia Person who is paralysed
Quadriplegics
Persons with spinal chord injury
Birth defect
Congenital disability
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fun lines
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politics watch
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Yeddyurappa’s KJP: Launching very soon? RAMESH HUNSUR
This week’s developments suggest the time has come for the BJP strong man, now a rebel, to announce his own party BASU MEGALKERI basavaraju@talkmag.in
S Yeddyurappa, once the most powerful BJP leader in Karnataka and today a rebel, is all set to quit and start a new party called the Karnataka Janata Party, or the KJP. Earlier this week, the BJP cracked the whip on Yeddyurappa’s close associates, Ayanur Manjunath and Dhananjaya Kumar. An angry Yeddyurappa reportedly told party elders in Delhi: “I’m leaving the BJP. I will no longer be responsible for the GOING SOLO Yeddyurappa’s exit from the BJP is likely to trigger an exodus of at least a dozen senior leaders to other parties consequences.” Yeddyurappa claims he has the Harish and The Congress would want to use Renukacharya, support of eight ministers in the party president K S Eshwarappa, he Jagadish Shettar cabinet. Last week, was scathing: “He is incapable. He Yeddyurappa to split the BJP, which is Puttaswamy, have fallen silent. They Talk learnt, he called them over and should quit.” Yeddyurappa’s support- something he is doing in his own way. don’t want to risk speaking in favour er Ayanur Manjunath echoed But then, all this is new to of Yeddyurappa and losing whatever told them, “I will take full this, saying, “Chief minister Yeddyurappa, who built his career power they have within the party. responsibility for spending Vokkaliga leaders such as B N Jagadish Shettar should quit, opposing the Congress. money and making you win. When the BJP was launched in Bachche Gowda, C P Yogeshwar, D N because he has failed to conLet’s start a new party and trol his deputy chief minister 1980 in Karnataka, A K Subbaiah was Jeevaraj, C T Ravi are also considering teach the BJP a lesson.” elected president. Around the same switching to the Congress as they feel R Ashok.” It is true he has some Yeddyurappa has time, in distant Shikaripura, they can’t survive in the BJP any hardcore supporters in the revived his contacts with Yeddyurappa contested the local body more. present cabinet. Industries Ayanur President Pranab Mukherjee, elections and became president of the Minister Murugesh Nirani Manjunath and established a rapport municipal council. Between 1980 and Latest from Haryana told Talk: “Yeddyurappa has 40 years’ experience, and the BJP can with the Congress through him. 2012, he struggled his way up: as leg- BJP patriarch L K Advani wants benefit from it. I think he will get a Slighted by the BJP’s reluctance to islator, party president, leader of the Yeddyurappa out of the party, good position, and things will come stand by him when he had to face a opposition, and finally chief minister. insiders told Talk. Yeddyurappa The BJP grew with Yeddyurappa, and Sadananda Gowda are not CBI inquiry relating to the back to normal again.” mining scandal, Yeddyurappa and formed the first ever government attending the party conclave at But not everyone shares has been casting around for in Karnataka and South India. Even Surajkund. Seizing the Nirani’s optimism. BJP leadthe top leaders in Delhi acknowledge opportunity, top leaders called help from other parties. ers in Delhi are maintaining a Yeddyurappa’s close his role in building the party. But Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar studied silence, and are relucassociate Shobha Karandlaje’s today, he is out to sink the very ship and Deputy Chief Minister K S tant to Yeddyurappa’s contacts with Sonia Gandhi’s he has steered for many years. threats. “My party colleagues Eshwarappa for a closed-door A BJP senior leader told Talk: meeting at a hotel. Yeddyurappa political secretary Ahmed are working against me. They Dhananjaya Patel have come in useful. “Many members are looking to join may be sacked after the conclave. are planning to oust me,” he Kumar Yeddyurappa has reportedly the Congress or the JD(S) for better MP Prahlad Joshi is likely to be told reporters. His unhappiness is no secret. He been negotiating with the Congress, opportunities.” Once the Delhi lead- appointed BJP state president. has been talking against his senior and offering his support to the party ership snubbed Ayanur Manjunath The party, insiders say, is sick and colleagues at public events, and even in exchange for the CBI going soft on and Dhananjaya Kumar, staunch loy- tired of Yeddyurappa’s tantrums. alists of Yeddyurappa, others, like inside the Vidhana Soudha. About the corruption charges he is facing.
B
I can’t say anything about Yeddyurappa leaving the BJP or forming a new party… I don’t know anything about it, please ask him. Jagadish Shettar, chief minister
senior life
talk|4 oct 2012|talkmag.in
The league of the independent elderly Tucked behind Kanakapura Main Road is an exclusive new ‘retirement village’ for the 70 plus, but for the vast majority of Karnataka’s elderly, strained resources and dwindling dignity add to the burden of old age
MARGOT COHEN t all happened through word of mouth. There would be no advertisements, no bulky brochures, and not a single booth at a property show. Instead, a trio of doctors-a plastic surgeon, a cardiologist, and a pathologist-embarked on a quiet campaign to build a community of “persons of eminence.” The residents would share a distinct desire: to live independently during their twilight years, rather than rely on their adult children. “Why should they take care of us? We should take care of ourselves,” said 71-year-old K S
I NEW AGE HOME Suvidha, with its 200 cottages, is among the city’s many plush new ‘retirement villages’
October 1 International Day of the Elderly
Shekar, founder chairman of Bangalore Hospital in Jayanagar, who became a prime mover behind Suvidha, the plastic surgeon who became a prime mover behind Suvidha, a sprawling new senior citizens' complex tucked behind Kanakapura Main Road, about 7 km from the Banashankari temple. Golf carts navigate the rolling paths that lead to 200 cottages, a health club, a dining hall, a medical clinic, and a small man-made lake, dotted with yellow flowers. Sure enough, the idea caught on quickly. All but four of the cottages have already been acquired. The buyers’ list reads like an elite roster straight out of Bangalore Club: a retired High Court justice, retired IAS officers, doctors, engineers, accountants, and a smattering of academics, including an archaeologist and a specialist in genetics. There are no less than 56 doctors on the list, indicative of the strong grapevine emanating from Bangalore Hospital, where Shekar crafted his reputation. “We don’t want to call it an oldage home,” he cautioned. “No child wants to send his father or mother to an old age home.” The more delicate
term is “retirement village.” Yet this is clearly a place designed to ease one’s final years, with each cottage equipped with wheelchair ramps, elder-friendly bathroom fixtures, and regular monitoring by an on-site nurse. For those who dread the growing anomie of city life, Suvidha may seem like a welcome antidote. “If you are in an apartment and you are dead for three days, no one notices,” said Suvidha manager N Girija, injecting an ominous note into an otherwise pleasant tour. “Here, the nurse visits every day.” This new 27-acre development points to an emerging social trend. In a country with 98 million people over the age of 60, many senior citizens can no longer take for granted that they will live with their children until their last breath. And some of them don’t want to accept an invitation, even if offered. That seems particularly true of Indian parents who urged their children to pursue careers overseas over the last two decades. In many cases, those periodic family reunions in the US or Europe have not convinced them to migrate there for their final years.
Listen to the folks who turn up at the Nightingales Elders Enrichment Centre in Malleswaram, where senior citizens try to keep busy with a series of lectures and discussions during the day, returning to their own homes in the afternoon. While loneliness and depression are common problems, there is also a sense that back home, life can still be rewarding. K S Bhat, a 73year-oldgentleman who favours a red baseball cap, recounted his experience after he became a widower in 1999. His son and daughter are working in San Francisco and wanted him to resettle there, but after a few months in the US, he felt a strong desire to return to India. “Life is very painful over there. It is an open jail. From morning to evening, you are alone, high and dry, within four walls,” Bhat recalled. “If your children go somewhere, you have to tag along. “ But he relishes his options in India. “Here, there are temples, and festivals,” he noted. “I’m all the time on the move. I feel younger and stronger. I like my freedom.” Elders are also hampered by the high cost of health care over-
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senior life
talk|4 oct 2012|talkmag.in
RAMESH HUNSUR
OPERATION SUCCESS K S Shekar, founder-chairman of Bangalore Hospital in Jayanagar, is the main promoter of Suvidha
seas, the lack of insurance in those markets, and restrictions on travel once they become ill. Perceptions of cultural barriers also loom large. “Sometimes you feel hollow inside, not having your son and grandchildren beside you,” admitted 85-year-old T V Jagadisan, whose son lives in Canada. “But I have hundreds of friends, and that makes my life easier. I know what life is like in the US and Canada. I never liked being there. Western culture is such that nobody cares for anybody.” To be sure, India remains a country where most children feel duty-bound to take care of their parents. The concept of an old-age home still carries a social stigma. But over the years, as job-seekers have moved out of their traditional homes to seize opportunities in
various cities in India or abroad, some seniors with sufficient means are adjusting to the idea that they must fend for themselves. And developers are seizing on this growing market. According to real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle, various firms are now planning an estimated 200,000 units to be built over the next several years, in places like Coimbatore, Goa ,Amritsar, Pune and Chennai. International partners are beginning to appear on the scene, pitching their gerontology experience from overseas markets. Brochures and websites promise all sorts of health and recreation options, from bus trips to nearby temples, on-site banking and investment facilities, guest cottages for visiting grandchildren, and panic buttons installed in rooms.
Some of these upscale developments try to appeal to the perky youthful mind that lurks behind the wrinkles. “What we’ve found is that “cool seniors” like you are not the least bit interested in sitting around and feeling old. You’re alive and spunky,” reads the website for Aamoksh One Eighty, a firm that plans to launch a plush “retirement community” in the foothills of Kodaikanal, early next year. The difference with Suvidha, in Bangalore, is that it was an initiative from the seniors themselves, rather than a commercial developer. The trio of doctors all had children living abroad, and they didn’t want to cramp their style. Shekar, for example, recounts that his US-based son-a cardiac specialist at Harvard University-offered to return to India to care for his parents, but they rejected the idea. “I told him, ‘How many
people can climb Mount Everest?’ Harvard is the ultimate. We are proud that he is in Harvard.” His wife, former anatomy professor Manjula Shekar, chimed in: “We don’t want to stop their way of dreaming.” So far, Suvidha is barely occupied. With some facilities (such as the Jacuzzi, massage centre and swimming pool)still under construction, just a dozen cottages have residents during the week, with another forty currently used on weekends by seniors and their extended family members. Some buyers are still leading alternative lives as NRIs, with infrequent visits to Kanakapura Road. Suvidha requires prospective residents to acquire shares in the complex—with prices ranging from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh-and no one is allowed to sell for five years. The doctors did not advertise chiefly because they didn’t want to attract the typical real estate speculator who might try to flip the property for profit. In another tactic reminiscent of Bangalore’s exclusive club culture, any prospective buyer needed a recommendation from two previous buyers. But the word of mouth also reached across the ocean to NRIs such as 67-yearold Bettegowda Rajashekhar, who lives in Berlin most of the year, following his retirement as a skilled worker in a BMW plant. “The European mentality has entered my mind,” he explained. “Though born as an Indian, I think we should live independently, not live as dependents.” He plans to occupy Suvidha for four months each year, while his daughters are working in Germany and have no wish to migrate to India. Clearly, such facilities remain far beyond the means of most senior citizens Continued on page 10
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senior life
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RAMESH HUNSUR
CALL FOR HELP
Problems faced by senior citizens can often seem overwhelming. With a tangle of issues related to physical and emotional health, legal problems and unpaid benefits, frustrations abound within many families. Fortunately, Bangalore has come up with various hotlines to provide information and support. Yet a recent survey by HelpAge India showed that such services remain vastly under-utilised. Here are the numbers to call:
WE’RE FINE Ashok Dey, CEO of Suvidha as well as a resident, and wife Dr Lakshmi Dey, with visiting family inside their well-appointed home
Continued from page 10 in the state. According to the Bangalore chapter of the national NGO, HelpAge India, a majority of senior citizens in Karnataka live in poverty. Many of the meagre pensions offered under state and national government schemes were jettisoned last year, due to alleged fraud in the system. A fraction of those, worth just Rs 600 a month, have since been restored. “The elderly are not a priority,” concluded Robert Dequadros, senior manager for HelpAge India in Bangalore. S Premkumar Raja, director of administration for Nightingales Home Health Services said: “They are denied a life of dignity. When children are not taking care of them, their quality of life is quite pathetic. Unfortunately, the government is not geared to respond.” Still, Bangalore has witnessed a surge in private construction of homes for the elderly, with some targeted at the middleclass and lower-middle class. There are now an estimated 120 such facilities for senior care in the city, compared to just 20 homes a decade ago.
The trend has triggered some ambivalence among activists and health professionals in India, who worry that children will simply stash their parents in these facilities, without investigating a full range of at-home health care options, such as hiring trained nurses and caregivers. Sadly, however, all of India, including Bangalore, suffers from a serious shortfall in eldercare workers. Just ask Augustine Isaac, the 74-yearold director of the Riverdale Resorts in Cochin, which opened its doors to elderly residents in 2010. Isaac has found it tough to hang on to nurses; one left for Canada just six months after he hired her. Isaac even got stuck doing the laundry and cooking the meals himself last year, when his staff deserted him for more high-paying jobs. “This is a growing industry. It has its own birth pangs,” he concluded. India is not alone in witnessing such turnover in geriatric care. “My experience in China is that you need to train five people for every one that you end up keeping,” observed Bromme H Cole, president of Hampton Hoerter China, a management consulting
firm for senior living facilities in China. Any kind of transition can be difficult to face. In 2005, retired architect P K Venkataramanan launched a discussion group in south Bangalore for senior citizens. The group meets each Wednesday, and one hot topic is the expansion of senior citizen residential facilities. So the members asked him to travel around and make an informal survey. What did he find? “When I went to Coimbatore, I heard a lot of cribbing,” reported 76-year-old Venkataramanan. “They feel they are being fleeced. Each individual thinks he can prepare food better than anyone else. But there, you eat what they give you.” In his neighbourhood, he finds that many people are reluctant to move out of their own homes into a seniors’ facility, whether it’s called a “retirement village” or an “old age home.” “Each one of them thinks it’s not for me, it’s better for somebody else,” he said. “We don’t want to admit that we are old. We don’t want to confront the fact. It’s a very difficult choice to make, when it comes down to brass tacks.”
LIFE IS SUVIDHA (Extreme left) Former Air force squadron leader Dinesh Bhandari and wife Chitrakala. Children and grandchildren make weekend visits to the retirement village. Former advocate general A J Shetty and wife Jayanti
Elders' Helpline: The toll-free number is 1090, or call 2294-3226. Assistance in complaints of harassment, abuse, financial cheating, property issues, and other legal questions. Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm, including government holidays. Special legal advisors available from 2:30 to 4:30 pm each Thursday, and 9:30am to 12:30 pm each Saturday. The service is sponsored by the Bangalore City Police, together with the Nightingales Medical Trust. NIMHANS Well-B Being Centre: call 2668-5948 or 9480829670. Hours: 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Saturday, except the second Saturday of the month. Provides support and counseling to promote positive mental health among seniors. Run by the National Institute for Mental Health and Neuro Sciences. Dementia Helpline: call 9342730959 or 9342730936. Assistance with all problems related to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Hours: 9am to 9pm, daily. Run by Nightingales Medical Trust. HelpAge India Helpline: Toll free, 1-800-180-1253. Hours: 9:15am to 5:15pm, Monday to Friday. Information on senior living facilities, government benefits and other policies related to the elderly. Run by HelpAge India, an NGO. Dignity Foundation Helpline: 4166-1122, 4219-8395, 41511307. Hours: 10am to 6pm, Mondays to Fridays. Referrals to hospitals, free legal advice, volunteers to accompany the elderly to medical appointments. Run by the Dignity Foundation, an NGO.
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From medieval automaton to your smart phone
Android SAVIE KARNEL savie.karnel@talkmag.in y now we have all heard the word android, thanks to Google’s eponymous operating system for mobiles and tablets. Though many mobile companies launched phones that operate on Android—Samsung’s Galaxy series poses stiff competition to Apple’s iPhone—that managed to create an Android wave among consumers. All this has made some of us think W Android is a new tech buzzword, coined by Google. But that’s not true. The word was in existence about 800 years ago, and means ‘like man.’ It is a combination of the Greek word andro meaning man with the suffix oid meaning ‘like’ or ‘resembling.’ Hence we have words like asteroid (like a star) and factoid (someThe Talk thing that seems like a column on fact, but isn’t).
B
In the 12th century, a German Catholic bishop St Albertus Magnus created an automaton which was like a human and called it android. In modern terms, we can say he created the first robot. Yes, android was the name of the first robot. Though St Albertus is now regarded as one of the great early scientists, people in his era thought of him as a magician and alchemist. Literature of his time says he used angels from the netherworld and the powers of the philosopher’s stone to create metals and material unknown to this world. He then chose the metals according to the stars and planets. With them he built the android. Contemporary reports show how people believed this automaton, on which St Albertus worked for 30 years, could speak and think, and even had a soul. But the invention wouldn’t live long. St Albertus’ student St Thomas Aquinas destroyed it, for he thought it was blasphemous, a tool of Satan. With this origin, the word was later used for things like robots, before the term robot took over. Android finds mentions in US patents as early as 1863, with reference to small human-like toy automatons. It was popularised in 1886, by French author Auguste Villiers de I’Isle-Adam in his sci-
ence-fiction book, The Future Eve. One of the characters in the story, Lord Ewald is close to suicide because of his fiancé Alicia Clary, who he says is physically perfect but is emotionally and intellectually empty. It is then that his friend, the scientist Edison, suggests the idea of an android to Ewald.
K E Y
O R D S
word origins
18th century automaton, created by Swiss machine maker Henri-Maillardet
Edison then creates Halady, who looks just as beautiful as Alicia, but is also intelligent and has a strong personality. Ewald falls in love with the android and goes away with her. Before they can get home, the ship they are travelling in sinks, killing Ewald and destroying Halady. Now, there is a distinction between androids and robots. This distinction was brought by Edmond Hamilton’s sci-fi series Captain Future. He defined robots as mechanical automatons, and androids as those with flesh, or resembled humans in appearance. For instance, the Rajnikanth lookalike automaton in the Tamil film Enthiran is an android, while RoboCop would be counted as a robot. Coming back to the present, the Android mobile operating system was created by a small company called Android Inc, in California in 2003, which was later acquired by Google. Today, we all know Andy, the little green mascot of Android. But Andy the android was originally the creation of Philip K Dick, the author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. The novelist had written, “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.” Looks like Google and its ilk have achieved this end.
apple vs samsung
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Can iPhone 5 survive the S3 challenge? It is a great piece of engineering, but it has forgotten its core premise—delighting the customer—and this is where the Samsung Galaxy S3 will win out, says Partha D
hen Japanese car makers first came up with cup holders inside the vehicle as a useful new feature, customers loved it. Korean car manufacturers caught on fast. The German car manufacturers, however, ignored the customer excitement around the feature. Their sales in the US started falling rapidly. The sales force started citing the lack of cup holders as the reason for the falling sales. The Research and Development (R&D) teams back home in Germany refused to believe the feedback from the sales force. They just couldn’t imagine why anyone would ignore the engineering excellence of their cars for the sake of ‘cup holders’. After all cars are meant to be driven, aren’t they? They continued to build engineering marvels and the consumers kept rejecting them till the folks at Munich and Stuttgart finally woke up and reluctantly introduced cup holders. Engineering is important, but by itself it usually fascinates only a few die-hards. Emotional appeal lies in something functional and visibly
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OUT OF TOUCH iPhone5 loses out because it has moved away from consumer appeal and towards engineering
exciting. You may wonder what cars and cup holders have got to do with smartphones. The success of the iPhone was not originally about engineering, at least not in the sense consumers understand it. It was about features with emotional appeal—easy access to music and videos, a diverse range of applications, using fingers instead of a stylus, a display with brilliant text and graphics, unprecedented web browsing ease… the list goes on. As a company, Apple didn’t believe in market or consumer research, since Steve Jobs famously stated that consumers didn’t know what they wanted until they saw it, and Apple would make products so easy and exciting to use that they would have no option but to love them. Fast-forward to the iPhone 5 and you see a shift towards engineering and away from the philosophy of wowing consumers. It is no doubt the best iPhone ever, or at least the biggest. The screen is bigger, or longer, and still maintains its original pixel density. The phone has a CPU which is twice as
powerful as before, and yet, by using the latest electronic and circuit design innovations, consumes less electricity, making it thinner and lighter than before. But the bulk of the innovation has gone under the hood and lacks emotional appeal. The only major functional innovations are a panorama mode on the camera, something competitors have had for a while, and a fresh design for the headphones. The headphones may be brilliant from a performance perspective but seem to ignore the latest trend of large, over-the-ear headphones, a
design popularised by Dr Dre and Beats audio. Getting rid of its YouTube app—probably owing to Apple’s growing rivalry with Google— was another tactical blunder. This has left consumers dependent on third party apps, or ironically, on Google itself. And then there is the now familiar story of changing the dock connector, which is not backward compatible with accessories of the past unless you use an adaptor. Why Apple can’t just use a normal USB adaptor beats me. There is an almost arrogant disrespect for any open standard. The worst sin has been getting rid of Google Maps and replacing it with their own mapping app which works poorly. Now that is actually a major software engineering failure since the data for the maps comes from the well-established Tom Tom. It’s the app that Apple has developed that doesn’t work. Steve Jobs must be turning in his grave. Let’s have a look at what Samsung has been up to in the meanwhile. A US court recently ruled in favour of Apple’s claim that Samsung had infringed some of their patents and awarded a billion dollars in compensation. Given Samsung’s size, that is not much of a financial dent. But their pride has been hurt, and this I believe will result in Samsung bombarding the market with newer and better devices. In doing so, it will be keen to play the leader so as to erase the copycat tag from our memories for ever. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is the beginning of this period of
apple vs samsung face down. rapid innovation from Samsung. Some of these features may not be The S3 is strongly focused on the contremendously useful day-tosumer. It offers YouTube videos day, but they do add to the in HD. It offers Google Maps Innovation appeal of the phone. It also with turn-by-turn directions. shows that Samsung is going That’s something Apple has in iPhone5 with a consumer- centric attempted in its own mapping is under the approach rather than an engiapp, but that’s not working so hood, and neering-centric one. great. thus lacks the The iPhone 5 still is a great One of the best parts of the phone. It has solid build quality, Galaxy S3 is the camera and the wow factor a great ecosystem of music, associated application. It offers videos and apps and a display tremendous functionality which is either not available in the iPhone 5, or is with a class leading resolution. More than a feature-by-feature comparisomething where Apple has been a follower and not a leader. The ‘best-shot’ selection fea- son, what disappoints is the seeming lack of consumer focus. It’s a deviature is really cool. The camera takes a burst of tion from Steve Jobs’ obseseight photos in quick succession sion with creating technoland presents you with the best ogy to wow customers. shot. Perhaps the time has Apart from this, there are come to switch from the a slew of other features. If iPhone to the Samsung while typing a message, you Galaxy S-3. Open OS, HD decide to call the person YouTube, better Maps, instead, all of you have to do is future-proof plugs (micro to raise the phone to your ear USB), a camera with great and it will dial the number autofeatures, expandable matically. memory, replaceable batIf you want to share a photo tery, and above all, no takor a playlist with a friend who also ing customers for granted. has an S3, all you need to do is tap The only decision left is whether it the two phones. If the phone is ringing and you want to mute it, you just have to place it should be white, or pebble blue.
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Rs 1 lakh? For a PHONE? While the Samsung Galaxy S3 is available at a price between Rs 35,000 and Rs 38,000, prepare to be shocked by the iPhone 5's price when it is finally announced. iPhone is expected to be available at the stores sometime between October and December. Speculation is rife, with the 64 GB version expecting to hit or exceed Rs 1 lakh. (Newspapers are reporting grey market sales at Rs 1.15 lakh). For the cheapest 16 GB version, price estimates range from Rs 57,000 to Rs 76,000. The 32 GB version is expected to cost Rs 85,000. An official connected with Apple's retail efforts in India, who cannot be identified as he is not an official spokesperson, confirmed that Rs 85,000 was the “unofficial price”, though he did not specify whether it was for the 32 GB version or the 64 GB version.
expensive phone, with the price proving a deterrent even for the wellheeled. This is also an opportunity for Samsung to boost the sales of its Galaxy S3. There is a long standing perception that Apple is disdainful of the Indian market, and CEO Tim Cook's comments in an investor earnings call in July did not exactly neutralise that. After a mandatory “I love India,” Cook said the "the multilayer distribution structure in the country really adds cost to getting product to market… and in the intermediate term there will be larger opportunities outside of there." In other words, India isn’t on the A list.
But Apple has been mulling new ways to get its phone to the market, with plans to expand retail outlets here. It might also decide to change its single-brand retail policy, which An official Apple spokesperson said means you can pick up an iPhone at stores that sell multiple brands. the price would be announced only when the phone goes on sale. In any Watch this space. case, this is going to be one SRIDHAR CHARI
champ talk
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‘Staying away from home was the toughest part’ Professional snooker is proving difficult for world billiards champion Panjak Advani. The Bangalorean tells Angshuman Deb Barma he is beginning to find his footing only now
For the International Billiards and Snooker Federation events, one gets a lot of time to prepare. Another major difference is that in the professional circuit, all the tournaments are knock-out events, so one bad game and you are out. Hence, there is constant pressure. But it also helps raise the level of one’s game—I have become a sharper player in the last or a former world champi- couple of months. on, you would expect a grand entry into the world On the tour, you beat legendary players of professional snooker. like six-time world champion Steve But that wasn’t to be for Davis and former world No 1 John Pankaj Advani, who has had a mixed Higgins. How difficult was it? outing in his debut season. Back in It is very difficult even for the toughBangalore after the first leg of his pro- est of players to beat the likes of Davis and Higgins. For them, fessional tour, he spoke to Talk about playing on the prothe tough challenges he has had to tour is like playing face. He recalls the initial struggle any other tournaof staying away from home, but ment. So, I really eventually settling down into the had to up my game grind. H has had little triumphs to get the better of though, like the one in Germany, such big names. where he managed to reach the semi-finals of the Paul Hunter Classic.
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BANGALORE’S OWN CHAMP Pankaj Advani has won seven world titles in billiards, but finds international professional snooker trying
Despite being a former World champion, it wasn’t easy for you on the professional tour. What was the major difference? When it comes to the professional circuit, it’s a completely different ball game. Every week you have a tournament, and sometimes, you even have two tournaments, so one really needs to be neck deep in it.
These big wins have, in fact, given me You need to give yourself adequate much needed confidence to improve time. At the same time, you need to raise the bar every day. From my my game in the future. game, I can say for sure that it’s not easy to survive the hardships of the What were the major hurdles you had professional tour and you should to overcome initially on the tour? Staying away from home was my mentally prepare to face it. biggest challenge. For the first two weeks, I was struggling, especially Bangalore is known as the cue capital when I wasn’t getting the food I’m of the country. Do you think we have used to. Apart from that, it was also players to carry forward the legacy of raining continuously, so adjusting to Pankaj Advani? the weather was a major issue. In fact, It’s too early to predict. There are a this did affect my early performances few talented players, but only time and I wasn’t able to win many match- will tell how they shape up. But right es. But now, things have started now, I think we need to have more falling in place as I am staying with a tournaments for youngsters if we Punjabi family. Food is taken care of. I want them to make a mark on the bigger stage. The facilihave started figuring ties in Bangalore are out the public trans‘Pro snooker the best in the counport, because of try and young players which I feel pretty helps raise the can get to practise settled. I can now level of one’s with top players, but concentrate on my game—I’m a unless these younggame. sters get more match sharper player practice, it is of no How would you rate now’ help. Whenever a India’s snooker junior beats a top standards as player in a tournament, his conficompared to those in European dence is bound to get a major boost, countries? With Aditya Mehta and me playing on and the more tournaments he gets to the pro tour, we are certainly moving play, the better are his chances of in the right direction. But there’s still beating top players. If we can work in a lot to be done to match the stan- this direction, we will certainly have dards of snooker in Europe. There is a more names carrying forward the snooker culture there and that makes legacy. all the difference. I think it will take three to four years before we can Finally on a personal note, you are reach anywhere close to European considered the most eligible bachelor in the game. Is Pankaj Advani still single? standards. Yes. Right now, I have one foot in the UK and the other in India. I will only What would be your advice to young consider getting married after two or Indian cueists who want to take up three years. Till then, I just want to professional snooker? It’s not the easiest thing. It could turn concentrate on my game. out to be an expensive proposition and players need to be very patient.
desi hero
THE RESURGENCE To understand why Salman has become the pre-eminent Khan at the box-office, we must look at people pushed out of the way by post-liberalisation India
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M K Raghavendra is the author of Seduced by the Familiar: Narration and Meaning in Indian Popular Cinema (Oxford, 2008), 50 Indian Film Classics (HarperCollins, 2009) and Bipolar Identity: Region, Nation and the Kannada Language Film (Oxford, 2011).
ith four blockbusters in a row—Dabangg (2010), Ready (2011), Bodyguard (2011) and Ek Tha Tiger (2012)—it is difficult not to acknowledge Salman Khan as the biggest Baazigar (1993) in which he murders a defence- and political development in India after the scious selves. male star in the Bollywood firmament. While less and trusting girl. Coming after the eco- liberalisation measures of 1991-92 was globali- people in Ind the reigning king Shah Rukh Khan has appar- nomic liberalisation of 1991-92, the protago- sation in the new millennium, the rise of the Hum Aapke H ently yielded ground, the other successful star nist’s amorality was a way of ‘problematising’ new economy, which saw a huge increase in the sense tha Aamir Khan (being also a producer/director) is the likely erosion in moral values brought the spending power of a class of Helen, who s more acknowledged for the positioning of his about by the demise of Nehruvian interven- Indians in the metropolitan cities. played w themes than his appeal as a star. Salman Khan’s tionism—with the moral state withdrawing This meant that Hindi cinema, his mother in rise is incredible considering that, at from the public space. Baazigar, it instead of being ‘all-India’, now tar- Hum Dil De Chuke o Salman Khan h 47, he is not young and that his may be recollected, associates the geted the segments with the greatest Sanam, was born in career was languishing until he Indore, Madhya anti-hero’s conduct with economic power. Since an is his step-mother K in real life g reinvented himself with Dabangg. Pradesh, in 1965 the brutal struggle Ek Tha Tiger is association can be made w Salman Khan’s success is attributed between him and the girl’s between one’s earnings Salman’s first film under the and his or her knowledge of the Anglophone, generally to his physique but, if anything, he is father for the control of a business flabbier now, and other explanations are obvi- empire, shown as a fight from which Yash Raj banner. English language, Hindi cinema has Hindi. More The film was ously needed. the police stay away. It is significant been increasingly addressing the Khan and Sh previously The success of any male superstar cannot that in SRK’s next big role in DDLJ Anglophone Indian in the new mil- and irreveren offered to stands for are simply be the result of an arbitrary persona (1996), the flippant and seemingly lennium. Shah Rukh Khan because the persona itself should mirror the amoral hero demonstrates his deep As evidence, here are some ity. These la preoccupations of its times. Few, for instance, respect for tradition by winning the blockbusters after 1990 in which connotations would deny that the Angry Young hand of the girl he loves with her the protagonists are evidently Anglophone (ie ebrated for Full name: Man synonymous with Amitabh inimical father’s approval, although people who prefer to communicate in English): Chulbul Pand Abdul Rashid Bachchan was a typical product of the Salman Khan everything that tells him that he Rang De Basanti, Om Shanti Om, Three Idiots, police inspec 1970s although Dharmendra (Phool should elope with her instead. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Ghajini. These wears his uni Coming Aur Pathar - 1966) had already played a role Before we understand Salman Khan’s films are in Hindi but the characters keep with similar characteristics. Shah Rukh Khan resurgence we need to examine something else breaking off into English as though the lan- Ek Tha Tiger rose to prominence with his ‘anti-hero’ role in of great importance. The greatest economic guage was embedded deep within their uncon- government
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OF SALMAN KHAN
. It may be expected that most rich dia will speak English but films like Hain Koun..! (1994) hardly gave us at its characters were Anglophone. It should be noted that while some stars reinvented themselves with the ‘Anglophone revolution’ others have remained Hindi at heart. Thus, while both Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan have gradually assumed personae which may be described as Salman Khan remains steadfastly e importantly, while both Aamir hah Rukh Khan try to be cheeky nt, the qualities that Salman Khan e loyalty and obedience to authorast attributes also have political s - while Rancho (in 3 Idiots) is celhaving a host of US patents, dey in Dabangg is a (nearly) honest ctor from a rural background who iform with pride. g to Salman Khan’s latest vehicle r, the film is about an agent of a agency for which few Indians have
he is what he appears to be. His boss Shenoy (Girish Karnad), whom he respects deeply, looks upon him as reliable. Tiger’s dullness gets emphasis when the woman he falls in love with much respect: the Research and Analysis Wing (ISI agent Zoya played by Katrina Kaif ) or ‘RAW’, as it is generally known. The film describes him affectionately as a ‘kaddoo’ describes the internecine squabbling between (pumpkin). Ek Tha Tiger is about Tiger and RAW and Pakistan’s ISI (Inter-Services Zoya falling in love and abandoning their Intelligence). Both these agencies are in intelli- respective agencies. The ‘nationally critical’ gence but while the ISI is regarded as mission—on which the two synonymous with evil (which is how When looking for agents meet as adversaries and a break, effective spy agencies should emerge), Salman did not fall in love—is of little conseRAW has been uncontroversial—perquence because the film loses use his father Salim Khan’s haps an indication of its innocuousinterest in it half way. name at the ness. The film begins—as in a James Few critics, while writing auditions Bond film—with an action sequence about Salman Khan’s resurgence, that has little relevance to the plot but even take note of his unglam‘Tiger’ in Ek Tha Tiger is hardly an Indian James orous new avatar. The only glamour he exudes Bond. Where James Bond is cheeky and every in Ek Tha Tiger is in a street dance in Dublin film plays up the conflict between his natural and this is part of a dream sequence. Unlike the impulses and the inconvenient call of duty, the CIA or Britain’s MI 6, India’s RAW has only dull protagonist as played by Salman Khan is duti- connotations and the film is true to it. When ful and obedient. If he is dashing Saif Ali Khan tried to play a RAW He is fond of across rooftops and killing people agent glamorously in Agent Vinod across the world, at home he lives handmade and (2012), the film was a resounding natural soaps alone in a small apartment, buys milk flop. from a vendor each morning, and goes It is not that Salman Khan as to work in a colleague’s car. He has not known a Bollywood star has no personal glamour. But women and never fallen in love. It is important the film narratives constructed around his that Tiger is not pretending to be ordinary and presence play down this aspect. The only way
Salman Khan’s resurgence can be understood is through the sense that it is the antithesis of the Anglophone cinema current in Bollywood today. This Anglophone cinema - of which the best emblem in 3 Idiots - plays up the virtues associated with private enterprise - initiative, aspiration, freedom of choice in one’s careers and the lavish lifestyles associated with the new economy businesses. These virtues, it must be observed, were not upheld by Hindi cinema even a decade ago. Ek Tha Tiger, despite its being shot in several countries, is about someone travelling on a modest expense account and being frugal. My sense of the film is that it represents the resistance offered by the rest of India to the self-absorption of the Anglophone classes in the metropolises. In contrast to a cinema which looks upon the Indian state as worthy of derision, it harks back to an older model to which still saw the Indian state as a legitimate part of the Nation - meaning something in itself and not only in antagonism to its perpetual adversary, Pakistan. To conclude, the two kinds of cinema described are not simply divisions within Bollywood but mirror an actual political division within India. There are evidently two major economic schools of thought in political life today and if one sees reform—that is, the continued withdrawal of the state until it is left only with defence and foreign affairs to manage—as a legitimate goal, the other still wishes for intervention because only the state can deliver every service impartially. Enterprise, if placed in the same situation might treat the public as a clientele and serve only those it is most profitable to serve. The message in a film like Ek Tha Tiger is perhaps the utterance of those to whom the state is still an object of loyalty and an authority to be obeyed because it is the most tangible manifestation of the Nation, to which every citizen should be equal and therefore served equally.
desi hero
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The famous four
What makes Salman Khan a darling of the masses? M K Raghavendrarecollects two years of blockbuster hits Dabangg (2010)
Directed by Abhinav Kashyap, Dabangg is a throwback to an earlier kind of cinema in which family and fraternal ties are still strong. Chulbul Pandey’s (Salman Khan) widowed mother (Dimple Kapadia) marries another man (Vinod Khanna), who tries his best to treat Chulbul well, but is still resented because he is partial to Chulbul’s half-brother Makkhi (Arbaaz Khan). The film is set in semi-urban North India and deals with stock characters such as policemen, political goons, small businessmen and drunkards, with Chulbul himself being a police inspector. Where it differs from most Hindi films today is that it treats the policeman with respect. It is not that the police are not corrupt, but they are still engaged in upholding the law. Chulbul has unaccounted money but uses it for a good purpose, while another policeman, Kasturilal Vishkarma (Om Puri), is unscrupulous and susceptible to pressures. Chulbul dresses immaculately in police uniform while Kasturilal is sloppy; this symbolises their attitude towards the law. The exemplary policeman is an important presence here because the last occasion when a policeman was portrayed not only as dutiful but also strong in a Hindi blockbuster was perhaps in the 1970s. If anything, the success of Dabangg is heartening because it suggests that the state is still an object of respect for a fair proportion of the public.
Ready (2011)
Anees Bazmi’s Ready (2011), which is low comedy, is a remake of a Telugu film of the same name. Once again, this is a film set in an unidentifiable milieu. The liberties it takes may be gauged from the way it tries to pass off a spot evidently in Thailand as India. This film is a family drama in which Prem (Salman Khan) is a quick-witted young man due to be married off to a girl from the US named Pooja. Prem is not eager when he goes to the airport to fetch her. But as luck will have it, Sanjana (Asin), on the run from two dons who want her to marry into their families for her money, overhears Prem and pretends to be Pooja. She is taken home where, with her vivacity, she wins over Prem’s family and the two fall in love, although Prem now knows that she is not Pooja. The two dons, it turns out, are Sanjana’s uncles. The kind of comedy the film represents can be grasped from the fact that one don’s henchmen dress in black while those of the other dress in white. Much of the film is unbearably silly but it still acquires some energy midpoint. Salman Khan is relaxed in the lead role and he and Paresh Rawal (as chartered accountant Balidaan Bhardwaj, who advises the dons on IT matters) should be given credit for keeping the film moving despite the small amount that it has by way of inventiveness. The film ends happily with everyone—including the dons and their henchmen—brought together for a photograph.
Bodyguard (2011)
Directed by Siddique, this is a remake of a Malayalam film which has gone through several avatars in many languages. That it is a remake is evident from the milieu in which it is set—not identifiable as either urban/metropolitan India or the Hindi heartland. Sartaj Rana (Raj Babbar) is an aristocrat who commands great loyalty from his minions. Lovely Singh (Salman Khan) is a professional bodyguard who owes his life to Sartaj Rana and is therefore eternally grateful. Sartaj employs Lovely Singh to protect his own daughter Divya (Kareena Kapoor) from the villain and Lovely Singh irritates the girl so much through his unimaginative handling of his duties that she plays a prank on him pretending that a girl named Chaya yearns for him. But Divya falls in love with Lovely Singh, something she cannot admit. Although the film is tacky and includes a huge number of tasteless jokes including some about an obese employee of Sartaj Rana named Tsunami Singh, its story of love between a rich girl and her loyal servant is touching. Also showcased extensively are Salman Khan’s physique and his capacity for fisticuffs.
Ek Tha Tiger (2012)
Kabir Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger (2012) is about a RAW agent (Code name: Tiger, Salman Khan) who falls in love with an ISI agent named Zoya (Katrina Kaif). Unlike the protagonist of Agent Vinod (2012), another spy film (which flopped), Tiger is not a glamorous creation but incorporates the public view of the Research and Analysis Wing—that it is bureaucratically run, like any other government department, where ‘agents’ draw their travel and halting allowances. Tiger may be engaged in non-stop action around the globe but, in Delhi, he lives alone, travels to work in a colleague’s battered car, makes dal for his kindly boss Shenoy (Girish Karnad) and lives the life of a class one officer in a one-room apartment. His life’s savings are estimated at Rs 35 lakh, too miniscule for most Hindifilm heroes, and he uses public transport when abroad. Somewhere in the middle of a critical mission in Dublin involving an anti-missile system, he falls in love with Zoya and the two lose interest in saving their respective countries. The most interesting aspect of the film is that it declines to take sides between Pakistan and India, although Indian lives are evidently more valuable to Agent Tiger.
pop sensation
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Gangnam Style resounds in Bangalore With 281 million views on YouTube, and an entry in the Guinness Book for the most ever ‘likes’, Korean rapper PSY’s smash video hit is now playing at your neighbourhood pub as well
PRACHI SIBAL prachi.sibal@talkmag.in
-pop, or Korean pop for the uninitiated, has arrived. Korean rapper PSY (real name Park JaeSang) is all over the web with his video Gangnam Style. Its bouncy rhythm, catchy refrain and infectious horse dance have won admirers across the globe and spawned countless ‘response videos.’ Gangnam is an upmarket area in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and the song is a satirical take on the lives of its residents, with their fondness for designer wear, expensive coffee, horse rides, and expensive cars and boats. The clothing is loud (yellow suits, green blazers) and the accessories over the top. The singer describes himself as pure ‘Gangnam style,’ and woos a girl who is ‘fun by day and wild by night’. PSY is a 35-year-old in a music scene dominated by youngsters. When the video first went viral and became a hit in America, Koreans there were reportedly gratified, but wondered, “Why PSY, when there are so many good-
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HORSE DANCER PSY’s infectious dancing style is one of the biggest factors behind Gangnam Style’s success
looking teeny-boppers in Korea?” That bemusement was echoed in Bangalore. Byouggu Lee, a Korean businessman and President, Korean Association, Bangalore, said, “We are very surprised. But Indians like to sing and dance, so Gangnam Style works. Other K-pop songs will also come to India now.” He believes the song is outrageous, but with a reason. “The words are classy but the song is crazy,” he said, perhaps echoing PSY’s own description of the video’s approach as “dress classy but dance cheesy!” “Gangnam (pronounced Khannam) is like MG Road for Bangalore or Gurgaon for Delhi,” says Lee. “It is a very busy, high class area but changes at night with the many bars it houses.” Gangnam, in that sense, is twofaced. But PSY wants to communicate with everyone. And in the words of Bangalore’s Koreans, “Everybody understands PSY”. Lee says there is nothing ‘high class’ about PSY. He was famous in Korea when he made his debut three years ago. “He went to the Korean army twice,” Lee recalls. That was for mandatory military service. Some Koreans in Bangalore are blissfully oblivious to the video phenomenon. Yong, the owner of Soo Ra Sang restaurant in Murugeshpalya, said she had heard Gangnam Style, but isn’t quite into new age Korean music. She seemed shocked to know the song had arrived in India.
Gangnam Style is very much on city DJs’ playlists. For example, DJ Vanshi at ICE, Vivanta by the Taj on MG Road, has been playing it for two weeks. “People not only like it but replicate the horse dance on the floor. I will be playing this song for a while now. As for PSY and K-pop, I am in two-minds about whether it a one-hit wonder or the next big thing,” he told Talk. Whether they play it or not, DJs in town have taken notice of this sensation. Jasmeet, who mostly plays Hindi music in clubs, describes PSY as the Korean version of the Hindi film star Govinda. “I have been hearing the track at many places. It is a mere fad and will die down, like UK bhangra, unless PSY decides to perform live in the country,” he says. He admits he is planning a mash-up of Gangnam Style with some Indian music and might play it at a club soon. Those in the music industry have taken note too, and some admit reluctantly that it is on their playlists. Rex Vijayan of the Malayalam rock band Avial, says, “I heard Gangnam Style a couple of weeks ago and found the package interesting. I have heard other Korean tracks and some of PSY’s other music, but in this case, the production and sound quality is good”. The industry is impressed with the high production quality in Korean
A girl with that kind of twist Selected lines from Gangnam Style Oppan Gangnam style! A girl who is warm and humane during the day A classy girl who knows how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes A girl with that kind of twist I'm a guy A guy who is as warm as you during the day A guy who one-shots his coffee before it cools down A guy whose heart bursts when night comes That kind of guy Now let’s go until the end Hey sexy lady… Oppan Gangnam style! (Courtesy kpoplyrics.net) music and videos. “What works for PSY is that he doesn’t look like a star. Though cheesy, there is art in the song. And the catch really is the horse dance. It couldn’t have been a rage just for the music,” adds Rex.
pop sensation
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Korea’s global Kolaveri Gangnam Style’s success shows that for a globalised audience, nothing works like the local SRIDHAR K CHARI sridhar.chari@talkmag.in
he smash hit Gangnam Style has generated much commentary on the Net and in print. Some early commentators felt the compulsion to note, at least in passing, that the song’s dance, lyrics and refrain were “silly, but....” The word ‘silly’ crops up again and again, as if no grown-up, self-respecting commentator should actually be watching or talking about something like Gangnam Style. If you haven’t seen the video, see it and come back. For actually, there is nothing ‘silly’ about it at all. First, it is an achievement in pop culture, given the way it has travelled, with 280 million views across the globe
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since its July 15 uploading on YouTube (our homegrown Kolaveri Di is at 62 million views in about nine months). It also boasts a Guinness record for ‘likes’, a contract with Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun, scores of response videos, and thousands of people across the world learning its horse dance. Mainstream media in the West, from the Atlantic to the Financial Times, have taken note of the phenomenon. “Let’s agree,” someone wrote matter-of-factly, “that it is the greatest video to be ever uploaded on the web.” The video is humorous, the refrain catchy, and the horse dance eminently danceable. It is also a relaxed satire on the opulent and pretentious lifestyles of the privileged youngsters of the 15 square mile Gangnam neighbourhood in Seoul, which is, the Atlantic’s writer Mark Fisher noted, home to 7 per cent of South Korea’s GDP – some 84 billion dollars of its wealth, housing some of its greatest brands. Fisher writes that household credit card debt in South Korea is 155 per cent of disposable income. The references to coffee drinking in the song make sense once
LIKE THAT Gangnam Style satirises the swish set populating this upscale Seoul neighbourhood
you know that girls there apparently skimp on nutritious food, but blow up money drinking coffee in Gangnam. The singer is wooing a girl, offering himself as genuine Gangnam material. But you won’t know all that till someone explained it to you. But you love the video anyway. Why? Gangnam Style works because of its authenticity, its artistic honesty. Great art is about beauty, sure, about entertaintment, sure, but also about meaning, about Story with a capital S. Even a pop song can have a narrative arc, with all elements working together to leave the viewer satis-
fied, and wanting to see it again and again. As Robert McKee, the famous screenwriting guru, says in his book Story: “An honest story is at home in one, and only one, place and time.” It is that grounding in actuality, (applies to science fiction or fantasy too), that makes a piece of art travel and resonate emotionally across cultures. With authentic art, you seem to pick unknown context almost subliminally, off a collective consciousness, as it is about things that matter to us all. Gangnam Style, then, is such a hit because it is also Hollywood Style, Brigade Road Style, and even Shivajinagar Style.
concert notes
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Ilaiyaraja’s lasting magic The composer is no less spectacular—and no less a draw—than his younger colleague A R Rahman, as his performance at the National College grounds showed
PRASHANTH G N prashanth.gn@talkmag.in
n immaculate white kurta and panche, Ilaiyaraja arrived on stage for the Ganesha festival in the heart of traditional Bangalore. Waiting for him was a sea of humanity. People from all corners of the city and from all communities— Madhwa Brahmin priests to labourers from the slums—had come to catch a glimpse of the master. The compere described him as the ‘God of Music’. As the crowd waited in anticipation, he walked in with his hands folded. Thunderous applause and whistling greeted him. He bent down, kissed the earth, and The veena, violins, sitar and sought the blessings of Ganesha. The atmosphere was electric, as tablas created a stir. That’s when the orchestra, the singers, and the Ilaiyaraja said, “Be with me. When compere waited for a sign from him. you and I are one, we attain a spirituVisibly overwhelmed by the scale of ality we can only feel, not speak the audience, Ilaiyaraja picked up the about.” Then followed three Kannada mike and said in Kannada: “You have not come here to see me. Rather, I songs by Vijay Prakash, Sharmila and Anita, one of which was have come here to see you.” Louder applause. He continued: Akaashadindha jaari (Coming down “Music is a lot of hard work. It seeks from the sky), from the Shankar Nagconcentration of a kind other fields directed film Janma Janmada don’t. You must help me perform at Anubandha. After this came a gem from my best.” A man in the audience, straining Ilaiyaraja. The deeply moving Idayam oru kovil (The heart to catch every word, is a shrine) showscolded the groundcased Ilaiyaraja at his nut sellers: “How Whistles from vintage best. much noise you make the crowd made After more with the frying pan!” Ilaiyaraja say: ‘If Kannada songs, Ilaiyaraja started Illaiyaraja sang one off with a Kannada you make any of his more recent devotional song, more noise, I hits, Sihi gaali, sihi Amma endu koogiwill leave.’ gaali (Sweet winds) dare… (When I call from the slick gangyou mother). His renster film Aa Dinagalu dition imparted a mellow beginning to the evening. (Those Days). The composer joined in when After a rousing reception to the song, Ilaiyaraja sang a Tamil song, Jagan his vocalists sang Raja kaiya vechcha Mogini, Jagad dharini. His singing was (When Raja comes in) from the Tamil raw, rustic and earthy, exuding bhakti film Agni Nakshatram. Vijay Prakash, Vijay Yesudas and others sang hits (devotion).
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EARTHY Ilaiyaraja at the September 23 concert in Bangalore, where he sang devotional classics as well as hit Kannada and Tamil film songs
from the ‘80s and ‘90s: Hero hero hero, O priya priya, and Santhoshakke (Sing for joy). Then came the song, Naguva nayana, madhura mouna (Laughing eyes, sweet silence), from the Kannada film Pallavi Anupallavi, which happens to be Mani Ratnam’s directorial debut. It struck a chord among the audience. Ilaiyaraja was reminded of Shankar Nag at that moment. “He was one of the finest people I’ve known. I know he’s up there… I wish his soul peace and quiet.” Just as he began conducting the number, the crowd erupted in whistles. Ilaiyaraja turned and said: “If you make any more noise, I will leave. Do you know how much we have practised to create the orchestral introduction of the song? It is very difficult to make songs. You enjoy a song best when you feel it, not even when you sing it. I ask you, feel this song and you will find happiness.” An obedient crowd fell silent. After he concluded, he said, “Now is when you should erupt in joy. Why are you quiet? Express your joy for my dear Shankar Nag.” Then came the Sadma song, Aye zindagi, gale lagaa le. The next big hit
was the stupendously popular Joteyali jote joteyali (Being together) from the Shankar Nag-starrer Geeta. Ilaiyaraja stopped the orchestra for a few minutes and acknowledged the contribution of each musician. Then came one of Rajkumar’s famous songs, Nanna neenu gellalaare (You can’t beat me), followed by Yaare koogadali (Let them scream), composed by Ilaiyaraja’s guru G K Venkatesh. Ilaiyaraja took the opportunity to talk about Rajkumar: “Anna was a great actor. When people wondered whether he could sing, he proved he was a good singer, too. We miss Anna. There is none like him.” After a spiritually charged Tamil song, he walked away quietly. No one knew that would be his last song for the day. His vocalists sang a couple of Kannada songs after that. The National College Grounds were packed and overflowing. People made a beeline for Adigas, which had set up a stall to hawk its idli-dosa fare. The mela atmosphere was amplified by peanut sellers and bhelpuri vendors. The Sunday crowd stood around discussing Rajkumar, Kamal Hassan and Shankar Nag, and the sincerity of a bygone era.
L I S T I NGS
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theatre & dance
art Michael Casanovas 109 thousand poets for change: Watch as all the poets in the city gather and lend their voices and words for issues such as global warming, poverty, pollution and more. The event will also include from across the world. Prior registration is required. Atta Galatta, 75, 2nd main, 1st block, Koramangala, Sep 29, 6 pm 9632510126
Beyond Hattamala: The play is directed by Prakash Belawadi and is a satirical fantasy of a utopian World and focuses on mutual trust among people, community and the joys of simple living. The play is about Kena and Becha, two thieves who jump in the river and get carried away to a land where everything is strange. The play uses folk and traditional idiom and lets the audience embark on a mystical journey. Ranga Shankara, #36/2, 8TH Cross, 2nd phase, JP Nagar, September 28, 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm 26592777
talk picks
Chocolate Krishna: The Tamil play is about Madhu, a sales executive who works for a chocolate company. Though he works hard he does not get rewarded accordingly. His problems start to mount as his father aspires to be a flautist, his grandmother gets involved in thefts and his sister is still unmarried. Madhu then prays to Lord Krishna, who in turn arrives to rescue him. The play is directed by Crazy Mohan. Chowdaiah Memorial Hall, 16th Cross, Vyalikaval, Malleshwaram, September 30, 4 pm 23445810
DVD Releases - Courtesy: Flipkart
Performance filled weekend: Watch Michel Casanovas and Keerthi Basavarajaiah performing the Wind Dance this weekend at Interface for the first time in town. Explore the form of contemporary dance at this dance festival that has witnessed artists performing from across the world. Wind Dance will be followed by Holi - an Indo- Israeli dance theatre performance. The festival includes other performances and workshops too. Jagriti, Varthur Road, Ramagondana Halli, Whitefield, September 28, 8 pm 41248298 Maadhu +2: Directed by Crazy Mohan, this Tamil play is about a man
named Madhu, who is always seen helping others. He has a wife named Janaki. One day he stumbles upon a father- daughter duo, who are both impaired of hearing. The girl, Mythli, is not married and that worries her father. Madhu, as always helps them by getting her married to his friend Cheenu. But on the day of the wedding, Cheenu’s father comes to know everything and forces him to walk out of the marriage. Madhu now, comes forward to accept Mythli as his wife. How does he manage to marry Mythli despite his first wife? Find out this and more through the course of the act. Chowdaiah Memorial Hall, 16th Cross, Vyalikaval, Malleshwaram, September 30, 7pm 23445810
Kaksparsh (Marathi) Directed by Mahesh Manjrekar Starring Sachin Khedekar and Priya Bapat Price: Rs 297 The Secret (English) Directed by Drew Heriot and Sean Byrne Starring Bob Proctor and Joe Vitale Price: Rs 594
Line drawings: The artwork oh S F Huseni will be on display this weekend. Head to this exhibition to explore themes pertaining to the common man, the simple techniques of the drawing
and subjects in sharp contrast. Swasti Contemporary Art Gallery, HCG towers, Kaliga Rao Road, Sampanginagar, till September 30 9980159448 Contemporary art at its best: Works of artists such as Arindam Chakrobarty, Ashish Maity, Manish Varma, Prakash G.Nayak, Priyanka Gupta Agarwal, Ranjana Ramchander, Safdar Shamee and more will be on display this weekend. Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, Thimmaiah Road, Vasanthnagar, till September 30 41231340
film Cross- 5.45 pm
Shanghai (Hindi) Directed by Dibakar Banerjee. Starring Emraan Hashmi and Abhay Deol Price: Rs 269 The Avengers (English) Directed by Joss Whedon Starring Robert Downey Junior, Chris Evans Price: Rs 539
Photography workshop: Brush on your photography skills as wildlife and bird photographer Girish M teaches you the magic of the lens. This two day workshop will hone your photography skills at the cost of Rs 3,500. Ashirvad, St Mark's Road, Opposite SBI Bank, September 29 and 30 9902940474
Odissi dance performance: Noted dance performers will perform the traditional Odissi dance in the city this weekend. Dancers Madhulita Mohapatra, Argha Chatterjee, Vandana Supriya, Meghna Das, Shwetha Krishna will go back to their traditional repertoire for this discourse. Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, Thimmaiah Road, Vasanthnagar, September 29, 6.30 pm 972530600
Ek tha Tiger (Hindi) Directed by Kabir Khan. Starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif Price: Rs 269
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Resident Evil English: The next in the franchise, Resident Evil Retribution is directed by Paul W S Anderson. The movie is about The Umbrella Corporations T virus, which continues to ravage the planet and transforms the human race into flesh-eating predators. Alice played by Milla Jovovich , awakens in Umbrella’s operations facility and unveils more of her mysterious past. Alice continues to hunt people responsible for the outbreak. This action packed thriller stars Milla Jovovich , Sienna Guillory and Michelle Rodriguez in the lead. PVR Cinemas, Koramangala10am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 10pm Innovative Multiplex, Marathalli11.15 am, 4.30 pm, 6.15, 8 Rockline Cinemas, Jalahalli
Cross- 4pm, 8.15, 10, Navaran theatre, Rajajinagar- 9.45pm Oh My God Hindi: Directed by Umesh Shukla, the movie is about a shopkeeper's life. Kanji Bhai begins to lose his faith in God as a tremor in the city destroys his only shop. The film then revolves around his simple lifestyle. The movie is based on a Gujarati play, Kanji Virrudh Kanji and Hindi play, Kishen v/s Kanhaiya. The movie stars Paresh Rawal, Mithun Chakraborty, Sonakshi Sinha, and Akshay Kumar in the lead. INOX, Swagath Garuda Mall, Jayanagar - 1.10pm, 9.35 PVR Cinemas, Koramangala- 10am, 12.40pm, 3.50, 6.45, Innovative Multiplex, Marathalli- 7.30pm Rockline Cinemas, Jalahalli
Kamaaal Dhamaal and Malamaal Hindi: The film is about Johnny (Shreyas Talpade) who is afraid of everything and everyone. His ailing father David (Om Puri) is a farmer and Johnny does nothing to help him. Instead he buys lottery tickets every week and loves Maria, who happens to be the daughter of the village’s biggest goon Peter (Paresh Rawal). Peter tries his best to keep Jonnhy away from Maria, but things take a funny turn when Sam (Nana Patekar) comes in to the picture. Directed by Priyadarshan , the movie stars Nana Patekar, Shreyas Talpade, Paresh Rawal and Om Puri in the lead. INOX, Swagath Garuda Mall, Jayanagar- 3.40pm Innovative
Multiplex, Marathalli- 2pm, 10 PVR Cinemas, Kormangala10am,1pm, 3.55, 6.30 pm, 9.25 Kalpana Kannada: The film is a remake of the Tamil and Telugu film Kanchana. It is about a man played by Upendra, who hits a dead body with a wicket while playing cricket. He is then tormented by evil spirits and soon starts dressing like a transsexual. PVR Cinemas, Koramangala10am, 3.35pm, 6.50pm, 12.50pm, Santhosh- 10.30am, 1.30pm, 4.30, 7.30 Veeresh- 10.30am, 1.30pm, 4.30, 7.30 Navarang10.30am, 1.30pm, 4.30, 7.30 Nalanda - 10.30am, 1.30pm, 4.30, 7.30 Siddeshwara- 10.30am, 1.30pm, 4.30, 7.30 Venkateshwara- 10.30am, 1.30pm, 4.30, 7.30 Balaji10.30am, 1.30pm, 4.30, 7.30 Rockline Cinemas, Jalahalli Cross- 10am, 1.15pm, 7, 9 Thaandavam Tamil: Directed by Vijay, the film is the story of a RAW Agent played by Vikram who avenges the injustice done to him. One of the roles played by Vikram is that of a blind man with the ability to echo-locate objects. The film stars Vikram, Amy Jackson and Lakshmi Rai in the lead. PVR Cinemas, Koramangala- 10 am, 3.20pm, 9.10 Innovative Multiplex, Marathalli- 10.30am, 1.15pm, 4.15, 10 Rockline Cinemas, Jalahalli- 10.15am, 1, 6, 9.45pm
L I S T I NGS
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music Musical evening: Enjoy an evening of light music and a fusion of film songs as Archana Udupa followed by Vijay Prakash perform at the Bengaluru Ganesh Utsava in Basavanagudi. APS College Grounds, DVG Road, Basvangudi, September 28, 6pm onwards 9448457200
retail therapy Prices start at Rs 1,795. Available at all Hidesign outlets
Farmers' market is back: Choose from a variety of organic, farm fresh and homemade products this weekend at the Farm Fresh Farmers’ Market. You can choose from organic staples such as dal, rice, bakery products such as cupcakes, breads, pasta sauce and other food products. Forum Value Mall, Whitefield, September 29 and 30, 9am to 2pm It's shopping time: Do not miss this five-day long sale at Esprit where you can avail discounts of flat 50 percent on shirts, shoes, bags, scarves, jackets, pullovers and more. Redo your wardrobe with their range of trendy picks this season. Available at all Esprit outlets, till October 2 Bridal revelry: This bridal and festive season choose your wardrobe from the Ritu Kumar label, which is inspired by traditional zardozi embroidery and kanjeevarams. The collection offers saris, lehengas, and suits. Ritu Kumar label, #8 Papanna Street, St Mark’s Road 41120278 Sarees for all occasions: Choose from a range of handloom sarees and jewellery at the Vasthrabharana- Sarees Our heritage, our attire. Textiles from Tamil Nadu and Kaanjeevaram sarees will be on display along with sarees from across the country in different fabrics. Chitrakala Parishad, Kumara Krupa Road, from September 29 to October 3 9243100128 Crafted leather: Women go grab your style of bag this festive season as Hidesign is brimming with new entrants in its store. Choose from the Broadway collection, purses, totes and clutches.
Calling movie buffs: Avail upto 70 percent discount on movies and pick up three movies at Rs 499 as part of an offer. Choose from a wide range and genres and stand a chance of winning some prizes while you shop. Reliance TimeOut outlets, till September 30 9900040911 Enjoy hassle free make-up: For all the working women here is a two-in-one mineral compact powder that you can use during your office hours as well as at night. The compact is available in four shades and is priced at Rs 380. Availble at all leading cosmetic stores
Mizoram’s Talent is here: Rock lovers are in for a treat as Mizoram’s own Boomerang comes to town. The band had wowed audiences when they opened for the Korn concert earlier this year in Delhi. bFlat, 100 Feet Road, Above ING Bank, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, September 29, 8.30 pm 41739250
Time to rock ‘n’ roll: Catch India’s Bob Dylan, Lou Majaw perform rock ‘n’ roll and some blues with his bandwith Ramanan Chandramouli on the guitars, Deepak Raghu on drums and Leslie Charles on the bass. bFlat, 100 Feet Road, Above ING Bank, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, September 28, 8.30 pm 41739250
Junkyard Groove live: Chennai-based rock act Junkyard Groove will be in town with their newline-up of Ameeth Thomas on vocals and guitar, Naveen Thomas on lead guitars, Sajith Sathya on bass and Shashank on drums. CounterCulture, 2D2 , 4th cross, Dyavasandra Industrial Area, Whitefield, September 29, 8.30 pm 41400793
Adam and the Fish Eyed Poets: The critically acclaimed Chennai-based band Adam and the Fish Eyed Poets is here to perform some original music typical of their brand. Opus, #4, Chakravarthy Layout, Sankey Road, September 2, 9 pm 9844030198
L I S T I NGS stand-up comedy Weirdass strikes again: He’s back to tickle your funny bone this weekend. A well-known stand -up comedian, Vir Das is here with his witty brand of humour. The show titled Resentury - Observational, Topical, Everyday Annoyances and some political comedy will be premiered in town to mark World Heart Day. Vir Das who started the company Weirdass Comedy has performed in more than 35 cities and has done several live shows including performances of his popular jig Walking on Broken Das. He was also seen in movies like Delhi Belly and
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food Badmaash Company and is frontman of the band Alien Chutney. Watch him as he takes a jibe at everything, sings and brings the house down. Have a good laugh for a healthy heart. Chowdaiah Memorial Hall, 16th Cross, Vyalikaval, Malleshwaram, September 29, 7 pm 23445810
kormas and makhni gravies, pulaos, parathas and desserts all inspired from the Mughal era. Prices start at Rs 425 plus tax. 24@43 café, Electronics city, till September 28 30030303
Make your own masterpiece: Want to learn how to make desserts? Head to the dessert workshop by Mamma Mia this weekend and learn how to create desserts like blueberry cheesecake, dark chocolate mousse with fresh orange sauce, fruity white chocolate mousse and more. At the end of the workshop you get to dig into all the creations. Fee Rs 1,000 per person. Mama Mia Gelato, 11 Jakkasandra Road, 7th cross, 3rd Block, Kormangala, September 28 9379416395
Tandoori nights: Get a taste of the tandoor this weekend at Soul Kadhi. Dig into a variety of dishes such as angoori paneer tikka, panner bemisal, soya chop, lasooni machi, Rajasthani mutton boti, Kakori kebab, galouti kebab, corn kebab, mutter panner, pindi chana, tawa subzi and a wide range of other tandoor specials. Soul Kadhi, Shop #3, Laurel Lane, Richmond Town, till September 29 22111112 Mughlai mania: This one is for the meat lovers. Choose from the rich
Sumptous sushi: Get a taste of Japan at the ongoing Sushi festival, where Chef Joseph Ruiz and Chef Renato R Bautista Jr will whip up different varieties of sushi for you. Teppan Japanese Grill and Sushi Bar, Ulsoor, till September 30 32569029 Biryani all the way: Savour a variety of biryanis that are cooked in the traditional Lucknowi style and Hyderabad style in chicken, mutton and prawn options. Vegetarians can pick from aloo and vegetable biryani. Love Shack, #541/543, 4th floor, Amar Jyothi layout, Domlur, till September 30 9900034522 Time to sip up and bite in: This weekend enjoy dishes
such as khasta kebab, spider chicken, dragon chicken, chicken nuggets and more. Bite in and sip on some drinks while the music keeps you entertained. Filling Station, 33, 5th cross, 5th block, Koramangala, till September 30 41507111 East matters: Relish on some Oriental flavours at the Bangkok to Beijing Express lunch buffet. Vegetarians and non vegetarians can choose from appetizers, soups, Thai curries, stir fry noodles, Singaporean mustard fish and more. The buffet is priced at Rs 499 plus tax. Ginseng, Hotel Royal Orchid, Airport Road, till September 30 41783000
talk|4 oct 2012|talkmag.in
Decode fashion with lists
Culture course In the heart of the Western Ghats in Shimoga district is a little village called Heggodu, and it is here that some of India’s greatest minds gather every year for a week of debate, discussion, and culture.
SWEET, ALLE? Padma as a courtesan , with British co-star Tobby Stephens
Encounter with Padma Lakshmi In his just-published memoir Joseph Anton, Salman Rushdie suggests Padma Lakshmi, his former wife, was vain. When she found out Aishwarya Rai had been named the world’s most beautiful Indian woman, she reportedly said, “I have serious issues with that.” When I read about it, it brought back memories of my encounter with her in 2005. I was working for a TV series called Sharpe’s Challenge for a London production house. We were shooting near Jaipur, and I was a production assistant. Still Mrs Rushdie at that time, Padma was playing the role of courtesan Madhuvanti. It was my job to receive actors at the airport. I was expecting a sexy, fussy and arrogant model. Imagine my surprise when I saw this simple woman walk out of the airport. She was dark, and had a huge scar on her right arm! I was pleasantly surprised to find that she didn’t mind travelling with me in my old, beat-up Maruti Zen. She came across as an unpretentious, downto-earth Tam Brahm girl. She had no fancy accent even though she had spent most of her life in the US and the UK. When she spoke English, she peppered it with Palghat Iyer-style Tamil words like ‘alle?’ and ‘chumma’! When she went shopping, few people in Delhi’s Khan Market recognised her! She picked up a DVD of Umrao Jaan to understand how to do her role. So what am I trying to say, you ask? I agree with Padma that Aishwarya isn’t the most beautiful Indian woman in the world, but the Bachchan bahu is certainly more beautiful than Padma!
DINESH SHENOY
Ninasam’s annual outing begins on October 7 this year, and concludes on 13. Started in 1990, it is a workshop on culture appreciation, with plays, music and dance performances held on the sidelines. Day sessions focus on sociopolitical themes (for example, village India, alternative visions and futures, gods and goddesses), and are combined with lec-dems on art forms. On the faculty this time are Jnanpeeth awardees U R Ananthamurthy and Chandrashekhara Kambara, novelist
Vaidehi, filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli, sociologist Shiv Visvanathan and philosopher Sundar Sarukkai. The seats are filled this year, which means no accommodation, but if you can stay at a hotel in the charming town of Sagar, 13 km away, you can still catch some sessions. Ninasam (also spelt as Neenasam) is organisation dedicated to the promotion of theatre and culture. It was founded by theatre guru and Magsaysay awardee K V Subbanna. www.ninasam.org
How to deal with pesky calls Wondering how to deal with unsolicited calls and text messages from telemarketers? If you are pestered seven days after registration of your telephone number in the National Customer Preference Register (NCPR), then you can register a complaint by: 1. Dialling the toll free number 1909. You can register a complaint either through a customer care executive or through the Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS). You will be asked to provide details of the telemarketer and the date and time of the call.
2. Sending an SMS to 1909 in the following format: ‘Company/Telemarketer Tel No XXXXXXXXXX, dd/mm/yy, Time hh:mm”. Here XXXXXXXXXX is the telephone number or header of the unsolicited SMS, followed by the date and time when you received it. It is important to note that you make the complaint from the same telephone number on which got the unsolicited calls. Also, your complaint must be made not later than three days after you received the unsolicited calls. The Department of Telecom say it will inform you of action taken on your complaint within seven days.
NFDC’s script-writing workshop The National Film Development Corporation has announced a script editing workshop for filmmakers and screen writers, to be held in Mumbai by Franz Rodenkirchen, widely regarded as one of the world's top script editors. The two-part workshop, spread over three-day sessions in October and November, is being offered outside Europe for the first time, and has only eight places available. Rodenkirchen has been script editor/consultant on numerous awardwinning films by some of the most admired and cutting edge filmmakers in the world, including Jasmila Zbanic (Grabavica - Golden Bear Berlin 2007) and Jessica Hausner (Lourdes - Fipresci prize Venice 2009). He is also a core
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advisor for Torino Film lab, Berlinale Talent Campus, Binger Filmlab among others. First session: Oct 8-11 Second session: Nov 14-17 Write to nfdclabs@gmail.com
ho isn’t a fan of lists? And when a website carefully compiles fashion lists along with glossy slideshows, we are all for watching. The articles in fashion and lifestyle website Strut 120 aren’t the usual preachy how-to-keep-your-skin-glowing types. What it is: a fun take on fashion and celebrity style. The layout is colourful, with oranges, blacks and pinks generously strewn about in the form of interesting design elements. Cutting to the chase, the homepage tells you what is on offer without any fuss. The numbers are eye-catching and nearly everything takes the form of lists with slideshows. Any self-respecting fashionista would want to click on something that says, ‘10 Berry-Licious Products to Buy Now’ or ‘10 Miracle Hair Products We Can’t Live Without’. Also look at the celebrity style section which decodes those make-up tricks for you in a manner simpler than you’d imagine. We love Strut more when it decides to diss a particular outfit or make-up style, or when it comes up with cool lists like ‘10 Office Notebooks That Will Make You Go Kitsch-Kitsch’ and ‘14 Sleek Android Apps You Must Download Now.’ Click the masthead for a quick video guide that tells you what Strut 120 is all about. There is also a section called ‘Strut Hearts’ which gives you the week’s pick of products. Quite handy, we thought. We couldn’t help but recall Huffington Post’s fashion lists when looking at some of the pages on Strut 120, but we suppose there’s no harm in a little bit of ‘inspiration’ as long as it’s done well.
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For more, log onto www.strut120.com
martial arts
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MODELS: PRIYA CRASTA, VINAY KUMAR. PHOTOGRAPHY: RAMESH HUNSUR
Way of Budo Sensei Avinash Subramanyam’s simple self-protection techniques for women
You’re never defenceless, girl M artial art is not merely about combat, but a way of life. The single most important element in self-defence is awareness, of yourself and your surroundings: to be here now. Danger lurks on the street, at bus stops, and while riding or driving. It can come from any direction. Be prepared. But before we get down to the techniques, a word of caution. Avoid danger rather than confront it. Violence leads to violence and can even cause death.
Some dos and don’ts: * Don’t stare at men when provoked. * If you drink, don’t binge and lose your senses. * Wear clothes and footwear that won’t come in the way of your escaping or fighting back. When confronted with danger, follow these basic tips: Use simple techniques, not fancy Jackie Chan-style kicks. What matters is not form or beauty but effectiveness. Even if you learn just a small number of techniques, practise them till the
instinct flows. Master the mind. Be calm and prevent adrenalin rush. Assess the assailant’s intent. Strike hard: Don’t shy away from violence for self-defence: it could pre-empt molestation or rape. And strike with intent: The power of thought can make the body do what it wants. Household articles (forks, knives), cosmetics (powder, deos), clothes and accessories (dupatta, footwear, helmets) can be used as extensions of the hand. These become lethal weapons in the hands of one who is aware. Don't give up thinking you
cannot get out of a situation, however difficult it may seem. Use two great strengths: the element of surprise and the willingness to deliver pain. What’s important is not the strength of the hand, it's your spirit. Strength or power is measured not by muscle but the intent and freedom of movement. To twist Super Soul’s quote in the movie Vanishing Point: “Speed and strength are but the freedom of the soul.” (Transcribed by P Radhika) Questions for Sensei Avinash? Write to features@talkmag.in
Scenario 1 Self-defence technique when accosted on a lonely street
You are walking when a ruffian comes along.
Cup your right palm and land a hard slap on his ear.
As he bends double, kick him in the groin.
Don’t flinch or show fear. Glare at him.
Tilt your body so that your weight is behind the blow.
Don’t let go of his hand, use your grip to throw him off balance.
Grab his hand at the wrist and hold it tight.
Before he can recover, use the other hand to twist his wrist.
Mission successful: your tormentor is now flat on the floor. Escape!
memoirs
The man who died in the palace pool An arrogant, out-of-control policeman’s antics land him in serious trouble when a swimmer drowns right before his eyes CP Somashekhar’s personality piqued my interest. I had heard his father was a clerk at Kolar Gold Fields. Many had seen an arrogant Somashekhar in a position of authority. Some had seen him as an ordinary student. Mutually conflicting traits were inherent in Somashekhar. He could be humble and slavish, violent and Hitler-like. The backward-caste politics that Devaraj Urs had built to counter forward-caste politics had turned ugly by the time Bangarappa became chief minister. The murky waters of selfishness and corruption had washed away all the idealism. Leaders from the backward classes were out to suppress their own people, and wouldn’t allow any alternative leadership to grow. Congress leaders were looking outwards to secure their political lives. The BJP was all set to take advantage of this situation. People like Somashekhar must have had a simple formula in their minds: in
VIVEK ARUN
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order to progress, all that the back- beating the road with his whip, leavward castes had to do was grab the ing pedestrians terrified. Children positions of forward-caste oppres- would shriek, and elders jump back sors, and become oppressors them- on to the footpath in dread. Some younger people enjoyed it all, as selves. Somashekhar had become though it was a circus scene. One friendly with chief minister day, Somashekhar slapped a taxi driBangarappa on the badminton ver for driving on the wrong side. court. He boasted about it, claiming The elderly driver lost a tooth. Bangarappa was ignoring protocol Drivers of Mysore struck work. for the pleasure of playing with him. Somashekhar was always in the It was around this time that he was forefront to control strikes and agitations. He didn’t transferred to need much provocaMysore as Deputy tion to order a lathiCommissioner of It was DCP charge. By then, his Police. Somashekar’s colleagues, and peoHe had comstyle to go on ple from all walks pleted his M.Sc horseback, were angry with from Mysore him. People began University. As a stuswinging a to talk behind his dent, he had been a whip, to keep back about an affair non-entity. He was pedestrians in he had had with a now greedy to grab check. Citizens lady doctor when he the attention of all was doing his M Sc, of Mysore. After he just hated him and about how he assumed power, he had ditched her would go on horseback, swinging a whip, to control despite her giving him money regutraffic and pedestrians. He had larly. Somashekhar had married a issued instructions that no pedestrian should stray from the footpath. If doctor’s daughter, Shamantakaanyone did, he would charge at mani, who lived in Rajajinagar, them like a Bangalore. She had an MA degree in jockey, English literature, and was a student of Prof Nagari Babaiah at Bangalore University. Being mild-mannered, she opposed the way Somashekhar treated others. The couple had two sons. Shamantakamani had great interest and talent
crime folio
talk|4 oct 2012|talkmag.in
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Fabled ranconteur and Bangalore’s top-notch criminal lawyer brings you moving, sensational and bizarre stories from 40 years of his practice
C H HANUMANTHARAYA
in teaching. Somashekhar would tell her, “I don’t want your advice.” Surat Prasad, the Police Commissioner of Mysore, kept quiet even though he did not like Somashekhar’s attitude. Lalith Mahal, a palace built by the Mysore maharaja, had become a plush five-star hotel, its luxury mocking the kings. Somashekhar often went to the pool inside the hotel to swim. Foreign tourists liked the hotel. Men and women were allowed to swim together. The swimming coach went by the name of U K Uthappa. Sathyadev, a bachelor and employee of Vikrant Tyres, used to play tennis at a court adjoining the pool. He used to peek through the fence at the swimming women. Sathyadev started bribing Uthappa to swim in the pool, even though he was not a member. When people complained about Sathyadev’s voyeurism, Uthappa would shut them up saying he was a member. Somashekhar once scolded Sathyadev for paying more attention to the women than to swimming. Sathyadev retorted that he should mind his business. He said he wasn’t afraid like those who shuddered at the sound of the
memoirs policeman’s whip. Somashekhar was livid, but could do nothing. He decided to teach Sathyadev a lesson. It was summer vacation time. Somashekhar’s sons asked to be taken to the swimming pool. They invited their friends, Elisa Andrews, Srikanth and Ajay along. The friends were children of Somashekhar’s subordinates. It was April 7, 1991. The children reached the pool first, and were followed by Somashekhar and Shamantakamani. The children were swimming at the shallow end. Somashekhar and Shamantakamani changed into swimming clothes. Sathyadev appeared on the scene within minutes. It irked Somashekhar to see him there. He jumped into the pool and swam close to Shamanthakamani, gaping at her and grinning lecherously. Somashekhar tried to position himself between his wife and Sathyadev. Sathyadev was out of his senses, and continued staring at Shamantakamani. Somashekhar kicked him under the water and asked him go away. “Who are you to order me? You move away,” Sathyadev retorted. Shamantakamani was unaware of what was going on. Somashekhar wanted to order his wife to stop swimming, but he thought the better of it as that would mean surrendering to a worm like Sathyadev. Ignoring Somashekhar’s objections, Sathyadev continued his antics, swimming, jumping, standing, and floating around Shamantakamani. Little did he know that death lay in wait for him. He suddenly dipped into the water. After a few moments, he came up, waving for help, and ducked into the water again. Swimming at the shallow end till then, he now appeared in the deep area. The children began shouting, “Look, uncle is drowning.” When coach Uthappa heard them, he screamed for help, “Someone please help, this man is drowning.”
talk|4 oct 2012|talkmag.in
Somashekhar bobbed up at the shal- there’s no case against you. Write down low end and asked, “Why, what’s happen- what I say.” The coach became a puppet in Somashekhar’s hands. ing?” “Write that Sathyadev came running Uthappa pleaded, “If I had no bandage on my hand, I would have rescued from the tennis court, crossed the fence, jumped into the pool, and never came him. Please rescue him, sir.” up,” he ordered. “Don’t include my name “Doesn’t he know how to swim?” or my wife’s name on the list of people “He does, sir.” “Then don’t worry, he will come up.” present when all this happened.” Uthappa wrote as Somashekhar told “But, sir, he always swims at the shallow end. Your children say he has gone him. Sub-Inspector Ganesh from Nazarbad police station turned up and down at the other end.” “Your mistake, then. How could you saluted Somashekhar. “Search his clothes. Find out if there allow someone like him in the pool? You is any dope on him. You may find his should be put behind bars first.” “We will talk about that later, sir. address. Inform his people,” Somashekhar instructed him. Jump into the water and The list of persons save him, sir. O God, can’t A lecherous present at the spot dursomeone help?” ing the incident conWhen Uthappa’s Sathyadev tained the names of shouts reached them, continued to Somashekhar’s chilsome people around gape at dren—Suraj and Sanjay— came running. Two or Somashekhar’s and their friends Elisa three of them got ready Andrews, Srikanth and to jump into the pool. wife. The livid Ajay, all minors. Somashekhar cop kicked M R Lalitha, stopped them, saying, him hard under Sathyadev’s mother, her “Not easy to save a the water brother M R Ranganath, drowning man. He will and her daughter have an octopus-like grip Kalpana rushed to the and drown the rescuer. Even though I am a DCP, I hesitate to jump. Who knows, he hotel. The mother was distraught. may have wanted to commit suicide. Or Kalpana fainted. The body was sent for taken dope. He has been in the water this post mortem. Somashekhar remarked to Ganesh, “I long. It would be better if you first found out where the body is, and then tried to can’t bear to see the mother’s pain. Today’s young people are responsible neipull him up with the help of a hook.” ther to themselves nor their families… I Hearing all this, they stepped back. The hotel staff had gathered by then. still don’t understand how he died. Did he They started combing the water with the strike his head against some valve or long bamboo brushes they used for clean- pipe?” Ganesh replied, “Let us wait for the ing the pool. They found the body. Somashekhar had asked the manager to post-mortem, sir. People have misunderstood you, sir. You appear hard-hearted call a doctor. The doctor came and checked but you are grieving for a stranger.” Somashekhar began to smoke furiSathyadev’s pulse, heartbeat and eyes, and sighed. “No use trying to revive him. He is ously. As soon as he got up, he announced he was going on a picnic with his friends. dead,” he said. Uthappa was shivering and sweating He went to a guest house deep in the profusely. Somashekhar went up to him middle of the forest. He asked the cook to and said, “I will make sure
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prepare good food. Somashekhar was concentration personified whenever he took up a rifle. He was a good shot. He would feel happy when friends flattered him. He would use up bullets ten times more than the permitted quota. His superiors never objected to his excess indent for bullets. But that day, his co-ordination had gone awry. He missed his targets more than once. He shot several bullets in the air and sighed deeply. He began puffing away again. When he became aware that his fingers were trembling, he flung the cigarette down and stamped it out with his shoe. He was troubled when he became aware he was using more force than necessary to stub out a cigarette. The next day, Somashekhar asked Ganesh again to find out if the death had been caused by Sathyadev hitting his head against a valve or pipe. When Ganesh asked, Dr Shenoy said, “Yes, it is possible.” Ganesh got a report from him with all details. The doctor had mentioned that at the moment of death, Sathyadev had been sexually aroused. Some days passed. Chatting at breakfast, Elisa Andrews casually said, “If only Somashekhar uncle had jumped into the pool as soon as we shouted, Sathyadev might have been saved.” Her father, Circle Inspector Andrews, pricked up his ears. “What? What did you say?” Elisa repeated what she had said. “This means Somashekhar was present on the spot”. At this, Elisa revealed, “Not only him, but his wife as well.” Leaving his breakfast behind, Andrews went straight to Nazarbad police station to look at the case files. He went in search of Inspector Iftikaar Ahmed. Andrews and Ahmed interviewed Elisa, Srikanth and Ajay separately. A report appeared in the Mysore daily Aandolana on April 20, 1991, that Sathyadev’s death might have been a murder. Continued next week (Translated by Indira Udupa)
T I M E P A SS 1st Cross
talk|4 oct 2012|talkmag.in
Talk’s weekly crossword for Bangaloreans who know their way about town 17 Tourist destination famous for white water rafting (8) 18 The Kannada word for chicken (4)
5 7 11
1
2 3 4
DOWN ____ Memorial Hall: Venue for plays and musical performances in Malleshwaram (8) ____ Inn: Pub with snooker tables catering to rockers on Rest House Road (8) Movie theatre in Gandhi Nagar (7) A recent recount confirmed this BJP MP's victory in the 2009 Lok Sabha
Last week’s solution Across: 1 De noble, 4 Wadiyar, 5 Brigade, 6 R Ashoka, 7 Domlur, 9 Krishna, 11 D Lingaiah, 14 Bull, 16 South-west, 17 Chris gayle, 18 Sepsis.
3 6 8 9
Across Amusement park and recreation centre in Cubbon Park (3,6) Industrial and Technological Museum on Kasturba Road (12) Oye ____ : Punjabi restaurant on Church Street (8) ____ Soudha: President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate this
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government building in Belgaum (7) 10 Organisation in charge of Bangalore's public transport (4) 12 A breakfast specialty usually paired with stew (5) 16 Karnataka has refused to release more water to Tamil Nadu citing _____ (7)
Down: 1 Dublin, 2 Bidar, 3 ESMA, 5 Badami, 8 Mangalore, 10 Minorities, 12 C T Ravi, 13 Canopy, 15 KSRTC.
13 14 15 16
polls (1,7) Bangalore Development Authority in short (3) Current BBMP commissioner (8,4) Minister in charge of the Public Works Department in the Karnataka State Cabinet (1,1,5) ___ Town: You are likely to buy your Ganesha idols from here (7) Beach near Udupi (5) Bangalore's favourite beverage (6) Disease on the rise in Bangalore in recent months (6)
Prof Good Sense As a child, I was very shy when it came to talking to girls. To this day, I hesitate to talk to girls as the very thought makes me nervous, and then I don’t know what to do. Even at my workplace, I run into so many women every day, but I’m reluctant to talk to them. I really want to overcome this problem. Can you tell me what I should do? Ronnie (name changed) Kothanur
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) will help you. Consult any psychologist who offers it. You could also do theatre, where you have to interact with people of the opposite sex. If that does not work, consider starting with simple, attainable goals. A few words with someone pretty and attractive should help. Later on, you can move on to more difficult and challenging social situations. Prof M Sreedhara Murthy teaches psychology at NMKRV First Grade College. He is also a well-known photographer. Mail queries to prof@talkmag.in
T I M E P A SS
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Birthday bakra I usually have a popular segment on radio called Birthday Bakra, where I call people on their birthdays and pull a prank on them. Little did I realise that my own team will one day pull a bakra on me. On my birthday, my colleagues called me and said that actress Rani Mukherjee was in town, and that I had to interview her and it was very urgent. So, I left all my work and came to the radio station to have a telephonic interview with her which would be later put on air. So I called the number and started telling her what a big fan I was. I didn't know it then, but it was my producer on the other end of the line, who imitated Rani Mukherjee so convincingly that I had no clue it was her until I was told that it was my turn to be birthday bakra. The entire episode went on air. Prithvi, RJ Share the humour in your life, multiply the fun! Keep those anecdotes coming to: features@talkmag.in
talk|4 oct 2012|talkmag.in
Mr Poonam Pandey? Actor Kamaal R Khan, or The Khan You’ve Never Heard Of, has not given up trying to take the Twitter route to notoriety/fame (we confess we can’t tell the two apart any longer). He has managed to crawl his way back into the headlines again, this time by dissing the Academy Award nomination for Barfi. ‘If #Barfi will win a single Oscar award then I shall walk from my office to Ekta Kapoor office without cloths. It’s my promise,’ Khan tweeted recently. His earlier tweet on Barfi went thus: ‘#Barfi may win some Chinese #Oscar for copying scenes from other movies.’ While we appreciate the point, we also wonder where else but in a mutual admiration society like Bollywood could such relatively tame comments cause such ‘outrage.’
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Sitting pretty, Korean style While K-Pop - that’s Korean pop, dummy is all the rage online (see our story on it in this issue), South Korea is in the news for another, and equally unlikely, reason. The Associate Press has dubbed it ‘the male makeup capital of the world’ after it was found that Korean men spent a staggering Rs 2,500 crore on skincare last year, accounting for nearly 21 percent of global sales. Media pundits have ascribed it to the fierce competition for jobs, social
Rand’s rant Author of such popular classics as Atlas Shrugged and founder of the somewhat dubious philosophy of Objectivism, Ayn Rand had a peculiar theory of what is art and what is not, a new book tells us. Since few of us are likely to have the stamina for all 539 pages of it, we shall only showcase a few examples of what, according to Rand, is definitely not art: > Any and all abstract art > Photography > American Indian artefacts and other examples of ‘craft’ > The fiction of James Joyce > Anything by Samuel Beckett
advancement and romance, and the daily barrage of messages in popular media suggesting that flawless skin is a crucial part of any plan to get ahead at work and love. Meanwhile, the rumour is that communist North Korea, the capitalist South’s arch-enemy, does not approve of their pretty cousins next door. We’re told the North is considering a ban on makeup even for women and making it mandatory for all men to be hairy.
Gold in your pot In a country that’s crazy about gold, it had to happen. Nala’s Aappakadai, a restaurant in Chennai, has introduced a ‘gold aappam sprinkled with 100 mg of pure gold flakes’ and priced at Rs 499. Gold is edible in small quantities, but the restaurant has also rather selflessly warned customers of the effects of eating too much gold aappam; they recommend that you eat no more than one a week. One question though: as a nation we like to hoard
our gold, not let it go - we can only imagine how Aappakadai customers might go about that.