News

The Hindu : The serial that used to bring India to a halt in the late 1980s is back in a new avatar. Again produced by Sagar Arts, “Ramayan” is going to be the flagship show of the new channel NDTV Imagine to be launched on January 21. The epic is inthe form of a daily soap and will be telecast during prime time. “The whole idea is to cut through the clutter. We can’t attract viewership for a new channel with yet another saas-bahu tale,” says Sameer Nair, CEO, NDTV Imagine.So religion is the only way? “We are not looking at it as a mythological serial. For us it is a story, which has the highest mass appeal and the ability to bring the whole family together. The point is though the number of television homes has increased from around six million in 1987 to 118 million homes, most of the these homes are still single television homes. Also 560 million Indians are below the age of 25. So a whole generation has missed out on the televised form of the epic.Anand Sagar, who is directing the new Ramayan, promises the series is being shot on an epic scale. Anand, who assisted his father, the late Ramanand Sagar on the first version, says television budgets have increased in the last few years. “Today we can afford to use high quality animation and opulent sets.”Anand says research has been done to understand the architecture of the period and Omung Kumar (of Saawariya fame) has designed the sets accordingly. “However, we have made sure that the opulence doesn’t come in the way of the simplicity and honesty of the story,” says Shakti Sagar.Talking of the contemporary touch, Anand reflects, “For today’s audience we are presenting Ram more as a human being and less as a god.” Echoing the sentiment producer Prem Sagar“Ram was the ideal son, ideal husband and…More

The Hindu : We are a noisy society. If that sounds like an exaggeration, consider this. Take any calendar month of religious significance. You are more likely to be woken up, not by the alarm clock, but by the filmi, semi-religious tunes fromthe nearest roadside loudspeaker. Go to a wedding reception where there is a light music troupe playing and try carrying on a meaningful conversation with friends and relatives – it will be a futile exercise in the cacophony around you.Walk into a disco where youngsters groove and the music is deafening. Of course, pumping up the volume is what gets people in the mood but the downside is it damages the auditory nerve of everyone in the vicinity. On the city roads, there is no dearth of noise, especially when there is a traffic pile-up because there are some smart alecks who think that by furiously honking, the motorists in front will instantly move.Given the construction boom we see all around. The drone of concrete mixers and the sound of bore wells all through the day and night is guaranteed to drive people insane.Noise or soundSo just what is noise? Where does one draw the line between noise and sound? “The word noise is commonly used to denote an undesirable sound or an excessively loud sound that has the potential to harm hearing,” says Dr. Mohan Kameswaran, Managing Director, Madras ENT Research Foundation.Drawing a distinction between social noise and impact noise, he says, “Social noise alludes to situations such as light music performances at weddings, loudspeakers blaring in the streets during religious festivals or in places of worship, music from discos (the decibel level ranges from 100-140 dB) and Diwali crackers.”The ruling that impact noise caused by explosives during Diwali should not exceed 110dB is often flouted and bursting of crackers with a noise level of almost 140dB or more is not uncommon. Paradoxically we pay…More

The Hindu : One day in early 1960s, instead of alighting from the Bombay local train at Khar, he proceeded to Marine Lines. There, at a music shop, he paid 12 annas for a set of Cathedral guitar strings and mended the Edisonia-make guitar (probably made by the Braganzas of Free School St, Calcutta) which had been lying in a state of neglect.A few weeks later, one sultry Bombay afternoon, music director Madan Mohan abruptly walked into his flat, heard him practising his guitar and exclaimed “We’re going to create a bit of history here.”Thus arrived Bhanu Gupta, the first non-Catholic guitarist of Bombay film world. “My first song with Pancham was ‘Dekhiye Sahibon’ (“Teesri Manzil”),” Gupta launched into his three decades of flashback, “and I’ve played in every movie of his ever since.” Pancham could conjure up tunes out of thin air. “If the rhythmic creaking of a defective ceiling fan inspired ‘Suno Kaho’ (“Aap ki Kasam”), a wrong placement of my finger gave birth to the prelude to ‘Chingari Koi Bhadke’ (“Amar Prem”). On another occasion I was casually strumming at pack up time. Pancham pounced on the tune and it thus became what you heard as ‘Ek Main aur ek tu’ (“Khel Khel Mein”).”Pancham posessed the humility to take ideas from others. And of inspiring his team to go beyond conventional music e.g. blowing into a bottle in “Mehbooba Mehbooba”, the sound of door opening in “Teesri Manzil”… innovative, wacky, weird.“Even Kishore Kumar gasped at the unbelievably difficult ‘Ek Chatur Naar’ (“Padosan”) to an extent where certain portions of the song had to be left out in the final take,” he continued strumming from memory.“Pancham never failed to publicly acknowledge the contributions of his team. When Lataji offered one of her rare praises for the tune ‘Kya Yahi Pyaar Hai’ (“Rocky”), Pancham stepped up pointed to me and told her ‘Yeh dhun isne banaya hai’….More

The Hindu : An invasion of drums resonates from the same fingers that have given the tabla its flamboyance and a dramatic presence on stage. When Bickram Ghosh does things, style is definitely involved. Whether it’s a live concert where he breaks into acapella and keeps the audience hooked, whether the fingers are simply flying in an invisible flurry across the tabla, whether you’re listening to him accompanying Pandit Ravi Shankar, or whether he’s jamming with members of his group Rhythmscape.“Drum Invasion” is the rhythm raja’s recent album (from the stables of Music Today), where he plays the classical tabla, mridangam, pakhawaj, kanjeera, dhol, khol, dholak, the African djembe, the Persian darboukka, the rek, and the Mongu drum, among numerous others. “This is a different space altogether,” says Bickram of the new musical venture. “I was being asked by people why I hadn’t done an essentially percussion album, being a percussionist. I thought that was a valid point. I started off as a classical tabla player and did that for 16 years. Then I started experimenting with multi-percussion kits. This album features hand-drums I’ve collected from all over the world. Currently the space I’m in and the life I lead is more fusion and multi-sound; I hang out with tribal musicians…and I felt the need for this to be translated into an album.”“I’m not a master of these drums. I go with the sound; the finger-technique is my own. I can’t change my finger-work in one lifetime. I translate it into my own idiom, which is the tabla.”He goes on to explain how Indian percussionists use each finger as one unit while in the case of western drums, each hand is one unit; providing Indian percussionists with so much more speed and variations in sound.Having learnt the classical tabla from his father Pandit Shankar Ghosh, and then the mridangam from Pandit S. Sekhar, Bickram is known for being…More

The Hindu : Mad about moviesOne week, 121 films from 41 countries. The second Bangalore International Film Festival organised by Suchitra Film Society and the Karnataka State Government is a welcome platform for filmmakers, films and film-lovers to get together and experience alternative cinema.The films are from Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Senegal, Cambodia, Vietnam, Kurdistan, Morocco and India. Twenty-five representatives from all over India are slated to take part in this unique festival, while ten foreign delegates have been invited to participate – bringing together people and ideas from all over, on an international platform in the city.So, is this a celebrated, commendable effort of the organisers in the idea of an international film festival in a city of Bangalore with avid movie-lovers? Has the organisation been effective in terms of movie scheduling and timings? Have the selection of movies been unique to the mind of the movie-lover?Some people feel that it was not well-organised and planned. The idea of screening 121 films in just one week means schedules clashing and missing movies. But on the whole, a common platform was created for movie-lovers and artists.This is the first time I’ve attended an International film festival in the city. It has been a nice experience. The selection of movies has been good. On the whole, I think the film festival has been a success because there was so much to look forward to.HussainCinematographerIt is good to have 125 films of all genres and many countries screened. I have enjoyed the experience. Nowhere else have we had such a vast choice of International films. Howerver, it is not possible to watch so many movies in one week.HarishActorThe selection of documentary movies has been really good, while some movies have not been up to the mark. But the audience attendance could have been better. Maybe it is because people do not have too much time in the city to watch movies.ChiranjeevStudentThe…More

The Hindu : It’s showtimeThe stage is set for a multitude of plays spanning different languages and genres this weekendAll theatre buffs have cause to rejoice this weekend as the cultural calendar is chock-a-block with activity. Starting with Ranga Nirantara. The group is presenting the play, “Allamana Bayalaata” in memory of C.G.K. The play, directed byK. Ramakrishnaiah, is on January 11 and 12 at 6.30 p.m. at the Samsa Bayalu Rangamandira. For details call 94480-82949/ 99808-11677.***MTR Rangasambhrama is a three-day comedy play festival organised by the Guru Samsthe, Hubli, that will be on at the H.N. Kalakshetra, Jayanagar National College from January 12 to 14. January 12 will feature “Raashi Chakra”, January 13 “O Lavve Jeevana Saakshaatkaara” and January 14 “All the best!”.Tickets, priced at Rs. 100 are available at Ajji Mane (Girinagar), Nammoora Hotel (J.P. Nagar), Maitri Travel Agency (Yeshwantpur), R.S. Tours (Malleswaram 11th cross), and at various KSRTC booking counters. Call 98446-81116.***Mukhosh presents “Jibon Muchki Haashe…”, a sweet-and-sour comedy in Bangla by Ayan (inspired by “The play is the thing”, a play by P.G. Wodehouse). It will be staged on January 12 and 13 at 6 p.m. at the Seva Sadan Auditorium, Malleshwaram (behind Food World). Tickets are priced at Rs. 80. For bookings call: 9886307249 (Anindita) or 9886807298 (Ayan) or book online at:www.mukhosh.org.Tickets are also available at: K. C. Das (Church St), 6 Ballygunge Place, Bangaliana Lazeez, Mou Sweets, Best of Bengal and Bay of Bengal. Proceeds of the show will be handed over to India Sudar Educational and Charitable Trust.***Rangashankara is staging on January 10 and 11, T. Sunandamma’s “Aadaddella Olithe…?” in Kannada, directed by Sundar and Pramod Shiggaon, performed by Kriyative Theatre at 7.30 p.m. Call 26719911. On January 12 and 13, “Neenaanaadrenaaneenena?”, written and directed by S. Surendranath will be performed by Sanket at 7.30 p.m., with a show on January 13 at 3.30 p.m. also….More

The Hindu : At 19, she said, “At 20, I will start working… Studying is a waste of time. Before 30, I will start my own business. After that, I won’t take risks. Before 50, I will retire.” Who would’ve thought this focus would end upin a Rs. 225 crore-turnover company as she turned 50.The business she started in over 5,200 square feet of basement, has spawned stores all over the country and recently completed 20 years with a kind of success that lives up to it’s name: Landmark.“I always knew I wanted to work in a book shop or something to do with books and interacting with people,” says Hemu Ramaiah, CEO, Landmark. She learnt more about literature hanging out at the Taj Book Shop than from her course in Stella Maris College. “My friend who was running the shop moved to Bombay and I got her job. I started working the day I finished college in 1978. I was 20.”In the next 10 years, she started more concept book-stores in other hotels. It wasn’t easy to get funding for retail. So Hemu got her NRI-brother Nataraj Ramaiah to invest. Since they couldn’t afford retail space in Mount Road, they settled for a basement in one of the “side roads”. “Nungambakkam High Road was actually boondocks.”Books used to be sold from behind counters when Landmark opened in 1987. “If you wanted to see a coffee table book, the fellow will not even show it to you, he’ll say: Wanna buy? Otherwise: ‘No, don’t put your fingerprints on my book!’”Hemu wanted to change this, encourage browsing, empower the customer. In between her work to set up the store,Hemu used to head to Rangis for a quick bite. That’s where she met Jai, her husband, who now handles the finances for Landmark. “He used to run Rangis with his cousins. He’s a chartered accountant. We got married in 1989…More

The Hindu : Word playA scrabble tournament is on from tomorrowiGATE Global Solutions and the Karnataka State Scrabble Association (KSSA) are organising the 4th iGATE International Scrabble Tournament 2008 from January 11 to 13. The three-day tournament will be held at the corporate headquarters of iGATE in Whitefield, Bangalore. Over 60 word experts from 12 countries including 30 overseas players from UK, Thailand, Australia, Nigeria and several South Asian and Middle East countries will compete for the prize money of over Rs 4 lakh.Over 30 Indian players have qualified for the International Tournament following a gruelling word war fought in the qualifying rounds held in Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore. They will match their word skills with scrabble players from across the globe.Twenty-four games, each of 50 minutes duration will be played over three days. The tournament will follow the King of the Hill (KOTH) format. Word source will be the Collins Scrabble Tournament and Club Wordlist, the official dictionary reference source for World Scrabble Championships. For details contact: Radhika Mahalingaiah, KSSA on 9886522120 or Lennie D’Souza on 9880646292….More

The Hindu : There have been quite a few new trends in coaching junior tennis players. New concepts like mini tennis have been in vogue for the past few years and the latest innovation now seems to be Progressive Tennis.Described as “the most systematic and natural training method” endorsed by stars like Roger Federer, Justine-Henin Hardene and Oliver Rochus. Bobby Mahal, a Progressive Tennis expert and a TV tennis analyst from Canada has been roped in by the Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academy (MBTA) to introduce this technique to India at their centres in Delhi, Nagpur, Cochin, Bangalore and Mumbai. Mahal will be the head of Academy Development with the MBTA.“I look forward to the challenge of developing world class players at the Mahesh’s Academies and working with the staff in developing the large pool of talent the country has. With current players like Mahesh and Sania representing India well on the international stage and with training centres like these, there is no reason why more talented players like them cannot develop into future stars,” says Mahal.Mahal of Punjabi descent, was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. He was highly regarded as a team leader for Canada in junior team competitions, and has won three Canadian Junior National Championship titles in his career.Mahal became a friend and hitting partner with Andre Agassi and went under the tutelage of the legendary coaches Jimmy Connors and Pancho Segura. In 1994 Bobby headed to the University of California at Berkeley on a full tennis scholarship, where he graduated in 1998 with degrees in Journalism and Business, and finished as high as No.12 in singles and No.6 in doubles in NCAA Tennis. A shoulder injury forced Mahal to retire from competitive play in 2000.Since then, Mahal has worked as a TV and Radio Tennis Analyst for Canada’s second largest Sports Network – Fox Sportsnet Canada, as well as running multiple tennis academies in…More