TGS Life 23/04/2016

PUNE, APRIL 23, 2016 | www.thegoldensparrow.com

Dance your

troubles away Ahead of World Dance Day on April 29, TGS speaks with some prominent performers, choreographers and dance teachers from the city, who have made their mark in their chosen field

APRIL 23, 2016 PUNE

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TEJAS GAIKWAD

TGS LIFE

FEATURES Battle rap has always been a huge part of the hip-hop community but, with the new wave of artists, it is now making its way into Indian culture too

Fight it out

By Zainab Kantawala @kantawalazainab

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he days of seeing emcees rapping against one another on an American television seem to be far gone, as the city is home to around 40 hip hop artists, including rappers, ciphers and beat boxers who write and rap in English as well as regional languages like Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali. They even organise professional battle rap leagues in Pune and Mumbai, and have managed to garner hundreds of Youtube views thanks to their impressive battles and charismatic performances.

Battle rap in layman’s term is a type of rapping that includes immoddest lyrics and words that invoke self pride. These rap battles are often recited or freestyled spontaneously in a live arena, and then an emcee performs on the same stage to see who has the better verses. A freestyle battle is very similar to a contest in which two or more rappers battle each other using improvised lyrics. It is each competitor’s goal to outstand their opponent through clever lyrics. These likeminded artists have come together to form a community called Pune Hip Hop Renaissance where they rap about topics related to current affairs, life in general as well as social and cultural issues.

For this passionate bunch, rapping is not just about wearing loose pants and bling neck-pieces, they believe rapping is a form of poetry and a medium to express yourself. They meet once a week for a rap battle and jam together in any open space they can find, it could be a garage or under a bridge late at night. “A couple of years ago, when I shifted to Pune, a lot of rappers in the city were already trying to rise individually. Along with four other members, I took to social media to connect with other artists,” says Paras Mehta, who is an engineer by day and a rapper by night.

The community that first started with just two members now has more than 30 artists and

is expanding every day. Their first jamming session was held a year ago in the parking lot of a shopping mall in Vishrantwadi.

The artists even upload their work on their YouTube channel. They are confident of reinventing the musical genre and bringing it into the mainstream. What sets them apart from others is their pursuit of originality and an eagerness to create a clean, slang-free identity.

“Rap is all about the consciousness and selfexpression. It’s about bringing out the rebel in you. It’s a misconceived notion that rapping is just about slang and racism,” says Ajay Ghone, founding member of the group.

The members are very strict about the nocuss-words rule, as they want people to change their perception about the genre. For them, rapping is about taking the aggression out by

pulling the opponent down using witty lyrics.

The live audience is critical to a battle as each emcee must use skill and lyrical ability to not only break down the opponent, but to convince the audience that they are the better st rapping. “As of now, I am jobless, so my lyrics are about my struggles. I use a lot of metaphors and similes in my lyrics to maintain a flow. We want people to be more respectful towards this genre, so we try to come up with authentic subjects that a wider audience can relate with,” says Ajay. They don’t need expensive guitars or equipment to be a good rapper, all they require is some talent and the will to work hard, he adds.

Their passion for rap and hip-hop is turned on 24 hours a day because you never know when inspiration strikes. For civil engineer Aditya Joshi, rapping is medium to explore philosophy

and expressing things around you. “The battles are about coming up with clever lyrics and answering the opponent better. I usually incorporate words that can have multiple interpretations. It irritates fellow contestants even more,” he smiles.

Paras, who raps in Hindi, English and Gujarati, wants to give a new perspective to his listeners. He started penning down his thoughts when he was going through a rough patch in life and found his solace in hip hop music. He still continues to jot down verses as they strike him. “I have to write down the flow of thoughts when it comes to my mind. I was once sitting in an exam hall and all I could think of was composing a song. The urge was so strong that I started writing down the lyrics behind the question paper,” he recalls. Hip Hop allows them to speak the truth and to describe what they see around them. This, the artists point out, is something that neither Indie music nor Bollywood has managed to do.

Aditya who had a flair for writing since school, got inspired after he first heard the ‘Real Slim Shady’ by Eminem. He was fascinated by his play of words and aggressive lyrics. “I could relate to the lyrics, and soon I decided to take up rapping seriously. I used to sit in the geometry class and rapped lyrics. I always had the stage presence and showmanship this art required,” he adds. He attributes Honey Singh for bringing up the fan base for hip hop in India. “He made hip hop sound more sophisticated, and wrote the lyrics that appealed wider audience,” he says.

Ajay, who started way back in 2006, used Orkut to spread his work to the masses. Battle rap was then a new term for a commercial audience and so he got very little attention. “Mumbai is the capital city of hip hop while Pune is still warming up to this culture. People are more inclined towards pop and rock music here but I am confident that we are heading in the right direction,” he adds. Right now, their focus is on prompting a hip-hop revolution in the city. zainab.kantawala@goldensparrow.com

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Watch out for these solo acts

By Zainab Kantawala @kantawalazainab

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n the world of theatre, solo acts are best known for their ability to amaze and captivate the audience singlehandedly.

Festival of Solo Theatre has been organised to celebrate the genre with six award-winning solos from Expression Lab’s Grand Festival of Solo Theatre, 2015. The performers will grab the audience’s attention for over 50 minutes through their solo acts. The list includes Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chehra, Mansha ki Shaadi, Bhavar, Khairlanji, Chocolate Fudge and Jane Eyre.

YEH CHAND SA ROSHAN CHEHRA The play is about a simple girl from Belgaum who is a fan of Bollywood star Shammi Kapoor.

Sawani Oak plays the character of Janaki who is infatuated by the actor to such an extent that she thinks she resembles him. “This is the first time that I am doing a solo act. The script impressed me so much that I decided to take up the challenge,” says Sawani. The play intends to break the monotony of time and space on stage.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE A Hindi solo performance by Laxmi Birajdar is a refreshing tale of youthful anxiety and daydreaming. The play gives an insight into the world filled with colour and pleasure when the pressure of exams becomes unbearable. She is tempted to cheat during exams, and during the course of events a new world of possibilities opens up for her. She loves chocolate fudge for a reason but will that be enough for her to get away with whatever she wants?

When: April 25, 7 pm Where: Jyotsana Sabagruha, Hirabaug

The play highlights the issue of body shaming, where Janaki compares herself to the actor who is as plump as her and is still successful in his field. She demands people to look at the person she is rather than judging her based on the way she looks. “It’s all about accepting the way you are. Janaki is a down-toearth person. I am sure the play will make the audience smile at the end,” she adds.

Language: Marathi Duration: 40 minutes When: April 28, 7 pm MANSHA KI SHAADI The performance includes a collage of monologues setting the stage for a 21st century arranged marriage in India. The play takes the funny route to uncovering the many contradictions dear to us. Actor Aarti Tiwari will take on the stage, with her distinct personality and societal beliefs to tell us the

story of an unforgettable wedding. “The play is a black comedy on how shallow we are regarding marriages and thought process of society as a whole even in this day and age,” she says.

The play revolves around how our society is still backward when it comes to marriages.

We have all grown up hearing that a marriage is the most important decision of one’s life but the society goes against a girl when she decides to marry late or not get married at all. “The play is a roller coaster ride of emotions. It covers every aspect of what a woman goes through,” she says. ‘Mansha Ki Shaadi’ has won a special jury mention at Pune’s Expression Lab’s Grand Solo Theatre Festival 2015.

Language: Hindi Duration: 60 minutes When: April 26, 7 pm

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ENTERTAINMENT

KHAIRLANJI EPISODE 2 The play revisits an incident that shook Maharashtra. September 29, 2006, became a black day in the history of the state as four Dalits in Khairlanji village of Bhandara district were killed by villagers due to a land dispute.

The play, directed and acted by Sumedhkumar Ingale, adapted the episode in the 45-minute play showing how, even after so many years, the scars of the incident are still fresh. “The incident happened when I was in the eighth standard, but it left a huge impact on my mind.

Since then I wanted to do something about it,” says Sumedhkumar. He visited Vidarbha, and interacted with the survivors and family members of those who lost their lives. After a year-long research, he decided to design the play. “Everyone who knows about the incident has a different perception of it. I am sure everyone will be able to relate to this plot.

The language and the looks are completely different,” he adds.

Language: Marathi Duration: 45 minutes When: April 25, 7 pm zainab.kantawala@goldensparrow.com

Get set, groove!

On Sunday, as the sun goes down, it’ll be time to dance to the tunes of international DJs French Toast and Oshi

By Heena Grover Menon @HeenaGM

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he two disc jockeys have been creating waves in genres like House, Bass and Club, and will now get the party started at an exclusive sundowner at Cafe Terttulia.

Excited about his first visit to the city and country, in an exclusive chat with TGS, Frank ‘French Toast’ McWeeny says, “I love the vibe of the country. I have seen a few Indian DJs play since I arrived and its great stuff. I have met several interesting artists from the Indian music scene and they all are super talented and creative.” Another thing that attracts him towards the country are Indian dance moves. “People here know how to dance. They are very communicative and energetic,” he laughs. Chinese artist DJ Oshi adds, “The best is yet to come. Indian artists are very passionate about their music which is what impressed me the most.”

Sharing the reason behind his alias French Toast, Frank says, “It came up during a brainstorming session with a friend at the university. I wanted an English name with a French connection,

TGS LIFE

and French Toast sounded perfect. Incidentally, it’s one of my favourite preparations too.”

Ever since Frank was a toddler, his eyes were set on his dream.

He owes his love for music to his father, whose vinyl collection mesmerised Frank and attracted him towards genres like Funk, Disco and Soul. Talking about his love for DJing, Frank says, “I

moved to London in 2008. While I was in France, I was fascinated by the Drum n Bass movement. So when I moved to London, I started going to parties around the city and finding myself focusing more and more on the DJ’s techniques. I got myself a pair of turntables and that’s how the story began.”

In his early days, Frank was highly influenced by artists like Gilles Peterson, Annie Mac, Tracy Chapman, Jamiroquai, Daft Punk, DJ Falcon, Diana Ross, Mr Oizo, KC & The Sunshine Band and Bob Sinclair.

Cutting his teeth on local radio back in his hometown, Frank went on to take the UK student radio by storm with his Groove, Disco and Funk-infused House music show, French Toast. This feat earned him the Gold Student Radio Award for his programming.

Oshi’s stint with DJing goes back to 1998, while he was learning the tricks and techniques. “I scratched my head over learning some instruments in vain. After about a decade of hard work, things finally started falling in place in 2008,” he shares.

Talking about the kind of the music he plays Oshi says, “As a DJ, I like to play different genres. It depends on the venue, the promoter and the artists I am playing with. I prefer to define myself as a selector. It can be big, heavy bass set as some chill and warm house vibes. As a producer, I get influenced by the 90s Hip Hop.” Oshi is on a mission to develop the Chinese club scene. His love for DJing has taken him places. Oshi, who is also an art director, is the mastermind behind many successful parties and stages at festivals such as Redbull InMusic and Strawberry.

Catch the two set the stage on fire this weekend at the sundowner at Terttulia. heena.grover@goldensparrow.com

TGS LIFE

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FEATURES

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Catch a glimpse of Dutch art & culture

An exclusive Van Gogh painting exhibition kick starts with ‘Holland meets Pune’ week

By Heena Grover Menon @HeenaGM

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ith an objective to bring the best of Dutch art, food and culture to the city, the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands inaugurated ‘Holland meets Pune’ week that was hosted

by JW Marriott hotel recently. As part of the celebrations, an eight-day exhibition displaying the artworks of one of the most sought after Dutch artists, Vincent Willem Van Gogh, is being held at the hotel premises, which aims to give art enthusiasts a glimpse of the legendary artist’s life and work.

Consul General of the Netherlands Geoffrey van Leeuwen was very upbeat about bringing the two countries closer by holding several such events across India. He also spoke at length about his plans, including a collaboration with PMC as part of Pune’s Smart City initiative. “We had a successful ‘Holland meets Mumbai’ week and now we have come to Pune to hold similar activities. This special exhibition is just the beginning as we have many interesting events lined up for Puneites over the next six weeks,” says Leeuwen.

The exclusive exhibition has been curated by city-based Amod Bhatt who creates digital

Amod Bhatt

replicas of original artworks of artists from around the world. Around six months ago, Amod wrote to the consulate expressing his interest in holding a thematic exhibition of Van Gogh’s paintings. He wanted the Dutch government to support the idea. To his surprise, he received a mail from the office of the consulate agreeing to his idea. That’s how this exhibition became a part of the ‘Holland meets Pune’ initiative. Sharing his excitement to bring Van Gogh’s work to the city, Bhatt says, “Van Gogh is one of the most celebrated Dutch artists of his time and being a passionate art lover, I wanted to bring some of his masterpieces for all art lovers of Pune. I’m grateful to Mr Leeuven as well as the hotel for lending such a tremendous support.” The

Geoffrey van Leeuwen

exhibition will be on display till April 26 and have thematic paintings, portraits, self-portraits, landscapes, wheat fields and sunflowers created

by Van Gogh.

From cultural exchanges, live food demonstrations to exciting sport activities and business meets, this event will focus on all possible ways the city could gain from the Dutch government. The coming weeks will see some important events such as the celebration of their National Day on April 27, which will see a number of cultural activities across the city, including photography exhibitions, clock-making workshops and much more. India being one of the most important hockey playing countries, the consulate is also bringing a huge number of

hockey coaches and trainers to provide specialised training to young sports enthusiasts in the city, which the consulate believes will help the country gain its number one position back in the game.

Throwing more light on their collaboration to help Pune achieve the Smart City status, Leeuwen says, “We have already tied up with the civic commissioner Kunal Kumar to provide e-mobility in the city by giving them loading facilities for electric cars. Holland also produces electric buses, and this is something we want to bring here so Pune can become a pollution-free city. We are also focussing on effective ways to deal with the waste generated in the city.” heena.grover@goldensparrow.com

“To be a musician and make a living from our passion is of course the most beautiful thing but it also means we need to give 100 percent at all times when we’re on stage, no matter what other problems we might be facing,” explains Florian when asked about what they love and find difficult about being musicians. Their music has been influenced by other Fanfare Eastern European musicians like Kocani Orkestar and Fanfare Ciocarlia.

Even contemporary artists like David Krakauer, Yom and Balkan Beat Box too have played a role in shaping their music. Ask them about Indian music and they say that although

they don’t know much about it, they hope to discover it on this tour.

The band comprises of their charismatic clarinet player and singer Grégory Blaud, the crazy saxophonist and doudouk player Florian Valloom, the handsome keyboard, accordion player and vocalist Nathanaël Bianconi, their delightful bass tuba and synth player Patrice Komlanz and of course the man who creates magic when on the drums Robin Veyssière.

When: April 24, 6:30 pm onwards Where: Mazda Hall, Dastur High School, Camp salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

Swing to French tunes Power-packed performances, complete with Eastern European music, electronic influences and tasteful humour, the five piece band La Fanfare Couche-Tard is all set to brighten up your Sunday

By Salonee Mistry @SaloneeMistry

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ringing a festive concert feel to the city, the band from the Balkans, will be performing here for the very first time. Their performance will fuse Balkan instruments with electronic sounds. Their songs seamlessly blend traditional folk music with creations from the band and contemporary music. They have created a new song list especially for the Indian tour and are excited to experience a world and culture so different from their own.

On the road for about seven years now, the band members believe that they have been lucky enough to perform at a lot of events across the globe. From acoustic concerts right in the middle of crowded urban streets to big stages at music festivals, they take immense pleasure in sharing their music with a varied range of audience. Since they come from different musical backgrounds there is a little bit of everything in their songs making it more likeable. “A French festival was looking for a special musical animation as part of a press

conference so we put together a few musicians.

This is when the spotlight truly hit us for the first time. After that, others contacted us back for events and from a group of friends who would meet up to tour the roads with our music and we went on to become a full-fledged band,” says Florian Valloo, who plays the saxophone. The band has had more than 250 shows through several European countries.

This will be their first Indian tour.

Although they started off by playing only traditional music, for the last two years they have been experimenting quite a bit. Some of the band members started composing and including electronic instruments and sounds to the songs, giving it a contemporary and brand new feel altogether. Their lyrics and music is inspired from things that they see happen around them, especially at concerts. This is the trademark of the band. The band name La Fanfare Couche-Tard translates to mean, ‘the brass band that goes to bed late’, but the team prefers to be called the ‘Night Owls Band’. As a part of their India tour, which started on April 20, they will be travelling to Delhi, Kolkatta, Pune, Chennai, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

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BEING FASHIONABLE

IS HER PLUS POINT Fashion enthusiast-turned-blogger, Meenu Goel wants to change the way we look at size 16

TGS LIFE

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FEATURES

By Heena Grover Menon @HeenaGM

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aving always been on the heavier side, 25-year-old Meenu Goel was made to believe that fashion was ‘not’ her thing.

Over years of experimenting with various looks, she finally took the leap of faith and started her own blog last year. ‘She’s A sixteen’ chronicles is her take on wearable and affordable fashion.

Through her love for clothes, accessories and make-up, she has learned to finally rock her curves with confidence. Says Meenu, “Although I write about clothing ideas for size 16 girls, it’s an absolute delight when girls of ‘acceptable’ sizes leave comments saying they love what I write and post through my pictures that gives them ideas on how to pair outfits in terms of styles, shades and so on.”

Meenu’s personal style is very feminine with accessories to add definition and an edge. She loves investing in jewellery, shoes, makeup and bags as she feels they can completely transform any outfit.

“From crop tops to skater skirts, there are different ways to style a piece of clothing and nothing’s a taboo based on size.”

FIVE LOOKS TO FLAUNT THIS SEASON • The first look is a tad bold and confident one for a dressy evening out. White and pink is an ideal summer colour palette. For those who don’t wear sleeveless, summer dressing can be quite woeful which is when butterfly sleeves like these are a saviour. Also, what’s not to love about white and lace. Skater skirts are short and can make one conscious which is why I’ve worn block heels to add length and structure to my legs.

• Maxi dresses are your best friend this summer. The fabric doesn’t stick to the body. I got a slit added to my dress for that slight sexiness and paired it with a super comfortable, white cotton cover-up. Also, yellow is a lovely summer pick.

• Another spring appropriate look is a denim dress paired with a light fabric, floral print shirt. The shirt can also be knotted for a fun element. Sneakers and a bright sling are ideal to complete the look and ensure comfort through the day.

• What’s more comfortable and apt than a pair of shorts and printed top. To add some definition to the look, I’ve opted for tan gladiator flats to add definition to my monochrome outfit and this laptop bag is super convenient to carry my world around for a day of running errands and working.

• Simple and subtle, this ethnic look is for the slightly conservative girl. Here, I have paired a plain blue kurti with a bright red dupatta for a formal office look. You can go without the dupatta too, but this just gives more desi feel to the look. The black handbag completes the formal look.

HER FASHION MUST-DOS • Wear lots of bright colours, whites and even pastels.

If you’re like me and can’t live without black, the best way to add colour this season is brighten up your lips, nails and accessories.

• I personally love flowy skirts and cotton dresses, short lace skirts or even denim shorts. As for the style rules, I’m a very ‘to hell with the rules’ kinda person.

If I like it, I’m going to wear it. For example, a lot is said about the type of polka dots a plus size girl should or shouldn’t wear. I’ve done posts wearing really big polka dots on a dress to one with a jacket with tons of tiny polka dots. It’s all about how you mix n match and your confidence.

• I’m a sunglasses addict and was always trying to keep up with the rules for my round face. But over the last couple of years, every time I go shopping, I leave the rules behind and just buy what I really like. From aviators and wayfarers to over-sized ones and circular mirrored picks, you can choose to wear anything that you think suits your face.

• I’ve recently started experimenting with more advanced makeup. I have super sensitive skin and that keeps my use of make-up under check. If foundation is a must, I’d suggest the Lakme CC cream (a much lighter version with good coverage). Given the heat, I just skip it all and stick to my patent moisturiser, Johnson’s baby lotion. May be just a little concealer for those who can’t do without it. Bright lip shades and the quintessential kajal with some mascara are my go-to products. heena.grover@goldensparrow.com

TGS LIFE

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FEATURES

HE’LL COOK UP YOUR NEXT DRINK VISHAL KALE

Managing the bar is not only his profession but his passion too

By Salonee Mistry @SaloneeMistry

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ROASTED BETEL LEAF MARTINI Ingredients: and muddle. Post these, add the Sweet paan 1 roasted apple chunks and muddle Gin 45ml lightly. (Ensure that both ingrediRosso vermouth 15ml ents mix properly). Now add 45ml Lemon juice 15ml of gin, 15 ml of rosso vermouth Roasted apple 1 (sweet vermouth) and 90 ml Apple juice 90ml of apple juice. Put lots of ice in Glassware – Martini Glass cocktail shaker; shake it properly Method: and after that double strain the Put sweet paan in cocktail shaker cocktail. Garnish with a betel leaf

he jacket comes off, the sleeves go up and he shuffles to find a place behind the bar.

Having completed his graduation in hotel management from Amity University in Noida he has worked at Hyatt, Delhi and Hilton before he was whisked off to Hyatt in Pune. In the city for the last six months, he absolutely loves his new job and can be seen at the Fishbowl so often that he hasn’t even been around the city much. Avinash Kumar is confident, knows very well what he is doing and is not scared to experiment.

Inventing about seven new cocktails to help fight the summer, he found a way to cook your drink and this gave us the opportunity to meet the talented young boy.

The key to making a drink right, he tells us, is to understand your flavours and ingredients. “Every day for me is a learning experience. I’m usually hanging around in the kitchen or behind the bar trying to experiment and figure out what new drink I can come up with,” he says.

Playing with alcohol is his favourite pastime and it is the one thing that constantly occupies his mind. In a bid to do something different and invent, he began thinking of fruits and vegetables as part of a drink and something about the combination felt right. For about two weeks, he went through a lot of trial and error before he came up with a menu. He promises us that all the drinks are only made from fresh ingredients to set them apart from others.

Avinash’s personal favourite is the Roasted Betel Leaf Martini, which includes gin, rosso vermouth, roast apple and betel leaf.

The other drinks on the menu are

Roasted Guava Martini, Grilled Pineapple Mojito, Grilled Apple and Choco Mojito, Roasted Tomato Basil Mary, Smoky Sour and Smoky Mango. Just like your food, these drinks too are rich in flavour and are spread over a range from spicy to sweet. To add to the feel of it being cooked, the drinks are served at the table just for a minute with a bowl of smoke prepared with the help of dry ice. This not only makes it more presentable but also adds to the aura of the drink.

“My biggest challenge while making any drink is the constant worry of whether it will be liked.

Not always do people understand the concept and this is a mixologist’s true test. One can be creative only if you are truly passionate about what you do,” says the 26-year-old. The next concept that he is working on are some beer-based cocktail coolers that will be most apt once the summer gets more aggressive, he believes. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

GRILLED PINEAPPLE MOJITO Ingredients: Grilled Pineapple 1 (sliced and grilled) Dark Rum 60ml Lemon – half lemon, cut in smaller chunks Mint 10 fresh leaves Sugar 10 gms Pineapple juice 90ml Glassware – Hi-Ball Method: Add the mint and sugar in the empty glass and muddle (mix it well). Then add the lemon chunks and the grilled pineapple chunks and muddle it lightly once again. (Ensure the lemon zest does not give a bitter taste) Add crushed or broken ice. Pour the pineapple juice and top up with the dark rum. Garnish with grilled pineapple and serve with straw and a stirrer to enjoy the drink

YOUR CHOW AROUND TOWN Meet winter this summer When most of us are saying, ‘summer is here’, Cafe Coffee Day says, ‘winter has arrived’! This April, a whole new range of four freezing cold beverages - two smoothies and two punches dip the country in the wow-ness of winter like never before. The winter-some treat begins with Tiramisu Smoothie, a sweet sip-n-snack delight.

It is a blend of cocoa powder, cheese sauce and coffee on a bed of sponge cake and topped with cream that is sure to make you shiver in April. With Strawberry Cheese Cake Smoothie, summers will be bygone when strawberries and cheese sauce lavishly meet on a bed of crushed cookies. Coffee buffs and winter lovers can savour the smoothies with chili butter cookie on the side.

When: Till May 31 Where: All Cafe Coffee Day Outlets

American Chinese Food Fest Whispering Bamboo brings a few classic fusion recipes for its Chinese lovers with a blend of American taste this summer. The twist in the American Chinese cuisine is that it treats vegetable as a side dish or garnish while tradition Chinese cooking emphasises on using a variety of vegetables. Of the various regional cuisines, Cantonese cuisine has been the most influential regional cuisine in the development of American Chinese food. The few mouthwatering signature dishes served at the festival will be General Tso’s Chicken, Drunken Lobster, Singapore Rice Noodle Soup, Sweet and Sour Lotus Sesame Seed. Other than the signature dishes, the festival has a special menu to enthral your taste buds such as Water Chestnut Tofu with Honey Plum, Steamed Chicken with Dry

Sweet Bean and so on.

When: Till May 1 Where: Whispering Bamboo, Vivanta by Taj Blue Diamond, Koregaon Park

Mango Mania The season of the king of fruits is here and Hyatt Pune Kalyani Nagar gives you every reason to indulge in it with a delightful range of mangolicious food items all through this month.

Mangoes, the national fruit of India, are of a huge nutritive value as they contain essential vitamins and minerals. Sink into mouthwatering delicacies like the Mango Almond Canolli, baked Mango Panacotta, Mango Brulee layered with bavarin chocolate and much more at the pastry shop as well as theoir restaurants.

When: Till April 30 Where: Hyatt Pune, Nagar Road

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INDULGE

TALAB PAAN After working in various sectors, Faiz Talab decided to work on something that he is very fond of – the paan. He believes in making the customers feel welcome. The best paans on their menu are Aag Ke Sholey which is recommended for cough and cold, apart from Strawberry and Blackcurrant Paan. Their Barfi Thandai Paan, filled with crushed ice and is to be had at one go, is a must try. After the initial chill, gradually all its flavours settles in. “This is a very popular paan especially with the college kids. We keep introducing flavours to attract more customers,” says Faiz. If you are not in the mood for a paan, the store even offers a paan-flavoured ice cream.

Where: Shop No 4, Opposite Kausarbaugh Society, NIBM Road

By Zainab Kantawala @kantawalazainab

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JAGANNATH PAAN This place has served its customers for the last 36 years and the shop owner Deepak Shetty claims to have very experienced paan makers on his staff. The shop has a variety of paan on offer like the Goodnight Masala, Calcutta Chocolate Masala and Special Kareena Bistar paan, all ranging between Rs 30 to Rs 100. “We have customers who have been loyal to us for years. But we also want to attract youngsters, so we experiment with flavours and give fancy names to grab their attention,” says Deepak.

The Goodnight Masala paan includes 21 ingredients including saffron, cashew, almond, nuts, dried fig, coconut, whereas the Kareena Bistar is a meetha paan the comprises of a drizzle of gulkand, mint, fennel seeds and is hugely preferred because of its sweet taste and twisted name. “The flavours are popular amongst college-going kids. Besides, we also customise paans to suit individual tastes,” adds Deepak.

Where: Sfurti, Vasantrao Limaye Path, Sadashiv Peth

hich one would you go for strawberry, vanilla, pineapple or chocolate? No, we aren’t talking about ice creams, pastries, or a candy bar. It’s the classic meetha paan that has got remixed into various flavours. Paan sellers are getting more experimental by the day, showing their creativity with an array of ingredients and spices to attract more customers and offer a carnival of flavours. We take you to some of the best paan shops in Pune to give you a glimpse of what’s on offer.

NAAD PAAN SHOP Everyone serves the regular magai and Calcutta paan, but what sets this store apart are flavours like strawberry, orange, blackcurrant, raat-raani and mogra. And yes, they even have vanilla and butterscotch. The basic paan is priced at Rs 30 and goes up to Rs 5000. “I am a goldsmith by profession but I always wanted to come up with a unique concept. I travelled far and wide and researched on the kinds of paan available in India. We now have more than 300 varieties available at our store,” says the owner Santosh Shirdikar. The shop is now run by his wife and mother.

Their menu includes interesting options like Ice Paan, Mansehi Paan, and Chandan paan.

The most expensive paan here is the Swarna Bhasma Paan, which is a mix of specially made chutneys, masala, chyawanprash as well as other Ayurvedic ingredients. The paan also includes gold and silver flakes and takes about six hours to make. Santosh claims that the special paan helps overcome indigestion. The one that sounds the most interesting is the ingenious Iced Paan, which leaves a cold sensation in the mouth when you begin to chew.

This paan is prepared with khajur and special iced chutney and is refrigerated eight hours before being served. “We are also in the process of developing a Naad paan shop app to attract more customers,” Santosh adds.

Where: Shop 5, Rangoli Co Op Hsg Society, Warje Malwadi Rd, Mayur Colony, Kothrud zainab.kantawala@goldensparrow.com

SHAUKEEN PAAN Shaukeen was the first air-conditioned paan shop in the city and started the concept of having a family paan joint in the city. Owner Sharad More came up with this idea 13 years ago when he was managing a small paan outlet by the name of Sweekar. “We get a crowd of nearly 500 to 600 people and on weekends we don’t even get the time to sit down,” says Sharad. Their menu consist of 30 types of paan, but what sells like hot cake here is their kesar magai that consists of saffron chutney which is prepared by them and chandi vark. “We add fruit syrups, chocolate pieces and flavoured gulkand. This paan is appreciated by youngsters, women and children,” he says.

Where: Nal Stop, Karve Road

TEJAS GAIKWAD

A leafy delight

One thing that you never say no to after a satiating meal is a paan. In fact, there’s more and more options to choose from in the market these days

Dance your

TGS LIFE

troubles a

APRIL 23, 2016 PUNE

FEATURES

By Heena Grover Menon @HeenaGM These ‘movers and shakers’ of Pune’s dance circuit began their journey very early on. To some, it was an absolutely uncharted path. Yet their grit, passion and determination made them reach for the stars. Even after achieving so many accolades, each one of them still believes that they can never learn enough.

Here’s a peek into their success stories, how dance has shaped their lives, what they think is still lacking in the dance world, and how they would want to change them by spreading more awareness.

SANJAY SAWANT

JUSTINE BHATT She started learning Bharatnatyam as a little girl, but Justine Bhatt’s stint with dance began in the early 90s when choreographer Ahmed Khan used to visit Pune for shows. Ahmed was working with Saroj Khan, he asked Justine to join the team and that’s how Justine moved to Pune/Mumbai??? to begin her career. She performed with several choreographers for many popular Bollywood films such as Rangeela, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and so on. But it was Ganesh Hegde with whom she worked for the longest. “I came to the industry when the entire scenario of choreography was undergoing a major change. Choreographers were giving more importance to the attire, using dance forms to focus more on the actors’ body and overall appearance, which had not been done before. So it was a great learning period for me as well. I did many films and film award functions, went on tours abroad with famous actors like, Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, which was super exciting.”

After spending about 15 years, Justine then decided to move back to Pune when her sister, who is also a dancer, told her that she was interested in starting her own dance academy. It was also the time when Justine had a child and she wanted to spend some time away from the stage. “Things had also started to change and now, the focus had somewhat drifted to showing skin on screen, which was something which I was not very keen on. So I moved back and we started our dance academy.

Here we teach students freestyle dancing and we have all kinds of people - from children to elders - coming to learn,” she says. Justine’s aim is not to turn the dancers into professionals but to take it up as something that could make them happy and forget their stressful lives. Besides, she often keeps hopping between Mumbai and Pune whenever she gets a project. She choreographs several ad films and shows in and outside the city and is happy being in her current space.

Coming from a defence background, Sanjay Sawant had no connection with dance whatsoever, but it was his passion that got him started at an early age.

In college, he actively participated in various dance programmes and would choreograph other students as well. This was the early 90s when Bollywood and Tollywood music was undergoing a change and Sanjay was immensely drawn towards dancing to the tunes of film songs. “Those days, Prabhu Deva was a rage and I used to love his dance style. I never went for any formal dance training everything that I learned was through practice and passion.

This let me participate in several shows in the city, be it school or corporate functions.

In 1998, I got my first opportunity to teach in a school and it was from there that my journey actually took off.”

Sanjay started his small dance studio near Koregaon Park where he brought together several struggling dancers and

Ah on som cho fro the

created his own dance troupe. He was selected to choreograph the first Indian dance reality show Zee Cinestar Ki Khoj in 2004 and was part of the show for over 21 seasons. He did many successful shows with celebrities such as Vikas Bhalla, Shaan and others and gave opportunities to several newcomers. Even after so many years Sanjay feels that being in the shoes of a student is always better than being a teacher. “There’s never an end to learning.

SANDIP SOP

“It was because of dance that I met my wife.

Although we are no longer married but dance has and will keep us together” — SANDIP SOPARRKAR

Born and brought u synonymous with d Latin American and represented the cou besides being close television major bea after gaining experie he has not achieved he still needs to lear For the past two Dance Week, one o festival in Mumbai, together national an world on one stage. folk, Ballroom, Hip This is the third ye excited to host it onc which wouldn’t be a we have invited som perform their tradit For Sandip, d strengthening his re helped him in his ro age, he laughs and s did help on many o that I met my wife dance has and will drinks, I have bond thing.” Not just that years, he was not v was dance that help what he is today.

TGS LIFE

away

APRIL 23, 2016 PUNE

FEATURES

head of World Dance Day April 29, TGS speaks with me prominent performers, oreographers and dance teachers om the city, who have made eir mark in their chosen field Once you get it in your head that you have learned it all, your growth also gets limited. It feels good when your students look up to you, touch your feet and call you a guru, but one should never let all this affect you.”

This World Dance Day, he is organising a special event where dancers and teachers of all the dance academies in the city will come together on one stage to perform and teach dance enthusiasts in the city. Popular celebrity choreographers such as Ganesh Acharya, Siddhesh Pai, Savio Barnes and Danny Fernandes would also share their experiences and shake a leg with everyone. With an event like this, Sanjay’s aim is to build a community of dancers in the city so everyone could meet and greet and share their expertise. He also wants to make a special reality show which would focus on the security of the performers by giving them insurances which no one has ever done before. “There are so many risks involved in stage performances, so I want to make a show which would focus on this significant aspect.”

PARRKAR

up in Pune, Sandip’s name has always been dance. He is the one who set the trend of d Ballroom dance forms in India and has untry on numerous international platforms ely associated with Bollywood, theatre, auty pageants and reality shows. But even ence that spans so many years, he feels that much and that there are many things that rn. o years, Sandip has been organising India of the biggest two-day international dance , around World Dance Day which brings nd international performers from across the . Be it Indian or International classical or p Hop or Contemporary forms of dancing. ear of the festival and Sandip is extremely ce again. “I always wanted to create a stage about the dance but the dancers. This year me Japanese and Tibetan dancers who will tional dance forms.” dance has also played a vital role in elationships. When quizzed whether dance omantic endeavours during his growing up says, “Well, I wouldn’t want to deny that it occasions. In fact, it was because of dance e. Although we are no longer married but keep us together. Like people bond over ded with people over dance, and it’s a great t, Sandip confesses that during his college very confident about facing people and it ped him drop his inhibitions and made him

SWAPNIL DAGLIYA Young and full of energy, this multi-talented dancer and teacher from Pune has trained in multiple dance forms, be it Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip-Hop and various other styles. Swapnil Dagliya is the artistic director of AVAYAVA, an annual contemporary dance festival held in Pune that hosts international choreographers who conduct dance workshops, performances and panel discussions.

Having undergone professional dance trainings in the US and Italy, Swapnil is one of the perfect examples of representing the city on a global platform. Shuttling between Belgium and Pune

to run his dance academies keeps him on his toes.

While Pune has always been a culturally rich city, western dance forms have not yet attained the kind of acceptance that it deserves. This is something which Swapnil is trying to change by creating awareness among the young dance enthusiasts who join his academy.

“Although the scenario has started to change in the recent times, through my dance festivals and studio in Belgium, I am trying to bring as many international performers and choreographers from different countries, so that there’s a healthy

outside India. Sameera also performed at the Bryan Adam concert in Mumbai. “All this She liked dancing as a school girl, but gave me a lot of exposure and I learned a lot Sameera Palkar’s formal dance training began along with other performers. Even though we after finishing her school. Like most of her had to be on stage for almost 10-12 hours, I friends, Sameera too wanted to join Shiamak hardly felt tired as this was something I really Davar’s dance institute and it was from here wanted to do.” that her journey kicked off. She even had to Sameera feels that a city like Pune is drop a year in college as her senior instructors yet to accept Western dance the way it does liked her dancing skills Indian classical dance and pushed her to join a forms. From her own special potential batch experiences through her in Pune for advance travels abroad, she says training. Sameera then that Indian classical moved on to do a one-year dance is highly regarded intensive certification in the West, so why diploma in 2009 and she isn’t it getting the same was among the first in respect and position that batch which gave her here. “When I started the opportunity to learn learning dance, there from Shiamak personally. wasn’t much awareness “Although it was very amongst parents, but intense and physically now I can see a positive draining, I loved every change. But there is still a bit of it because I was long way to go.” Being a doing something I was so dance instructor, Sameera passionate about.” feels it’s her duty to not From Ballet, Yoga, just teach her students — SWAPNIL DAGLIYA Jazz and Contemporary, the right moves, but also she learned all dance make them aware about forms under Shiamak the origins of these dance as well as various international artists. This forms, so that more and more people can take also gave her a chance to perform on several up dancing not as just another hobby, but a stage shows including prominent film award serious profession. functions, celebrity music tours in and heena.grover@goldensparrow.com

SAMEER A PALKAR

“Everyone is in hurry to become a star or jump up to be a trainer, but not much attention is given to the learning process”

exchange of art and ideas. But the major thing that is lacking among the dancers and teachers in the city is the motivation and zeal to learn,” adds Swapnil. Everyone is in a hurry to become a star or jump up to be a trainer, but not much attention is given to the learning process, which is very important for any performing artist. To change this outlook, Swapnil says that it’s very essential for parents to first understand that they should encourage among their children when they send them to dance schools and not the idea of climbing up the success ladder right at the beginning.

VISHAL KALE

TGS LIFE

APRIL 23, 2016 PUNE

THRILL OF DRIVING

Nuvolution

By Tushar Burman @tburman

M

ahindra is on a roll these days, releasing vehicles at a rapid clip and we don’t mean slap-dash sticker jobs on existing models. In this past year, we’ve seen the TUV300, the KUV100 and now this: the NuvoSport, who’s name flies in the face of all that Mahindra holds holy. There’s an ‘O’ in there though.

The NuvoSport joins the previouslymentioned SUVs (we use this term rather flexibly these days) in the sub-4m category. This means that coupled with motors of 1.5 litres or less, the vehicles attract lower government taxes and can be priced favourably for consumers. We reviewed the TUV300 in October last year and came away impressed by the value proposition.

The NuvoSport as we tested it, takes things to another level, this time with an automated manual transmission, or AMT. Visually, the all-new front face of the NuvoSport has transformed the frankly fugly Quanto. From the windshield back, it’s still the same shape, but the face makes it. We had numerous rubber-necking spectators in our week with the vehicle. The LED DRLs (almost mandatory these days) are also honest and wellintegrated, unlike some luxury cars we could mention if we were being catty. Mahindra claims the NuvoSport is based on the new-generation

A slight cosmetic tweak has made the forgettable Quanto into a genuinely likeable small SUV

Scorpio platform, unlike the Quanto.

The star of the show for us is the mHawk100 engine. It’s a three-cylinder diesel that puts out 100bhp and 240Nm of torque and despite propelling this porky compact SUV, manages to remain responsive and comfortable to drive.

Comparatively, the mHawk80 that we drove in the TUV300 feels pedestrian and just about

Rear knee room is tight behind the driver, but alright otherwise

adequate. Mahindra has also done a good job with the 5-speed AMT in our test vehicle. The transmission seems to always be in the right gear for a given situation and the engine always seems to be on boost. Of course, in heavy traffic when you need to point and squirt, there will be times where you wish for a proper manual, but one could say that about any automatic.

Manually downshifting helps, but gear changes are leisurely and won’t help you get a move on immediately.

Mahindra’s gate layout for the shifter is also convenient, with up and downshifts along the vertical axis and auto/manual toggle, neutral and reverse along the horizontal. You never have to guess which slot you’re in at a long signal. Just slap the stick to the right and you’re in neutral.

Ergonomics are a bit of a mixed bag. We like the armrests, that are a bit more evenly placed to the ones on the doors, but the infotainment screen is a bit too vertical for comfortable viewing. The TUV300 was better in this regard, but didn’t have a Kenwood colour touchscreen like the NuvoSport. AUX, Bluetooth and iPod connectivity is present and all works well.

Interestingly, the NuvoSport N8 AMT that we tested comes off looking a bit sparse compared to other feature-laden Mahindras we’ve tested.

No cornering headlamps, no driving modes or micro-hybrid. The latter two are available in the manual transmission-equipped variants, however.

Comfort is good for a vehicle of this size.

Rear knee room is at a premium, but is offset somewhat by the relatively upright bench.

The rear seat is adjustable for recline as long as the jump seats at the back are flipped down.

Accommodations for the driver and passenger are generous, with lots of shoulder room and legroom. Want to meet a writing deadline en route? Cross your legs on the seat and perch your laptop on them. One would think that a vehicle as tall as this would simplify ingress and egress for seniors, but this is not the case. The footboard is almost necessary to get in, as is grabbing the roof handle. This leads us nicely to the one serious concern we have about the NuvoSport.

Mahindra pitches this vehicle as an outdoor activity platform and we’d agree for the most part, as long as it’ should and your partner sitting up front. On the second row, things can get violently unsettling thanks to the alarming body roll the NuvoSport suffers from. The generous width of the vehicle becomes a disadvantage for passengers, as they’re thrown from side to side as the SUV traverses rough stuff. It doesn’t even need to be particularly rough. We’d advise riders at the back to keep their seatbelts on for comfort as well as safety. We’re not sure what to make of this behaviour, as the vehicle doesn’t feel particularly hairy through long sweepers when you’re pushing some lateral Gs. It’s also something that’s endemic to this vehicle; the TUV300 did not suffer from this peculiarity. Highway manners are adequate.

Triple-digit cruising is possible and feels relaxed.

A high point is the brilliant refinement and silence of the cabin. You can have quiet conversations at high speed, despite a three-cylinder Diesel motor up front. A job most certainly well done. The N8 variant we tested came with cruise control, which is another nice feature. Lighting from the new headlamps combined with the front fog lamps is excellent, with an even spread.

Rounding off the practicality of the NuvoSport — if you do choose to go kitesurfing at some point — is the decent boot. As expected, it’s far taller than deep, but it’s no shallow sliver of space you’d get if you were to buy a compact threerow MUV, for instance. With the jump seats folded, there’s enough space for a weekend’s worth of luggage, a cat carrier while the dog lounges in the second row. Have more dogs? The rear seats flip and tumble, liberating over 800 litres.

Mahindra continues to impress with their genuine strides away from the agricultural toward the contemporary. They appear to be following the Maruti mantra of offering a vehicle at every price range. Unlike Maruti, however, they seem to be throwing all manner of designs at the wall to see what sticks. The NuvoSport, in our opinion, sticks well. tushar@goldensparrow.com

Verdict + Price, Packaging, Performance - Body roll Price- Rs 9.76 lac

TGS rating ;;;`Z

Handsome front benefits from nice-looking and bright LED DRLs

Low loading lip makes the cargo area convenient to access

VISHAL KALE

TGS LIFE

APRIL 23, 2016 PUNE

FEATURES

The journey of a biker, tattoo artist and a photographer When the engine roars he forgets all his stress, the sound of the tattoo machine is music to his ears and the shutterbug belongs to another world with a camera in his hand. Meet three friends on a journey across the country

By Salonee Mistry @SaloneeMistry

T

hey are daring, believe in pushing and testing their limits and live to do something out of the box. Theirs is a story of one journey, three friends, hundreds of tattoos and thousands of kilometres. The three of them are living their ultimate dream through

a journey they’re calling Ride2Ink. Quitting his corporate job to start a tattoo studio, 29-year-old Kishore Sanduptla is from Pune but has been living in Hyderabad for a while now. He has been a tattoo artist for the last six years and is absolutely content with his small studio and loyal customers.

A personal trainer by profession, 25-yearold Sanju Maity is a biker at heart. He believes in making time from his busy schedule to hit the road, feel the wind and wander never travelled before roads. Preferring to stay behind the camera to create magic with his imagination and skills, Vishwanath Papan is only 21 years old.

His area of expertise lies in fashion photography and shooting movie poster stills.

Just about two months ago, the three packed their bags, started their Enfields and set out on a journey that they would remember for life. With Kishore being passionate about tattooing and Sanju about biking, they found a

way to combine both and got Vishwanath on board to film the entire process. They started from Nagpur, travelled through Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Gujarat. In Maharashtra they visited Mumbai and Pune too, where we caught up with them over cold coffee. Next, they are headed towards the south. “This journey started out with us doing something to feed our passion and something which was a little out of the regular.

We plan to document the entire journey and try to find a trend in the kind of tattoos that people specific to a particular city get inked,” Kishore tells us. He has inked about 70 people, since he started riding. Most of the tattoos have been names and really simple designs, he shares.

What the trio has set out to do is not an easy task. Not only do they ride long distances but they have to stop at Vishwanath’s will to

shoot for the web-series. “While uneven roads and erratic climate are a constant challenge, the bigger one for me is to be accompanied by a new biker. I am used to riding for 100 kilometres at a stretch, but since Kishore is riding for the first time he gets tired and we stop every 50 kilometres. When you get into the flow it is easy to cover longer distances, switching on and off is not easy,” confesses Sanju. This often leads to arguments between the three of them, they admit. The very next minute, however, they are back to being the best of friends.

Shooting the entire experience is quite the task, adds Vishwanath. He says, “Riding on highways we often pass by extremely scenic views and it is only after a while I realise that we could have shot there. Sometimes, I am so adamant on getting a shot that no matter how far we’ve gotten I make sure that we go back. Documenting everything is not easy. It has to be informative, yet classy. It truly puts my creativity to test.” Since not a lot of people like getting filmed while being tattooed, that section is covered through stories that Kishore and Sanju narrate.The time spent on the road has been a thrilling experience for all of them.

They have done everything from sleeping on the highway to meeting some crazy people and off-roading with their bikes too. They are funding the entire trip themselves and have decided that if they are left with additional money at the end of the trip, they will donate it to a cause.

Among the few things that will stick with them for a long time even after the trip ends, are, the wonderful touch of uniqueness that every city had to offer, the people they met and the feeling of stress-free riding. saloneemistry@goldensparrow.com

‘You can talk to anyone through beatboxing’ Meet Manasi Nene, one of the few exceptional female beatboxers that the country has seen

By Salonee Mistry @SaloneeMistry

TEJAS GAIKWAD

S

he started beatboxing when she saw Vineeth and Likith on a television show about seven years ago. She was in the eighth standard then and was fascinated by how music could be made using the mouth. She wanted to try it out for herself so she went online, found a bunch of tutorials, referred to those featuring Fat Tony and Tyte and practiced her heart out. Today she is the beatboxing voice behind the Kit-Kat airport commercial which went viral recently. This is the story of 19-year-old Manasi Nene, for whom beatboxing has become a

huge passion.

Taking stage, sometimes alone and holding onto the mike as firmly as she can, she lets her vocal cords create some of the best music that you would have heard in a long time.

While there wasn’t one single person who inspired her to learn the art form, it was an amalgamation of sources, she tells us. She does, however, mention Reeps One, who is one of the most well-known beatboxers today, as his music helps her push her own boundaries. “For me, the best compliment is always the vibe during a big performance, when the crowd cheers along. You can just feel the support and you don’t need words to describe the atmosphere,” she says. What ticks her off is when the compliments linger along the lines of, ‘You did so well despite being a girl’, and this more than often upsets her. People need to learn to appreciate the music and not compliment it just because a girl is doing it, she explains.

Talking of challenges, the most difficult part for her was learning the snare sound. Since this is one of the most fundamental techniques for any beatboxer, she spent an entire week practicing every single minute till she got it right. Being a girl, she will always be at a disadvantage when it comes to bass sounds, she points out. However, she has come up with another bass technique, hardly used by other people and this is now one of her signature sounds.

“You can talk to anyone through beatboxing. Street kids and college deans, everyone becomes an equal when there’s music involved,” she says. Quickly adding, “Beatboxing is a way of expressing different kinds of energies and moods without having to put it in words. It’s something that doesn’t need any money to get into, you don’t have to buy any equipment, also, you don’t need a dedicated place to practice. Anyone can do it anywhere and this something that I love about

the art form,” says the young girl.

Her journey as a beatboxer has just begun and there is a lot more than she wants to learn. However she is most interested in literature and specifically slam poetry. Professionally, she wants to be a journalist and be involved in projects that take music, art, and lowcost libraries to inaccessible places.

Currently in her second year at Flame University, she is doing a BA in Literary and Cultural studies, with a minor in Journalism. She also founded the Pune Poetry Slam in 2013, a collective that organises events and workshops to promote spoken-word poetry in the city. She likes to read and listen to things far outside the mainstream and being curious is her thing. Sometime in the near future, she would also like to start a magazine focusing on Pune’s subcultures like that of skateboarders, people who do parkour and amateur astronomers, among others. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

TGS LIFE

APRIL 23, 2016 PUNE

Kitchen queens TEJAS GAIKWAD

FEATURES These born foodies have set their own gourmet trend by turning their passion for good food into successful restaurant ventures

By Heena Grover Menon @HeenaGM

W

hile binging on their favourite food one day, Ridhiema Shahani, Natasha Asnani, Sweta Jobanputra, Amritha Shrikumar, and Daizy Rustomjee struck upon the idea of starting their own food joint. These would not be eateries like the hundreds that already exist, but something which the city had not really experimented with before - be it an exclusive breakfast joint, exotic and healthy smoothie cafe or a one-slice pizza corner. Let’s hear out how these women restaurateurs began their journey and set their own sweet, delicious eat-out trends in Pune.

For Natasha, who has been a health buff all her life, blending her own healthy smoothies using exotic fruits and ingredients and relishing them at home was not much of a task. But when she decided to turn this into a ‘fruitful’ venture, Natasha needed to do a lot of R&D. From finding a place to start the cafe, importing a monthly stock of fruits from France and then creating a menu which people would like, she had to take care of all this and more.

An MBA by qualification, Natasha never really thought she would get into F&B business, but during her travels abroad, she would really like the way many places served their smoothies using delicious fruits like passion fruit, cherries, blueberries and raspberries.

“After coming back home, I started trying these drinks out on my own with whatever

Ridhiema Shahani

Sweta Jobanputra, Amritha Shrikumar, and Daizy Rustomjee

little stock that I had brought back with me many in Pune have been able to offer it. While and they turned out to be absolutely amazing. having a candid chat with her friend over a Then I thought why not start something of this slice of pizza, Ridhiema and her friend-turned kind in Pune, where there’s a decent number partner, Vidur Mehmi decided to start their of people, including expats, who would own pizza place which would serve different really like to drink something like this,” says varieties by the slice. They named it Bubsterr’s.

Natasha. Natasha’s cafe is called Callow Instead of opening an outlet, Ridhiema which means raw, young and green. She fi rst thought it would be better to create some started her fi rst small buzz about their food, so joint in Mundhwa, she started participating which slowly saw a lot in flea markets around the of success. She has city. “We finally opened now moved to a bigger Bubsterr’s in May last year place which opens this after we were satisfied with weekend in Kalyani the response. Our USP is Nagar, where, apart that when we serve pizza from smoothies, she by the slice, we don’t make will serve popsicles, a whole pizza and cut out healthy oat and fruit slices from it, we actually meals by the jar and have moulds to prepare each interesting munchies one of them that is there on the side. Ask her on the menu,” she says.

— NATASHA ASNANI if she finds it difficult Besides being the co-owner, to run the show all Ridhiema is also the head by herself and pat chef of the cafe which is comes the answer, “I think women located at Kalyani Nagar. The place now has know the kitchen much better than three partners and is also popular for their men. I have some young male chefs who juicy burgers and other munchies. work under me, and I totally believe Another place that was born out of the that no one does the job of making sheer passion for food by these four friends, men do their best in the kitchen than including a three-women brigade is Where a woman either,” she chuckles.

Else Cafe, that mainly focuses on an all-day Pizza by the slice, on the other breakfast experience. Something that Viman hand, is a very American concept and not Nagar had been lacking till last year. Sweta

“I totally believe that no one does the job of making men do their best in the kitchen than a woman”

Natasha Asnani

and Amritha have known each other since childhood but a few years ago when they met in Pune again, there was a lot of catching up to be done over some great food, of course, as they are absolute food addicts. Having lived in Viman Nagar for many years, they know each and every eating spot and what would be available where. But an all-day breakfast place was missing and it was from here that the idea clicked and the two were joined by their friends-partners, Daizy Rustomjee and Ardesh Rustomjee. “Luckily for us, we got tremendous response from our customers in the fi rst few months of opening. Although Viman Nagar is full of young crowd, we have managed to cater to all kinds of age groups,” says Sweta.

“Also being from different cultural backgrounds helped us a great deal in putting together the menu. Daizy and Ardesh being Parsis, we thought why not introduce an exclusive Parsi menu as well, and soon, it became a hit among the customers,” adds Amritha. But being situated in a location which already has so many cafes and eateries, isn’t it challenging to keep the footfall growing? Amritha says this is the reason why they did their research much in advance about what the people coming to or living in the locality have been missing. There may be plenty of restaurants around, but what sets them apart is their offering in terms of cuisine, consistency in taste and presentation and the overall experience. “Another unique thing about our cafe is that it’s a pet-friendly one.

We, being pet lovers ourselves, thought it would be a great thing to offer a place where people can come and spend a good time along with their pets. Not just that, we also have a special pet menu as well,” adds Sweta. heena.grover@goldensparrow.com

RAHUL RAUT AND VISHAL KALE

TGS LIFE

APRIL 23, 2016 PUNE

FEATURES

Chetan Agarwal

The Zumba mania Meet four young licensed instructors from Pune who have chosen to live life one Zumba class at a time

By Salonee Mistry @SaloneeMistry

P

retty averse to even attending a Zumba session about three years ago, today Chetan Agarwal cannot think of a single day without it. Prone to getting ill and having suffered a great ordeal right from a minor heart condition to joint pain and a fractured spine, Zumba literary gave Sneha Gopalan a new life. After her graduation, Shweta Singh was putting on weight no matter what and shedding it was becoming a challenge, till Zumba came to her rescue. A dancer at heart, Zumba spoke to Namrata Deshpande on many levels and she was immediately hooked on.

The four of them, and innumerable other youngsters have not only hopped onto the Zumba bandwagon by joining classes but have attended workshops, got certified and now teach it for a living.

WHEN STUDENTS BECAME THE MASTERS The happy and positive spirit, the getting fit while dancing ideology, the colourful environment, meeting new people and making friends is what drew Sneha’s attention to Zumba. After running a graphic designing firm for a few years, owing to her health she had to quit and find a way to make herself healthier. Her mother Smriti Gopalan has been her biggest support along with her fiancé, Anmol Chopra. “I wanted to have the ability to overcome adversity and Zumba gave me the strength to do just this. Zumba is truly my morphine. I saw a difference in my body and health with every class,” says the 26-year-old. Following this she decided to become a certified instructed and help others feel the same. Currently, her classes run from 7 am to 8 pm in Viman Nagar, Koregoan Park and Kharadi, and she

Namrata Deshpande

teaches about 50 dedicated students.

Connected to Zumba since about two and a half years now, Namrata has hardly ever bunked a session when she was a student and even now when she is a teacher. Her enthusiasm and energy to be present for her classes got her thinking and she decided to take her hobby to the next level. Along with running her own classes in three different areas, namely Kothrud, Narhe Ambegaon and Wanovrie, she also takes sessions at Amida gym at Sinhagad Road and Fitness Mantra at Gangadham, Wanovrie. At present, she has more than 50 people who train under her.

Taking inspiration from instructor ZIN Vijaya Tupurani from Hyderabad and attending her masterclass in Pune, 24-year-old Shweta just knew that she had to walk down the same path. Vijaya became her inspiration and mentor throughout her Zumba journey. She now conducts classes about twice a week and has become an inspiration for 30 other dancers.

An engineer by profession, she works with Forbes Marshal at Chakan and is also a doodle artist, who runs her own brand Diseno Studio. “I have never felt the pressure to manage all three.

I have always believed that if you want something you will find a way out. And I have been lucky enough to always find a way where I could distribute my time,” she says.

The first time Chetan, 25, ran a Zumba session it was for a corporate event and it was a big disaster, he recollects. The participants had completely rejected him and he had gone back feeling absolutely disappointed. He trained for a few more weeks and once again took a class. This time, he was a hit. He was the first one to take a Zumba session in a club in Pune and has in the last three years conducted innumerable masterclasses, sometimes even

Shweta Singh

Sneha Gopalan

teaching 8000 people at one go. He was also the first one to get ZES Steve Boedt & ZES Kass Martin together in India for the first time.

THE GOOD AND THE DIFFICULT Instructions are an essential part of the dance form, Namrata tells us.

“Being a group dance form we need to instruct every member, dance at the same time, as well as keep an eye on everybody’s move. This was a bit challenging for me initially, but after doing Zumba for two years, I have overcome most of my challenges,” she adds. Her journey started as a fitness trainer in July 2013 and she joined Zumba in the same year. She got her license in January 2015 and began teaching full-time. Hitting the gym whenever she has even a little bit of free time is her favourite thing to do.

The upbeat music boosts her

mood, keeps her energy pumped up and most instantly makes her happy.

When she realised this, it did not take Sneha long to realise that this is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

While it was challenging at first, to build the stamina to become a Zumba fitness instructor, now it is just like a ‘fitness party’, believes Sneha. She still is a freelance Graphic and Interior Designer and recently made it to the top 10 of a beauty contest. A movie buff, a baker, an animal lover and an artist, she is extremely down to earth and loves experimenting with food and travelling. Sharing similar views, Shweta too feels that there isn’t really anything challenging about Zumba.

It’s a stress buster and one feels totally charged post a session. Enjoying life to the fullest is her motto and she also likes to paint, dance, travel, try different cuisines and is a bit of an adventure junkie too.

Refreshing, energetic and one of the best ways to get rid of any form of pain, is how Chetan describes his Zumba sessions. “Even when I am sick, I make it a point to go for my class as I immediately feel better. The dance form has given me immense recognition and I can never be more thankful for it. There isn’t really anything difficult with the dance form anymore. I had my initial struggle but this was my investment for the future,” tells us Chetan. Zumba has made such a huge impact on in life that he has even tattooed the dance form’s logo on his wrist. The word itself is his favourite and for him it is synonymous with words like positivity, happiness and life. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

SP

TGS LIFE

APRIL 23, 2016 PUNE

SHOPPING

Gypsy Palazzo Pants This very dainty and arty multi-coloured light fabric palazzo can be worn any time of the day and almost for any occasion. Pair it right with a top of your choice to play with different looks.

Pump up the look by pairing it with pump heels.

Price: Rs 1,399 Where: Global Desi, all outlets

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THE EASY CHIC

By Heena Grover Menon @HeenaGM

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itch those skinny pants and denims this summer and sashay in these stylish, breathable and super comfy jumpsuits and palazzos

Rouge jacquard jumpsuit This jumpsuit comes with rouge jacquard colour blocked bodice, a solid navy pleated palazzos attached at the waistline with a horizontal seam and a back invisible zipper opening. A perfect fashion outfit for a date night or a semi-formal event.

Price: Rs 1,700 Where: AND, all outlets

Jupiter Jumpsuit

Light Denim Palazzos Swing the 70s way with these light denim palazzos.

With a flared bottom, these palazzos are fitted and have a zipper clasp at the side. To get a sporty look, team it up with a fitted denim crop top and comfortable loafers.

Price: Rs 4,999 Where: Studio Rudraksh, Lalita Mahal, Nilgiri Lane, Baner Road

Cotton Flared Palazzo This short and soothing palazzo pant is a wonderful summer pick for office or outing. Look your trendy best by pairing it with a crop top or a short kurti and complete the look with peep-toes of any nude shade.

Price: Rs 550 Where: BIBA, all outlets

This cheerful full sleeve, asymmetrical, all-over-printed jumpsuit is very stylish and very Bohemian. The regular full left sleeve with an exaggerated bat-wing right sleeve adds drama to your look.

Price: Rs 1,850 Where: Global Desi, all outlets

Neon Lights Jumpsuit Playful black & white Yellow Printed Palazzo These bright printed palazzos can go well with both white and black tops.

Team up with black flipflops and casual bag for an easy day at work.

Price: Rs 1,299 Where: Pantaloons, all outlets

This funky alphabetic printed palazzo is ideal for a casual outing. Match the look with black or white according to the temperature outdoors.

Price: 1,299 Where: Akkriti, all outlets

Get bold, get vibrant with this white and orange printed jumpsuit. Breathable material and comfort fit makes it a summer must have. The adjustable shoulder straps and slight elastic at ankles add fun to the look. Wear it with platforms and a funky turban.

Price: Rs 1,499 Where: Mariposa Love at mariposalove.com

VISHAL KALE

‘Don’t over-do your fitness regime’

TGS LIFE

APRIL 23, 2016 PUNE

FEATURES

Tall, lean and most definitely fashionable, 21-year-old Sasha has found the perfect way to stay fit. Read on to find out how she does it

By Salonee Mistry @SaloneeMistry

S

wimming since she was 10, fitness has been a part of Sasha Sood’s life from the very beginning. Staying healthy and fit was a given since she often represented her school in competitions. Last year, she also won an inter-college swimming competition. She is currently on a two-month break post her BSc in Paramedical Anesthesia Technology, from Symbiosis Institute of Health

Sciences and plans on doing her Masters in Hospital and Health Care Management next. Apart from being a swimmer, a fitness freak and academically-inclined, she is also a marvellous baker, vouch all her friends. Baking and running her small venture from her home kitchen, she started Cocoa Sugar about two years ago and bakes to order.

Ironically she herself doesn’t have a sweet tooth so it helps her keep a check on her calorie in-take.

Following a strict fitness regime

EXPERT SPEAK Swapnil Vale Owner Fitness 365 Gym

Overall I feel you have a very good diet and hope that you eat lot of protein rich foods during your meals. Also try to eat two to three fruits daily and add dry fruits and nuts to your routine for some added energy.

As your a sports person you need to consume more amount of water.

Your body requires a minimum of 5 liters a day as you tend to sweat a lot. Other than this, whatever you are doing is pretty good and ensure that you stick to it.

Expert rating: 6/10

herself, she let us in on how she does it and she happily shared her routine with us. “It is very important to know your body type before you decide how you want to achieve it. It is also necessary to keep in mind what your limitations are. Don’t ever overdo your fitness regime,” she advises.

Goals must be set according to what one feels they need for themselves.

If you took all the energy you put towards hating your body into changing it, you would be amazed by the results. Focus and push yourself, she adds.

When Sasha isn’t baking, she is often seen playing with her dog Sparky and even goes jogging with him in the evenings. She has also done quite a few modelling assignments.

DAILY LOG Starting my day at about 8 am, the fi rst thing I have is a warm glass of water with honey and lemon. After about half an hour, I have my fi rst meal or my breakfast which includes eggs-whole, wheat bread and a glass of milk or fruit juice. On alternate days, I go swimming in the morning which is when I wake up at 7 am and have a protein shake before the swim and eat breakfast later. I sometimes supplement this with a bowl of oats with yogurt and fruits. I generally swim about 30 laps and 50 when I am training for a competition. My next meal is lunch which is at about 1:30, and consists of a bowl of boiled or sauteed vegetables with chicken.

Since I hit the gym at about 5 pm, I have a pre-workout protein shake and a banana which fuels my routine and a shake post my workout. I do a limited amount of cardio and concentrate on toning and moderate resistance training, working on different muscle group’s every

NAME: SASHA SOOD Age: 21, Weight: 53kg, Height: 5.7 alternate day to build but also stay lean. Dinner is usually somewhere between 8 and 8:30 pm, and I have whatever vegetable is made at home with two rotis. The aim is to keep my dinner as light as possible.

I try and have six meals in a day, so apart from the regular three I have fruits in between so as to keep the metabolism going. As most health articles point out, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I couldn’t agree more. I drink about three litres of water throughout the day which not only helps me stay hydrated but is important for a lot of other things too, like better skin and healthier hair.

Beauty hacks for summer

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on’t spend a bomb on treatments or buying expensive beauty products. Try these easy beauty remedies and see the results, says Dr Geeta Oberoi Calamine lotion: Calamine lotion has soothing properties and also protects the skin from minor skin irritations. Keep cold calamine lotion in the refrigerator and apply on reddened skin on face or back as needed for a heat rash or sunburned skin.

Aloe vera: Use fresh frozen aloe vera on face once a day and see a decrease in redness, irritation or any sun affected area.

Ice packs: Use cold eye packs to calm your eyes.

This also helps reduce dark circles. The cold packs are proven to be soothing and also avoid the heat and dryness of the day and improve circulation around the eyes.

Thermal water: Keep thermal water like Aveeno, Uriage or Vichy handy at all times.

Spray three times a day for instant glow and to calm and soothe the skin.

Marine Extracts: Make a face mask of marine extracts with rose water to clean, exfoliate your skin. Doing this regularly will give you a blemish-free skin.

Baking soda: This is a tried-and-tested beauty hack that has never failed. It’s hard to stay away from the scorching sun and tan is bound to happen. Instead of scrubbing your skin, exfoliate

instead with mix of baking soda and water on a loofah. This will wash away excess tan and eventually give you a cleaner, shiny skin.

Potato and sea salt: Most of the beauty hacks can easily be done at home. Indtead of burning a hole in your pocket by going for those expensive pedis, take a potato and cut it in half and coat it with sea salt. Every time you take bath, simply scrub your heels to remove dead skin and clean the sides of your feet.

Curd: Tired of using the same old hair care products but no relief from dried out hair?

Here’s a simple hack. Apply curd on itchy scalp for 20 minutes and shampoo your hair clean. This will not only soothe your scalp but condition it well.

(As told to Heena Grover Menon)

HER KEY TO STAYING FIT Everyone has a mantra which keeps them focused, interested in what they are doing and above all helps them get through, when they feel that they would like to quit. “For me, fitness is more than just exercise. It’s about living healthy and staying positive. Set a goal, be determined, push your limits and train to stay fit. Strive for progress not for perfection,” is what the young girl believes and swears by. Not drinking or smoking helps her stick to her routine better and achieve the goals that she sets for herself. salonee.mistry@goldensparrow.com

TGS LIFE APRIL 23, 2016 PUNE

BUZZ

Pankaj Tripathi to play positive role

By Zainab Kantawala @kantawalazainab

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he actor, best known for portraying the vengeful Sultan Qureshi in Gangs of Wasseypur, is back with yet another film ‘Nil Battey Sannata’ but this time he will be seen playing a simple and positive character, that of an inspiring Maths teacher.

The title of the film refers to the slang which means being incompetent in the Hindi speaking belt. “It’s different from the other characters that I have played. The

story is about a mother and daughter who go to school together where I teach Maths,” he says. The film is a family entertainer and is very close to his heart.

Pankaj enjoys playing roles that are positive and constructive. “I am very simple and polite in nature, so when I am asked to play a negative character I have to go against my true self and put in a lot of effort,” he says. We have seen him play strong roles in films like Fukrey, Agneepath and Masaan but he shot to fame with Gangs of Wasseypur. Hailing from a small village in Bihar, Pankaj took

to theatre to polish his acting skills. With a dream to find a spot in Bollywood, he moved to Mumbai. It wasn’t easy to get settled in the film industry, but his hard work and persistence kept him going.

“I came to Mumbai for survival sake. I didn’t know anyone in the industry and it took me days to find the addresses of the director’s office. The role of Sultan opened new doors for me,” he adds. The role brought him into limelight and became a career defining part for him.

Pankaj is now busy shooting for Gudgaon and Anarkali.