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The Hindu : Peter Seeger developed an interest in America’s folk-music legacy at age 16 after attending a folk festival in North Carolina. He began working with noted folk archivist and field recorder Alan Lomax before travelling around the country and absorbing rural music.He attended Harvard University and served the Army in World War II. In the 40s Seeger became a friend and singing associates of Woody Guthrie before forming the Weavers, an enormously popular folk quartet that popularised such folk chestnuts as On top of old smokey and Lead Belly’s Good Night Irene. Unquestionably, the foremost contemporary populariser of American music, his pop-folk success with the Weavers in the late 40s and through the 50s, when he was blacklisted by the Government, through the 60s. He wrote a number of folk standards including, If I Had a Hammer (with Lee Hays) and Where have all the flowers gone? A gifted storyteller and music historian, he brought to his audiences not just the songs but the stories of the people who wrote and first sang them.With the arrival of the Vietnam War protest, Seeger was rediscovered by a younger audience. In 1965 the Byrds had a number 1 hit with Seeger’s, Turn!Turn!Turn!, a Biblical passage set to music.He has crusaded for ecology with the Sloop Clearwater, giving concerts along the Hudson River. In 1994 he received the Presidential medal of the arts as well as the Kennedy Award.He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame as an early influence in 1996.A. GEORGE ANTONY…More

The Hindu : Gestational diabetesIf sugar levels are not kept under proper control, problems could be expected during pregnancySunanda is in her 28th week of pregnancy and has just been told that she has developed diabetes in pregnancy. Diabetes that develops or is first detected in pregnancy is known as gestational diabetes.Sunetra, on the other hand, has been a diabetic for the past three years. She is 29 years old and is pregnant for the first time. Both of them may expect some problems in pregnancy if the sugar levels are not kept under good control.Gestational diabetesDiabetes caused by pregnancy is known as gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes usually begins in the second half of pregnancy.This condition is becoming more common in Indian women and may affect up to 10 per cent of pregnant women. Unless properly controlled, it can lead to problems for both the mother and her baby.The blood sugar levels, as a rule, return to normal after the baby is born. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that developing gestational diabetes is a warning that a woman may develop full-blown diabetes later on in life.What increases the chances of developing diabetes in pregnancy?The risk of developing gestational diabetes increases with – age over 30, being overweight prior to pregnancy, a family history of diabetes, a history of diabetes in a previous pregnancy, a big baby in a previous pregnancy, a history of a stillbirth late in pregnancy, and polycystic ovarian syndrome.How is gestational diabetes diagnosed?Your obstetrician will test you with a glucose tolerance test between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. If you have had gestational diabetes in an earlier pregnancy, your blood sugars will be checked at your first antenatal check up and if normal, will be repeated at 24-28 weeks of pregnancy.Diabetes before pregnancyIf you have diabetes before pregnancy, you must be particularly careful about keeping your blood sugar levels well under control before…More

The Hindu : It is that time of the year again when long walks by the beach, champagne at sunset or chocolate-dipped strawberries are ideal ways of expressing your love for that special someone.For Valentine’s Day, Radisson White Sands Resort, Goa and Radisson Plaza Resort & Spa, Kumarakom, has some exclusive packages.On February 14, there will be a special romantic dinner, a seven-course meal, put together by a private chef and served by your own personal butler. You can also opt to have your special meal in an exclusive private hut. This offer also includes a complimentary bottle of Marquis De Pompadour.Guests who have already availed of existing packages and are staying over on February 14, can choose from a range of exciting add-on packages: The “Romantic Getaway Package” includes a special love potion drink, a romantic couple massage and a cocktail with canapés served on the beach at sunset. For those who want to be someplace quiet, head to idyllic Kumarakom. Located on the banks of Lake Vembanad, Radisson Plaza Resort & Spa is the ultimate destination for romance.All guests will be given a complimentary valentine hamper. Chocolates, champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries await you in your rooms. All prices are exclusive of taxes and are valid for February 14, 2008….More

The Hindu : After making serious, emotional films (Dor and Iqbal) I felt drained. So I thought of moving to a completely a different genre. I decided to make a full-blown comedy. Moreover, I wasshooting for my next film Tasveer but it wasn’tworking out.Since I was doing nothing for quite a while, I started sifting through piles of scripts I had and zeroed in on Bombay to Bangkok.”That’s Nagesh Kukunoor on how “B2B”, as he prefers to call it, was born.Same crewIn the film that sees most of his Iqbal crew back in action; Nagesh has broken many rules of comedy. “That’s for me the definition of wacky comedy— one in which my characters do many weird things and yet there is logic in their actions. I call it creative freedom.” And as for the Iqbal crew, “it wasn’t so much a conscious effort to reunite all of themas to make my next film quickly,” he says.In “B2B” which is a love story between an Indian boy (Shreyas Talpade) and a Thai girl (Lena Christensen), Nageshshows the culture clashes between the two. To choose his heroine from Thailand, he conducted “painfully boring” auditions in which most girls either didn’t know English ordid not look “oriental” enough. The process also triggered the idea of love that can happen without the barrier of language.“Most romance or love is aboutperfect communication. So I thought why not talk about the love that happens without communication. So in this film, both the boy and the girl don’t talk in each other’s language till the end. It is just the few words and pure emotions that bind the two. That is where exploring the culture of Thailand also came in,” says Nagesh. Unlike many other filmmakers,hefeels India is quite a shooting-friendly country, except thatthere are “lakhs of people watching you.”Breaking rulesNagesh isknown for breaking rules in his films. But “to the point that the…More

The Hindu : Anu Peshawaria’s impressive resume on her website features her many feats. Former hotshot tennis player and India’s one-time Wimbledon hope, former coach and commentator, successful attorney straddling U.S., Canada and India, immigrationspecialist and social activist. What it doesn’t cite is her ability to bind you to her humane outlook to life, her candour and the power to melt you with that extra wide smile.Armed with all the pluses, an affable Anu, based in Fremont, California, was in New Delhi for the just-concluded Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.Anu had cometo speak on empowerment ofNRI womenand also, to launch The Immigrant’s Dream, a legal guide she has compiled for Asian women in America suffering abuse in matrimony. The book is half filled with true stories of marital abuse that she has come across through her organisation, USA-Seva Legal Aid Foundation, which provides free legal advice to the Indian Diaspora on matrimonial and immigration issues. The other half comprises American laws that can come to the defence of such persons. It also serves as a “warning” to those who “fall for the dollar bait” through NRI marriages.“I meet eight to 10 such women in a month and that is a lot. Everyday, I dread meeting another woman who has been beaten, bruised, stripped of her dignity and rights,” says Anu. While most women are of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin, some are from Fiji, Russia and Nigeria, married to Asians. “In many cases, the abuse is emotional,” she adds.Handling her own stress after meeting such women is not easy, she says, adding: “I take it out by playing tennis at a local club everyday.” Tennis has taught her how to handle the lows and highs of life: “It is like scorecard rating.”Anu knows that every victim needs to be given a patient hearing. “I can’t tell them, someone before you has come here with a similar story.”Though her Foundation encourages…More

The Hindu : When director Pradeep Sarkar attempted to portray the travails of a young girl forced into prostitution in his movie “Laaga Chunari Mein Daag” (LCMD), critics were outraged. Labelling the movie “reactionary” and “regressive”, they also took offence at the glossing over the harsh and desperate lives of these shadowy women. It was perhaps a sign of the increasing maturity of a certain segment of Bollywood, but the hapless director was only honouring the long tradition in Hindi films of depicting commercially exploited womenin a paradoxical and hypocritical manner.Prostitution is considered one of the oldest professions in the world and India is no exception. We have a historical tradition of courtesans and ‘nautch’ girls and the Devdasi system could have been expressly created to keep the elite with a steady supply of helpless women. But our attitudes to this social construct have always been prurient and taboo-filled and our movies have reflected the prevailing cultural sentiments.Starting with Chandramukhi in “Devdas” , the commercial sex worker in Hindi movies has usually been depicted with a heart of gold, forced into her profession by circumstances beyond her control. All she is looking for is a pure-hearted hero to redeem her. “Devdas” ends with Chandramukhi renouncing her profession to become a nun, clad in a white sari – symbolising her return to a state of purity.Varied imagesBending to cultural mores, our movies stopped short of rehabilitating the sex worker.Devdas conveniently dies after espousing his affection for Chandramukhi. In the blockbuster “Muqaddar ka Sikandar”, Zohrabai, played by Rekha, kills herself at the end of a story about unrequited love. In “Umrao Jaan”, the cultured courtesan, it’s Rekha again, realises sadly that her profession has barred her from any possibility of a respectable future. Only in Guru Dutt’s “Pyaasa” did the failed poet walk away into the sunset with Gulabo. In these movies, the commercial sex worker was usually well dressed,…More

The Hindu : The artist from Sikkim is no more than twenty-eight years but asserts that he has seen unmitigated suffering in his personal life.He particularly recalls his days as an art student at M.S. University, Baroda, when he was confronted with his own inner contradictions and confusion.“I don’t really believe art can be taught,” says Karma Tenrab Agnihotri, who now spends time in Sikkim and among tribals in West Bengal (near Shantiniketan). “Undoubtedly, there were some very good teachers at the M.S. University and the atmosphere too was not uncongenial. You could learn some techniques and methods in art classes, but then, there were days when I spent my time on the footpaths and roamed like a madman…Eventually, I left Baroda discontinuing my studies there.”Karma’s paintings were on display in his recently concluded solo exhibition titled “The Eternal Seeker” at Mahua Art Gallery. At first glance, they appeared simplistic – taking on the icon of Buddha as seen in a typical meditative posture. Slowly, they caught the viewer’s attention thanks to the pleasing colours, plainness of the subject and uncomplicated construct.Karma’s paintings are essentially flat, hints of shadows or perspective being absent in almost all the works. The Enlightened One is no more than a silhouette - some would call it a ‘cutout’ - and has none of his physical features detailed or delineated. One finds a variety of decorative elements in the images: curling creepers, passing clouds, flowing robes, flying birds, and so on.“The images may seem to be repetitive,” agreed Karma. “But each painting evolved on its own, quite naturally. I am not the kind of artist to set up half a dozen canvases at the same time… What Buddha means to me is beyond fascination. Not a mere display of content we are familiar with, but rather a feeling, a visual encounter, a sensual experience… I am not attached to the icon. I believe…More

The Hindu : Print PickThis month at indiaplaza.inPhosphorus and StoneSusan Visvanathan,Zubaan-Penguin,Rs. 195Surprisingly good reading, considering that the narrative is not only complex and many-stranded, but also has to contend with overarching themes, such as faith and love, and to accommodate characters from different time frames, including one from before the Year of Our Lord – Jesus himself!NGOs and social work - in fiction and otherwise - tend to get a bit sticky about the business of saving the world, but Visvanathan handles it with a lightness that also goes into the characterisation of Yesu, the do-gooder, 20-year old who marries the novel’s central character, Mary Magdalena.Unfortunately, as happens so often with stories that have a lot happening, the author appears to run out of steam towards the end and the storytelling loses its sharpness; the ending may disappoint some readers as it doesn’t really do anything, exiting mid-telling, almost.However, despite all of that, it’s an interesting read. And you wouldn’t be wasting your money to buy a copy.The Ugliness of the Indian MaleMukul Kesavan,Black Kite,Rs. 395Interesting reading. This collection of essays on a large variety of topics, gives the reader plenty to think about. Kesavan’s writing is more serious than it appears (as those familiar with his columns and books will know) and you’ll quickly find yourself absorbed in the author’s reflections, ideas and theses on many topics from the “ugliness of the Indian male” to the “pseudo-secularism” of the Indian.To get a broad notion of what’s in the book, some lines from the author’s introduction: “Every English-speaking Indian man between twenty-five and sixty has written about the Hindi movies he has seen, the English books he has read, the foreign places he has travelled to and the curse of communalism. …Why did a bunch of grown men in the late-twentieth and early-twenty-first centuries write about the same movies, novels, journeys and riots? ….these regularities in the behaviour…More

The Hindu : Kareena Kapoor’s New Year resolution is to lose more weight. She has already knocked off quite a few kilos for the killer girl look in Tashan. Actor Surya is on a ‘no salt, no oil’ diet to shed extra fat for a newlook in Vaaranam Aayiram. Pork, meat and beef are a strict no no, and it is only sea food for him to stay in shape. And, Aamir Khan is glowing thanks to plenty of water and a balanced diet. Sweating it out, dieting and meditating are nothing new for celebrities. Staying in shape and looking good are part of the job. In Hollywood, prunes, asparagus and parsley seem to be the staple diet. Did you know that Jennifer Lopez sniffs grapefruit oil and Cindy Crawford sips vinegar to kill hunger pangs?Top secretsA book, ‘The Black Book of Hollywood Diet Secrets’ exposes the unlikely foods and drinks that celebrities say can help them shed pounds. Their sculpted figures come after a lot of hard work and commitment. Can ordinary mortals give the celebrity way a shot?Says Shanker Basu, CEO of Maverick fitness Studio, who works with film stars: “One should not read too much into celeb diets. Diet plans have to be unique. So there is no point following anybody.” “An individual’s goals, metabolism, fitness level all come into play. We have to ascertain the metabolic typing first, whether somebody is a Carbs type, or a Protein type or a mixed type,” he explains.Vivek Anand, managing director of Fitness One, whose clientele includes racer Narain Karthikeyan, cricketers and squash champions, says the fascination to look like stars is always there, especially among youngsters. “If they want to flex muscles like Vikram or sport the six pack abs of Shah Rukh Khan, they need to work on it,” he says.Eat right, listen to your body, and follow a customised diet plan. Above all, the motivation…More

The Hindu : How would you feel if a chicken ate you? IfIngrid Newkirk’s questions are so uncomfortable, it’s simply because they’re so reasonable. Start looking at animals from the point of view of the co-founder and president of PETA (PeopleFor The Ethical Treatment of Animals), and you begin to see feathered and furry individuals, with feelings and emotions. And it suddenly gets a lot tougher to look a chicken nugget in the eye.“Be their guardian angels. We are important protectors and guardians of the environment,” she says, addressing a crowd of rapt children at the Landmark Bookstore, in connection with the release of her latest book, “50 Easy Ways Kids Can Help Animals”. On their part, animals have certainly played guardian angel to many humans. Ingrid, for instance, tells the children about a goose that saved a toddler from drowning by holding on to her dress. Between painstakingly signing books and autographs with lines like, “Thank you for being kind to animals,” Ingrid talks of how she was “raised as a big meat eater.” At the same time, she constantly adopted stray animals. “I just never made the connection,” she shrugs.Then, she became a law enforcement officer in Maryland (USA). “I looked into cruelty complaints. I was once called to a farm where all the animals had been starved to death,” she says. Unfortunately, by the time she got there, the animals were dead. “Except for one pig,” she continues, “but he was so weak, I had to hold his head up. I gave him water in my hand. And he survived.” Then, as she was driving home, she says, “I thought, ‘What do I have to eat for dinner? Oh good, I’ll defrost those pork chops’.” And that’s when it hit her. She had saved one pig, only to eat another. She turned vegetarian. In 1980, she founded PETA, the largest animal rights organisation in the…More