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The Hindu : Getoff urass.com is organising quite a few treks. Photography On the Move begins on May 2 and will go on till 4. The latest series of Alok Johri photography workshops will be organised during this time. There will be regular trips to Jenukal on April 5, 6, and 7.Tranquil Paradise is the next venture that is scheduled for April, you can also learn to learn to kayak, say the organisers. “For this, we have tied up with Riveredge Paradise resort close to Karwar on the banks of the river Kali to offer these flat water courses,” they add. These trips are planned for the second weekend of every month.There will also be a motorcycle trip. It includes a three-day ride covering 800 km. of black tarmac – with carefully chosen biker friendly places to stay, explain the organisers.For details you can log on to http://www.getoffurass.com/timetable.php…More

The Hindu : It has been a roller coaster ride for the radio industry since FM stations burst on the air waves. Phenomenal growth, increase in listener base and competition has pushed radio stations to bring something new for their listeners. Even if programme content has not gone beyond film music, humorous snippets and informative programmes, there is a noticeable trend in almost every radio station; the use of Kannada.In the beginning radio played western music alongside desi film music. Now the mantra seems to be ‘Kannada keli, Kannada nudi’. While earlier RJs mostly spoke in English, now they are encouraged to speak in Kannada and English or that horrid hybrid, Kanglish, which does nothing for either language.Right exampleT.V. Gurumurthy, actor and banker says: “While it is a welcome move to play more Kannada songs, Kanglish is something which a true language lover will not approve of. I would like to urge RJ’s to use new Kannada words and be fluent so that it sets the right example and will help those who are new to Bangalore and want to learn the language.”Says Anjali Paul, Station Head, Fever 104: “Our research indicated that even amongst our core target audience, there were those listeners who we had not managed to form enough of a connect with. And it was their request that we increase spoken Kannada as well as the latest Kannada music.“Today’s Bangaloreans are a mix of traditional and cosmopolitan. Many of them have studied, travelled and lived abroad, had a lot of exposure to life, cultures and trends across the globe. Yet deep down they still take great pride in their culture and mother tongue.”Writer and lyricist Jayanth Kaikini says: “I do not approve of this kind of format. Shouldn’t radio jockeys be speaking in proper Kannada rather than interspersing the language with English words? I feel radio, should make a genuine effort to talk about the…More

The Hindu : The season of biographies and autobiographies isn’t over. Last year saw a spate of them and this year too, there will be noteworthy additions to the list. “There is more readership for books written by and on film personalities because people are always intrigued by them,” says veteran actor Manoj Kumar, who has nearly completed his autobiography, “Life and Death in Installments”.He began penninghis memoirs 14 years ago. “It has taken time. There are phases in life when you don’t feel like writing. It can be traumatic to go down memory lane. My book should be complete within six months,” he adds. He doesn’t reveal much about his book, but he promises, “I won’t hurt anyone.”But Manoj Kumar is still hurt by the “Om Shanti Om” episode. “Shah Rukh and Farah Khan apologised but haven’t deleted the scenes that hurt me. The movie isn’t new anymore. Even then, it isn’t too late to delete the scenes. Better late than never.” After a pause, he says, “I am notorious for my sense of humour. But ‘Om Shanti Om’ was in bad taste. That’s not the way you treat an actor who’s been working for over 50 years. It was like hitting below the belt.”He wishes Yash Chopra urges Shah Rukh and Farah to delete the scenes that mock him. “Yash Chopra brought them (SRK and Farah) to my house. I was very cordial and didn’t want them to say sorry. If Shah Rukh is a man of his words, he should have kept his promise. He gave me a mobile number and said we should keep in touch. I’ve tried calling the number but there’s been no response.” As an after thought, Manoj Kumar says, “Perhaps there was a discrepancy in writing down the number. I don’t know.”The “OSO” episode has left its scars but work wise, he is starting a new chapter. He is excited…More

The Hindu : Corporate work culture these days, at least in our cities, gives one almost no time to call one’s own. While the 9 to 5 job has proven itself to be a myth, there have been rare instances when, somehow, something slips through the net. When fatedecides to get quirky on you, and youfind yourself in a situation where you haven’t been allotted any work, and due to some miraculous resourcefulness you displayed in the preceding week, you neither have anything to follow up on. Which leaves you a couple of days with absolutely nothing to do inoffice. A ray of sunlight through the gloomy sky, you say? Well, let’s find out, shall we…The jobless day at work gives you time to do those very things that you thought were out of bounds for the office-goer. Daydreaming, for instance. Who would have thought that staring emptily into space and getting lost in a train of thought could be so much fun? Once you’ve had a fill of that, you could try your hand at random gossip among colleagues, and you won’t be surprised if juicy office politics gives enough material for a television soap. You could try reading a book, but once your nose gets a whiff of the simmering gossip, no book can possibly be more addictive.Agreed, the risk of being spotted by your superiors in these embarrassing situationsare high, so it issuggested that youkeep a notepad and pen handy to maintain the hard-at-work pretence. Your boss isn’t stupid – he probably knows you’re faking it, but sometimes things are better left unsaid.When Microsoft decided to preload the Solitaire game into their ubiquitous software, they might not have second guessed the millions of wasted office hours they were going to be responsible for. The game has turned out to be a godsend for those looking to while away the hours, all the while appearing to…More

The Hindu : Jason Gillespie, the first Aboriginal to play for Australia, says that he has no regrets for retiring from Test cricket and joining the Indian Cricket League. “In fact, I was fortunate to play for Australia in 71 Tests and for close to a decade. I enjoyed every bit of my career,” the 32-year-old Gillespie said on the sidelines of the on-going ICL at Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad.“People keep talking about the fact that I missed 33 Tests in five seasons because of injuries and other reasons. But unfortunately, not many remember that I played 34 Tests on the trot which no Australian bowler (in recent times) could do,” remarked Gillespie, who formed a deadly combination with Glen McGrath and Shane Warne for Australia in its dream run at the top. Questioned whether he is disappointed at being ignored for the next series after scoring a double century in a Test against Bangladesh, the Australian bowler countered: “Let us be practical. There was a gap of seven months between that Test and the next series. There were quite a few players who had come back from injuries. The emphasis was on youth which I believe was the right thing to do keeping the future of Australian cricket in mind,” he explained.Critics rated Gillespie always an unlucky bowler for repeatedly beating the batsmen but it was the bowlers from the other end who picked the wickets in big numbers.Unlucky bowlerHow does he feel about it? “Again, one has to understand that I had a role to play. My job was to keep things tight. In a team of 12, every member including the 12th man who keeps the playing eleven comfortable has a big role to play. So, again I don’t feel I should be disappointed,” said Gillespie, who picked 259 wickets from 71 Tests.What were the best moments during his stint with the national team?…More

The Hindu : Summer workshopsEnrol your child for mask making or a performanceJagriti is organising a kids and youth summer performance workshop for children between six and 12 and 13 and 17 years from April 14 to May 7, 10 a.m. to 12 noon, at No. B304, Renaissance Jagriti, Ramagondanahalli in Whitefield at Rs. 3,000. There is a mask creation and performance workshop conducted by T.T. Venkatesh from 6.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. from April 21 to May 7, at Alliance Francaise, at Rs. 4,300. There will be a public performance on May 7 at the Alliance Francaise. Emailedu@jagrititheatre.com for registration form, call 28475373.* * *Swingers dance studio conducting a summer dance workshop called “Groove n Summer” from April 10 and from April 23 for 15 days for children aged three to adults aged 60 in the Indiranagar, Koramangala and M.G. Road studios, and end in a stage performance by all the participants at the end of the workshop. Call 25203900/77.* * *Orange Sky Productions is conducting an eight-week acting weekend workshop from April 6 which would include learning and discussing acting techniques for both stage and camera, with sessions involving camera practicals. Sessions are on Saturdays from 2 to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 3 to 8 p.m. at Baldwin’s High School for Boys, Richmond Town, Hosur Road. Call 9241211959.* * *The Little Crest pre-school chain is having a creative summer workshop for children in the age group of two to 13 years from April 14 to 30 and May 1 to 17 at the three centres at No. 24, Vinayaka Co-op Housing Society, 3rd Stage, Marenhalli, next to Corporation Ward Office (22729554/ 9480273353), No. 979, 2nd Block, BEL Layout, (23644236/9916168360), Purva Panorama Apartments, Owner’s Bungalow, Bannerghatta Road (9341928200/9900837378).* * *Active Canvas is organising “Funtasia”, a summer carnival which will include fun activities, art trial classes, performances, competitions, art demos, games and food stalls at Rs. 100…More

The Hindu : Summer schools?Summer vacations should ideally be the time for children to catch up on some reading, sports or just climbing mango trees, swim or visit new places and relatives or just be themselves without any major parental monitoring. Right? Wrong. Summer holidays have now landed on the laps of mushrooming institutions as a profitable time to target working parents who seek time-management and “skill-building” for their children. For they feel that children are ‘wasting’ their time being by themselves – watching TV or playing in the sun. Parents are working, and have no time to send off their children to neighbourhood swimming pools, buy colouring books or enrol them in regular music classes.Now there are a variety of options – parents want children to hone their extra curricular skills for future endeavours – s/he could be the all-rounder and the next budding actor, painter, dancer, singer – who knows? Summer camps provide all the activities you can think of – but the question really is are they qualified child experts or just making a quick buck? There is no harm in enrolling your child in a summer camp – but this has to be a well-thought out process – that will involve the child’s interest and aptitude as well. So that it won’t be a tiring, wasted effort of both the child’s time and so-called abilities and the parent’s money.There are many advantages in summer camps as they will learn new talents like painting. There will be various group interactions. If they are left at home, then the problem will fall on the mother who will have to find ways to keep them occupied.UshaAdvocateIt depends on the situation – if the family is not going out of station, then it is better to enrol children in summer camps. Otherwise, they will be wasting their time playing and watching TV. At camps, they will learn something…More