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The Hindu :

The Hindu : Purvi Patel’s “Noor Jehan-The Collection” marks the culmination of the designer’s explorations on royal costumes with timeless beauty being her source of inspiration. Pashmina, tanchoi, brocade, desi tussar, shichja silk, maheshwari and cholis embellished with antique patterns will be some of the fabrics on display. From ashrafi buttis to taz buttas incorporated into the benarasi saris, are some of the forms that prevailed in the early 19th century.

The collection has been designed to showcase a fraction of the various handcrafted embroidery in Purvi’s own way. There will also be fine needlecraft like zardosi, sachaq, kalabatum (sequence in gold and silver), kamdani, (heavy gold wires), aari, rabari, zari, dori, pita, parsi and gaathi embroidered on brocade cholis and kanchivaram saris. There are also georgettes and crepes in mukesh work in border form and more.

The festival collection will be displayed at Vermilion House, 3/12 Cleveland Road Cross, Frazer Town from 10.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. on October 29 and 30. Call 41225830.

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The Hindu : She is tired of being tagged. If the old school of thought calls her a rebel, the modernists consider her a new age diva. But Padma Shri Shubha Mudgal refuses to be grouped. Music is all she knows, and, may be, all she wants to know. “I don’t understand why people get so touchy about a classical musician getting into film and popular music. I have been asked innumerable times why I made that shift. If film music is bad music, does that mean what our Lata ji and Asha ji sing is bad? Of course not! Why divide music into good and bad? Please keep casteism out of music,” she retorts.

The voice behind the poignant “Laaga Chunari Mein Daag” besides “Ali More Angana”, “Dolna”, “Ab Ke Sawan” and “Mathura Nagarpati” from “Raincoat”, is still enjoyed by music lovers worldwide. The title song of the latest Pradeep Sarkar film was taken from 1963 classic film, “Dil Hi Toh Hai” by the same name and was sung by the legendary Manna Dey.

“You can never replace the original but I have done what the movie and the music director wanted me to do. When I was asked to sing the song, I was briefly told about the script but didn’t exactly know how the song will be picturised,” explains Shubha who will lead her voice for a film by a Pakistani filmmaker titled “Ramchander Pakistani”. It has music by Debjyot Mishra, who she considers her favourite composer.

Classical rendering is no longer a part of Hindi film, which is the reason why she is not heard very often. “Bollywood believes that female voice should be high pitched, even if an actress’s original voice is not so. Base voice is only used for item numbers,” she quips.

In spite of the fact that she has drawn a lot of youngsters to classical music with her style…More

The Hindu : Looking for something new to do up your home? Youfind something in one store, but have to go hunting for something else to another. But, what if you get everything under one roof, added with the perfect shopping ambience?

A place where you can pick up either a tiny curtain ring or all that you need to do up your home. Then make Drapes Avenue Gallery on the Intermediate Ring Road, Domlur, your destination. This one is the second branch of a store by the same name started by Vinod and Manju Goenka in 1991 on Lady Curzon Road. Their son Rajat along with wife Malvika manage the Domlur outlet.

The Domlur outlet is a three-floor, 9,000 square feet store. It’s not just the stuff that is displayed that bowls you over but also the meticulous and stylish display that is visually appealing. Everything is colour coordinated. The best part is that each section offers design books to help you look at trends.

The ground floor offers plenty of curtains, upholstery, drapery rods, floor cushions — these come in cottons, silks linens, velvets and so on. Along with these there are also some wooden blinds, priced at Rs. 245 per meter.

There are also plenty of artefacts, displayed like precious jewellery pieces in glass boxes elegantly draped with plenty of silk and velvet. That’s when you realise the trouble that the people behind the store have taken to design the space.

They don’t manufacture anything here but source them from companies like Desitex (Mumbai), G.M. Syntex (Mumbai), Seasons (Delhi) and so on.

For those who have a passion for foreign goods the store does not disappoint. There is plenty brought in from Europe so that you can do up your home with that classic French or English touch.

“Even this section comes from companies like Wind, Rasch and so on,” adds Rajat.

The store also offers…More

The Hindu : Often a play that falls short of expectations by a whisker is more disappointing than a wholly mediocre one. So it was that one wished Working Title’s rendition of Chandrashekar Kambar’s “Thukra’s Dream” (Thukrana Kanasu) could have gone just that extra mile.

Staged as part of the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival ’07, the Jaimini Pathak-directed play translates into English and Hindi, Dr. Kambar’s examination of the outsider and the nature of revolution. Based on the short story “The True Story of Ah Q” by Lu Xun, “Thukra’s Dream” follows the ups and downs of Thukra, a marginalised outsider in his village. Thukra believes himself empowered because of his imagined resistances to his oppression by the rest of his village, his “spiritual victories”.

Lu Xun’s study of the feudal order in China, relatively unchanged by the clash with modern ideologies, is invested with the additional layers of caste hierarchies and the alleged pro-status quo nature of the Indian freedom struggle by Kambar.

In it, the village fool Thukra continually tries to overcome the shackles of his marginalised life: from trying to claim shared lineage with the Patila, to picking on those seemingly less fortunate than him, to co-opting the idea of revolution for his gains. But all plans come to naught and Thukra’s life falls prey to the social hegemony that shows no change with the coming of the freedom movement.

What was perhaps most interesting about Working Title’s production of the play was the convincing use of the folk form, despite all the performers being urban and English speaking. There was a wonderful earthiness to the whole production, which was particularly well-reflected in the fact that the English lyrics worked just as well as those in Hindi over the folksy tunes. The actors carried a strong and energetic vibe throughout the play, more so during the tighter, punchier first act. A mention must be made about the absolutely…More

The Hindu : Captain G.R. Gopinath’s office is as Spartan as ever. Dressed in his trademark half-sleeved shirt, he welcomes me apologising for the hour I had to wait for him.

Capt. Gopinath’s brainchild Air Deccan, fondly referred to as the “Udupi hotel of the airline industry”, was not so long ago subject to one of the biggest acquisitions in Indian aviation history by Vijay Mallya’s UB Group. The airline now sports a new livery with an identity similar to Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines and has been rechristened Simplifly Deccan. The captain is all set to leave for Mallya’s party in Mumbai to mark the makeover.

Air Deccan’s logo of the two hands has made way for the kingfisher, but what about the effect on the common man the airline was created to service? “The common man was our mascot. We were using him wherever we wanted to convey an image of the company without putting it into words. He will always be there,” Capt. Gopinath says.

The Air Deccan story needs no introduction. “We have built a company which has changed aviation forever in this country. It will be there a long time after I am gone. It has touched the lives of millions and changed the landscape of the country. We are not a regional airline, we are a national airline going to the regions,” he says.

He goes on to add he gets his adrenaline rush from connecting the “other India” and points to the fact that he flies to 66 destinations across the country. The maiden flight was in August 2003, which infamously suffered an engine fire. But what took the airline to the masses was the “promise” of flying at just Re. one.

“One day I just said to the board I will sell tickets at Re. one. It was not a gimmick. If the seats were going empty, I might as well put someone in…More

The Hindu :
TajrbaUstad Bhure KhanMystica Music, Rs.195This is a rare album, since the harmonium is a bit of a neglected instrument in Indian music. Featuring in concerts of Hindustani music regularly, the harmonium, in the hands of India’s numerous skilled players, produces exquisite music, but isseldom given pride of place.

In this album, the harmonium wizard Ustad Bhure Khan does not give cause for complaint. He is accompanied by his disciple Dinkar Sharma on the harmonium and on the keyboard by Aman Nath. On the tabla is Athar Hussain. Of all the ragas played, Chandrakauns, Bhairavi and Pahari, the last is perhaps the sweetest in its characteristic lilting melody.

Dard Kain DarveshSaReGaMa, Rs.225This album of Sufi poetry features a number of singers rendering the works of a range of Sufi poets from Punjab. The first song, sung by Bhupinder Singh, “Ruth Firi Van Kambeya”, by Sheikh Farid, is moving. Jagjit Kaur’s singing inthe following “Dard Vichore Da Haal”, a poem by Shah Hussain, is not striking in itself, but the strength of the rendition lies in the poetry. The emotion-filled voice of Puran Shahkoti in Bulleh Shah’s “Uth Gaye Gawandon Yaar” makes it an uplifting piece. While orchestration does not drown out the importance of the lyrics, the lilting folksy gait of the songs in the album is pleasing. Surinder Kaur’s singing of “Aa Vas Mandre Kol”, a Kafi of Ghulam Farid, is sung with the typical feel of Kafi raga, making it another traditional gem.

Another song that makes good listening with its relaxed feel is Hans Raj Hans’ “Charh Channa Tun Kar Roshanayie” of…More

The Hindu :

The Hindu : As the music of “Saawariya” makes waves,music director Monty Sharma says it is years of practice that is showing in his music. “The lyrics and tunes are easy to remember, and the music has a shelf life. Already seven-eight lakh CDs have been sold, which is rare these days.”

Having started his career as a keyboard player in Shekhar Kapur’s “Mr. India”, Monty joined Sanjay Leela Bhansali with “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam”, where he arranged the music. “Then I did the background score of ‘Devdas’ and ‘Black’.” Monty comes from a musical family. “My grandfather Pandit Ram Prasad Sharma is responsible for training many leading music composers including Nadeem. Pyarelalji is my uncle and my father Anand Sharma introduced viola in Hindi film orchestra.” Monty says Sanjay gave him a one-line brief. “He said it is a young love story, but I was given the script, which I believe is a must for a music composer.”

Not one to believe in creating a bank of tunes, Monty feels such music doesn’t have a shelf life. “Even similar situations demand different treatment. When you have the script, the composer starts living with the characters and that reflects in the music.I need at least 10 days to compose one original song. Where is the time to have a bank?”

Going into the details, Monty says he has created a fusion of Indian classical and western symphonies.

“When you get a filmmaker who allows you to use a huge live orchestra comprising 40 violins, 12 cellos, double bass guitars, rare instruments like bulbul tara,dhols, trumpets and horns for one piece, you feel you have to give your best.”

Talking of fusion, Monty says “Masha Allah” is a spiritual song where Kunal Ganjawala brings in the western effect while Shreya Ghoshal with her “Allah” refrain adds the classical touch. “Here, the lyrics came first and the tune was…More