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The Hindu : For the second concert in its series called Monday Night Jazz, Olive Beach continued focussing on local talent with the Gerard Machado Trio on April 21. The trio comprises, besides the leader on guitar, K.N. Prakash on electric bass guitar and Machado’s nephew Yogendra ‘Tillu’ Hule on drums.Deciding not to waste time waiting for the concert to start (the previous concert started an hour late) I rolled in when the performance was well under way, thanks to heavy traffic. The trio were playing the immortal Charlie Parker’s composition “Billie’s Bounce”, the sort of tune modern jazz musicians take as a benchmark to test themselves against. They brought it off very well, with Machado, Prakash and Hule all taking solos in turn and showing they were equal to the challenge.Being just a trio, they had to work hard to offer the audience a wide menu of solos on every number they performed. Machado took the most, but as a change from his improvisations, Prakash had to pitch in with a stronger effort than most bassists would have to make. (Jazz bassists have traditionally felt a bit left out of the spotlight because of the presence of other instruments to take the lead, so much so that the great bassist and bandleader Dave Holland once said bass solo is usually taken by the audience as the signal of a toilet break!) Hule’s drumming, with plentiful use of brushes and other quieter techniques, was tasteful and in the highest mainstream jazz tradition, although both he and Prakash apparently have rock careers going in parallel to their jazz lives, and are close to hitting big time in that more lucrative field.By way of further variety, Machado, who has a fine voice, threw it into the mix on a couple of numbers. “Satin Doll” and “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ but the Blues”, both popular hits written by the greatest jazz…More

The Hindu : Perhaps the most beautiful experience for a woman is the occasion when she holds her baby the very first time. Erased from mind in that instant is the pain of delivery as well as the nine months of confinement. The only thought that pervades is the baby and the feeling of becoming a mother.But not many have the luxury of experiencing this feeling in an ambience that is a far cry from a hospital. As for expert care, it is confined to those who can afford it. But until recently, even those who could afford could not deliver in such an ambience though expert care was certainly forthcoming. Motherhood was achieved in the midst of a hospital setting, complete with its smells and scenes.However, the recently opened Nest in Wockhardt Hospital and the now year-old Cradle of Apollo Hospitals have changed this scenario, offering a facility where mothers are not only assured of the best of care but also go through the entire process of ante-natal, delivery and post-natal care in five-star ambience.Thus, you can choose to have your baby born in a room that has one of the seasons as its theme. Or you could check into a room that has an equally luxurious annexe for the family assisting.Not only are your rooms more like a star hotel, the entire hospital as in the Cradle and the entire floor catering to mother and child care in the Nest has a similar setting.Here, a complete package is offered to mothers-to-be, starting from the period of conception or at times even at the planning stage, until the baby is born. Some of these packages extend to post-natal care too and offer care up to the point where the child is a year old or more, depending on individual choice.During pregnancy, medically approved methods like Lamaze, which is breathing techniques and exercises, and yoga to facilitate natural…More

The Hindu : Sangeeta Krupa Kuteera, which has been imparting music training to youngsters, steps into its 25th year. The institution was started with the objective of providing a platform to youngsters by the committed Gunda Shastri, way back in 1984. Trained under the late Pandit Sheshadri Gawai, he has quietly been doing his bit for the promotion of Hindustani classical music. It has trained many students since, many of whom have gone on to become significant names. In the last 25 years, the Kuteera has organised over 250 programmes. It also gives away an annual award “Sangeeta Kalaravinda”.On this occasion, they have a two-day celebration on April 26 and 27 at Dattatreya Temple, Tyagarajanagara. On April 26, at 5 p.m. the students of Kuteera will present a special programme, Raga-Taala-Chitrasangama, which will be followed by a Hindustani vocal recital by Indudhar Nirodi. On April 27, there will be a violin recital by Basavanagui Nataraj. He along with Indudhar Nirodi will be felicitated at 5 p.m.For details, call 2679210….More

The Hindu : The first time we went to 1947, we struggled….the lift had not been installed and we climbed two flights of stairs and after a hearty dinner at the newest fine-dining vegetarian restaurant, climbed down the stairs! The second time around, a smoothlift took us up. The struggle was to keep temptation in check and elegantly order just five starters or ‘shuruaats’.Why would a restaurant be called 1947? The owner was once a freedom fighter? The owner was born in 1947? “We wanted to offer our guests something Indian…. not North Indian or South Indian or East or West Indian,” says Jiya Jain, the 25-year old entrepreneur, who came from Assam nine years ago. “And we thought 1947 was the catchiest, shortest way to brand something as truly Indian.”We walk into the restaurant through doors carved out of old sleeper wood. Rough white walls, a charkha and cannon are enough to set the tone of the place. Once you’ve ordered, there is time to take in charming little details about the interiors…. old-world switch boards, placards in every table with details about unknown freedom fighters, sepia-tinted photographs on the wall and so on with melodious instrumental film music in the background.One can start the meal with tomato soup, palak ka shorba or 1947 dal shorba, a Bombay-style soup. The menu has an impressive list of starters. Aloo nazakat ke (baby potatoes with marinated hung curd and Indian spices, finished in a clay oven), tandoori baby corn (fresh baby corn marinated with hung curd and Indian spices, cooked in tandoor, paneer Peshawari (creamy malai paneer marinated in yoghurt flavored with ajwain and cooked on char grill) and 1947 Special (marinated vegetables on mushrooms and cottage cheese cooked and served in a skewer) are just a few on offer. “Our chef is an experienced person, and we happily let him come up with the best starters,” says Jiya.We…More

The Hindu : ConcertLegendary singer S. Janaki will perform in the city todayS. Janaki, a name that is synonymous with South Indian film music will perform in Bangalore on April 26. The outstanding singer with her silken voice started singing at the age of three. She later moved to Chennai in pursuit of a musical career. Hercareer as a playback singer took off in 1957 with a song for the film, Vidhiyin Vilaiyattu by AVM movies. Janaki has a unique capability to change her voice and sing in a range of tones. She is not only a singer but also a good lyricist and a good music composer. She wrote many songs for Tamil and Telugu films.She has received many awards for her talent. She won national awards for best singer four times. For the song “Senthoora Poove” in 1976, for “Padinaaru Vyadhinilai” in 1980, for “Ettumanoorambalathil” in the Malayalam film “Oppol” in 1984 and for “Vennello Godari Andham” of the Telugu film “Sithara”, for “Inji Idippazagha” of the Tamil film “Devar Magan”. She has won Tamil Nadu State government award seven times, Kerala state Government awards 14 times, Andhra state government awards 10 times. She was honoured with “Kalai Mamani” in 1986, “Sur singar” award in 1987 and many others. Innovative Eye, the organisers of the show, can be contacted on 98451 85070 or 080-23300670. The venue of the show is APS College Grounds, N.R. Colony….More

The Hindu : Perfect comboMUKUND PADMANABHANThe reasons for the huge commercial interest in the Indian wine market are drawn on familiar lines. Huge and burgeoning middle class, changing drinking preferences, increase in health consciousness, low base of wine consumption, annual increase in consumption rate of over 30 per cent — in short, plenty of opportunities for runaway growth.According to an article sourced from ambrosiaindia.com, around one million cases of wine are manufactured annually in India and another 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh cases are imported. Pit these figures against the spirits industry and you get an idea of the insignificant nature of these numbers. About 125 million cases of hard liquor were sold; the corresponding annual figure for beer was around 100 million cases. So if even a small percentage of people were persuaded to switch to wine, it would mean a quantum leap in consumption.That’s the good news. But what about the flip side? First, a couple of obvious things. There is the indiscriminately high tax, which pushes the price of wines beyond the reach of many. But then, taxes invariably reduce as collections increase. With increased consumption, a fall is very likely. The other factor is the poor to middling quality of a lot of Indian wine. But this is changing very rapidly, with the entry of boutique wineries such as Big Banyan and Reveilo and the marked improvement in the overall quality of that put out by Sula and Grover.The real obstacle to runaway growth, in my opinion, lies in the drinking and eating habit of Indians. Wine can be enjoyed before and after meals but, most of all, it is an accompaniment — something that complements food wonderfully. Desis are sequential in the way they approach food and drink. At parties, we tend to quickly knock back large pegs of spirit, usually whiskey, and then, after having decided we’ve had enough, end up attacking…More

The Hindu : Fame India Limited has announced a five-day summer film-making workshop for children in the age group of seven to 15 years. The workshop will provide children an opportunity to make films, act and be trained by experts in various aspects. The Fame Reel Kids workshop will be held in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata. Children will learn the basics about film-making, story-writing, acting skills, dialogue delivery, facial exercises, tips about direction and more. The organisers will also screen many films for children.All the children will be given an opportunity to showcase their talent and a select group of 15 to 20 children will be short listed to make a 15-minute movie.The workshop will be held in Bangalore from May 3 to 9 at Fame Lido. The workshop will also include screening of two movies, five days of workshop activities for enhancing acting skills, and Fame goodie bags like food and beverages combo coupons. All the participating children will also be awarded a participating certificate. Children can be accompanied by one adult.For more information, contact Dilip Raj Pukkella on 93439-09762/ 97412-40269 or log on towww.famecinemas.com….More

The Hindu : To doCopper Chimney which specialises in North Indian cuisine is having an introductory vegetarian and non-vegetarian lunch buffet offer till April 30 at Rs. 250 with a pint of beer from 12 noon to 3 p.m. It is located on the III Floor, Bangalore Central, M.G. Road. Call 66111800.AHA! Ranga Shankara’s theatre for children programme and Britannia Industries Ltd. are presenting “The First Leaf” for children above five-years-old, directed by Padmavati Rao, music by Bhavataarini, daughter of composer Ilayaraja on April 26, 6.30 p.m. at Sevasadan Auditorium, 14th Cross, Malleswaram. Tickets are priced at Rs. 70. Call 9886998550….More