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The Hindu : Write your way to successJAIDEEP SHENOYChange in your hand writing can change your lifestyle.MANGALOREYoung Pallavi Kini’s face turned red with excitement when handwriting training expert Edwin Stany said her handwriting indicated potential in her to achieve stardom. This summer camp was organized by RX Life where Mr. Stany was conducting an introductory session on handwriting improvement. Mr. Stany is teaching people how to improve their handwriting using graphology. An improved handwriting is the key to improving one’s lifestyle is the firm belief of Mr. Stany. What follows next is a series of exercise including drawing circles, lines in a pre-determined angle on a sheet of paper in a notebook, and repeating the exercise over again.FocusEven as the campers are involved in carrying out the exercise, Mr. Stany keeps repeating that “change in handwriting changes our life,” to drive home the point that handwriting too defined an individuals’ personality.It is the science of improving one’s personality by simply changing our English writing to researched font. He makes them write ‘it’ in a pre-determined manner to reinforce this point.Good handwriting can correct our worst faults and will definitely strengthen our personality.It accesses our sub-conscious mind and works on our conscious mind too. The reason for this, Mr. Stany explains is that an individual’s handwriting is controlled by the relevant sides of the brain.For the Kamaths’ – Giridhar and Gayathri – who organised the camp, the intention of holding handwriting improvement classes as its component was just to give children an idea about what good handwriting could do for an individual.Mr. Stany can be reached on 9845195123….More

The Hindu : It was a pretty sight to see small children sing and dance away and show off their skills at various creative activities at Bal Bhavan in Cubbon Park. They were paricipating in the valedictory ceremony of the month-long summer camp conducted by the Bal Bhavan Society. The summer camp, which started on April 16, offered loads of fun for children. They were taught various exciting things like aero modelling, ship modelling, mehndi designs, painting and embroidery apart from the usual singing, dancing and Yoga.On displayThe results of the month’s training in these various fields were put up on display for the benefit of their parents and the public at the valedictory function.The event was inaugurated by Shalini Rajneesh, Principal Secretary, Department of Women and Child Welfare, and Vijaya Shubhraj, retired professor of English Literature. Prizes to the winners of painting competition and fancy dress were given away. The more interesting parts of the event were the exhibition and the cultural programme.The exhibition displayed some excellent work by children, including some done with fine sand.The children, with some help from the instructors, had tastefully recreated a park scene, realistically complete with fine details like monkeys on trees and some not so realistic touches like a lost dinosaur!The main attraction of the day’s event was a folk dance on the brave woman associated with the history of Chitradurga, Onake Obavva.Divya Narayanappa, Administrative Officer, Bal Bhavan Society, said: “The children are so excited and eager to learn new things as they are very interesting and enjoyable. This is my third year at this camp. I am looking forward to the next year already and I have plans about conducting different programmes each year.”…More

The Hindu : Think of swimsuit calendars and the images of beautiful women and exotic locales float in your mind. But, for lens man Atul Kasbekar, glamour got demystified a long time ago. “The pressure that you have, to outdo yourself every year, is immense. You have to take it to another level. Maybe this year, I will have to shoot from a plane! So every time it’s about raising the bar.”Kasbekar was in Bangalore recently for the opening of the Louis Vuitton store, one of the clients of his celebrity management company Bling Entertainment Solutions.Luxury calendars are big now but Kasbekar clarifies their popularity is not even half as close to the rage abroad. “But what it has done is led to an increase in quality across the board. People are putting in more money, time and quality to produce such calendars,” says Kasbekar. The Kingfisher swimsuit calendar was launched in 2003 and gave huge mileage to models like Yana Gupta, Sheetal Menon, and Katrina Kaif.In 2006, the ace lensman shot Deepika Padukone for the calendar in Australia. There is a deeper connection with Deepika’s aunt, a gynaecologist, delivering Kasbekar’s twins. “She took me to meet Deepika but I was more interested in meeting her father Prakash. She is going to be iconic. People will talk of her in the same breath as Madhuri Dixit. She isn’t here for a short term and is fully prepared. Bangalore is going to be very proud of her,” says Kasbekar.Kasbekar is now doing Deepika’s brand management through Bling Entertainment Solutions, which Kasbekar launched in August last year. “People always fascinate me. I like that whole feel of building up someone right from the start. It’s a holistic celebrity management service where we manage their films, endorsements and work on building their brand. To name a few we have Shahid Kapur, Deepika Padukone, Jia, Vidya Balan, Abhay Deol on our list….More

The Hindu : Take out your passport as T.G.I. Friday’s is ready to whisk you off on a coast-to-coast tour of American cuisine. Get started with New Orleans shrimp jambalaya — tender sautéed chicken and shrimp in a rich cajun cream sauce, served over spicy jambalaya rice with onions and red and green peppers priced at Rs. 410.Miami key West shrimp is plump, sautéed shrimp splashed with sparkling citrus juices and topped with mango-mint pico de Gallo, served with Caribbean mango Chile sauce, savoury rice and seasonal vegetables, priced at Rs. 420.New York chimichurri strip is juicy, tender strip steak char grilled and topped with zesty chimichurri served with roasted mashed potatoes and priced at Rs. 420.Los Angeles almond salad is golden, crispy almond crusted chicken served atop a medley of salad mix, dried fruit, toasted almonds and mandarin oranges with celery and bleu cheese crumbles and priced at Rs. 430. Chicago braised pork ribs with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables is priced at Rs. 370. Taxes as applicable.T.G.I. Friday’s, at No.1, Airport Road. Call 25210570/71….More

The Hindu : The battle of the Davids in this season’s “American Idol” finale on Star World may be over, but it’s just the start for these two musicians who have little in common except the stage they shared at the show. After the finale,winner David Cook and runner-up David Archuleta are settling back into normal life. Well, as normal as life can be after becoming overnight celebrities on the hit show, that is.“I can’t believe the level of support that has come out of me doing this crazy TV show,” said Cook during a global teleconference, where he and Archuleta gamely answered questions from disembodied voices of reporters across the world. “All I can do is try to embrace it and make all the effort people are putting into supporting me worthwhile.”For Cook, who’s been playing with bands since he was 15, that means starting work on his post-Idol record as soon as possible. “I’m ready to be back into the creative process of writing songs now,” he said. “I just want to put out a record that can stand up on its own long after I’m gone.”The rocker spent many years as a struggling musician after college, playing the club circuit in Tulsa, which he believes has helped him appreciate his current success more. “You get pretty humble playing to five people in a bar, and having that experience made the Idol experience sweeter,” he said.The irony is that Cook didn’t even plan on auditioning for the show; he’d just gone along with his brother, Andrew, for support. “We were standing in line at 5.30 a.m. in Omaha and it’s raining, the sun hasn’t come up. A producer comes by and interviews my brother and then turns to me and I’m like, ‘I’m not auditioning.’ He’s like, ‘You are now,’” he recalled laughing. “Life has a weird way of working it out sometimes.”For 17-year-old Archuleta, the…More

The Hindu : Robert Allan Zimmerman, also known as Bob Dylan among other things, was born May 24, 67 years ago. To commemorate the Pulitzer special citation wining rocker, Planet M, India, celebrate his birthday paying homage to the legendary musician.At the Brigade Road branch of Planet M, store patrons and Bob Dylan fans were treated to a special evening as a local duo, Narsimhan and Mithila, rendered some of Dylan’s classics in an acoustic unplugged set at the store. Though not much of a crowd had gathered, a lot of the curious shoppers stopped by the stage to catch a glimpse of what was happening. A couple of foreigners, who were shopping at the store, sang to themselves as they browsed the CD racks.The duo played all of Dylan’s best songs including “Times They Are a Changing”, “It Ain’t Me Babe”, “Shelter From The Storm”, “Tambourine Man”, “Tangled Up In Blue”, “Maggie’s Farm”, and an awesome, subtle version of the classic “All Along The Watchtower.” The crowd were expecting the evening to finish with “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”, which they did cover in their set, but they ended with all time favourite, “Blowin’ in the Wind.”Narsimhanm did an outstanding job emulating Dylan, almost matching the singer’s unique vocal range and keeping rhythm with his guitar, while Mithila accompanied him on a couple of songs here and there. The trademark Dylan sound of the mouth-organ was missing, which would have made the evening a true Bob Dylan experience. As a gesture to Dylan fans, Planet M offered a 25 per cent discount on all Bob Dylan CDs. Planet M organized similar birthday celebrations in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.It’s not a birthday party without a cake and cake there was. Narsimhan and Mithila cut the cake on Dylan’s behalf and that was officially the end of the evening. All the fans of the counterculture icon who couldn’t make it…More

The Hindu : Mobile communications company Nokia India, has announced its partnership with conservation organisation WWF-India, that it will be involved in WWF-India’s Tiger conservation programme.This announcement was jointly made by Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, WWF-India, and D. Shivakumar, vice president and Managing Director, Nokia India, at a recent event in Mumbai.Ravi Singh, WWF-India, said,“Nokia has been involved in several conservation initiatives with the WWF Network and are happy to see this relationship extend here.“This is an important step in bringing corporate institutional support for conservation, significantly tiger conservation, in India.“It is an important beginning at this critical time for conservation in our country.”Alarming decreaseHe continued: “The tiger population in India has seen an alarming decrease with habitats shrinking and the threat posed by poaching.To create a healthy ecological balance we need to work towards building long term sustainable models for wildlife conservation such that our future generations can experience the joy and beauty of our varied flora and fauna.”He added: “The tiger conservation project will address the issues of alternative livelihood for local communities, environmental awareness and communications.It will also look at some of the critical issues that South Western Ghats are facing today, including biodiversity loss and human wildlife conflict.”Wall of hopeThe event marked the unveiling of the “Tiger Wall of Hope” by Priya Dutt, MP, in the presence of eminent personalities.The Tiger Wall is created out of original pugmarks embedded in Plaster of Paris encased in acrylic.About the Tiger Wall, Singh said: “These pugmarks are a grim reminder of the critical numbers of tigers left in the wild.”Nokia and WWF-India will work towards providing education to the villagers on sustainable development, increasing awareness on tiger conservation, and identifying alternative livelihood programmesaround “National Protected Areas” such as the Ranthambore national park and others.Energy efficiency and climate strategy are other important areas of continuous performance improvement by Nokia.In India, the Nokia-WWF partnership is extending this…More

The Hindu : Promos and playsBrand Factory is having Back to College Deals where you can get discounts on apparels, footwear and accessories till June 8.Some of the popular brands on sale are Levis, Flying Machine, Bare, Bossini, Kappa, Arrow Sports, Bare Denim, Wrangler, Allen Solly and many more. Brand Factory is at Marathalli Main Road and open from 11.30 a.m. to 9.30 p.m.Call 40139200.***Mogra is having a promotion of wedding designer collection which includes lehenga cholis, saris and salwar kameezes till June 5. Labels include Anju Modi and AM:PM from Delhi, Wild Orchid by Karuna Khaitan, Swapan and Seema, Aksh and Kishore Ramani also from Kolkata for Salwar suits and ethnic men’s wear, Rohini Puri from Chennai, Varija Bajaj from New Delhi, accessories by Jyothi Jain and Eutrepe and men’s wear by Urmila and Mayank Modi with many more. Mogra is at B-24, Leela Galleria, The Leela Palace Kempinski, Airport Road. Call 41152457.Email: mogra1@vsnl. net, mograboutique@ gmail.com***Adamya is staging on May 27 and 28, 7.30 p.m., Dr. C. Veeranna’s “Saaviradavalu”, directed by Maltesh Badiger at Ranga Shankara.Call 9448202617….More

The Hindu : It is always a treat to watch an artist at work. Being witness to how images and forms are conjured up, developed, executed and sometimes modified in front of one’s own eyes is in itself a fascinating experience.Art camps and workshops set up by institutions and galleries provide rare occasions to watch the artists and interact with them even as the process of creation is on. A workshop organised by Gallery Sumukha recently in the city provided one such opportunity by bringing together a group of eleven well-known sculptors from different parts of the country.The team was lead by veteran artist, Laxma Goud whose oeuvre includes printmaking, painting, sculpture and drawing. Exceeding the energy levels of many youngsters, he produced not one but three fascinating sculptural pieces in quick time. Blending skill with creativity, Goud rendered his wide-eyed and gracefully decorated busts with intricate pattern and designs. The expert hand of the master was clearly visible even in the clay models which are going to be cast in bronze later.For Ahmedabad-based sculptor Karl Antao, the inspiration for art comes from watching and experiencing human relationships at different levels.Expectedly, his piece showed a man and a woman in close proximity. The façade of the protagonists appeared bereft of emotions and feelings; but the undercurrents and complexity of relationship became evident, for instance, by patterns of hair on the head and moustache.In his lifetime, Spanish artist, painter and illustrator Francisco Goya (1746-1828), produced works of great intensity and power.At Sumukha, Kerala-born Alex Mathew chose to reinterpret a powerful etching of Goya titled The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (1797-99) in sculpture. Mathew has had rich teaching at institutions like Cava (Mysore), M S University (Baroda) and currently at the Art Dept., University of Hyderabad.While wood is his preferred medium, Mathew who has widely exhibited his work is also well-known for his proficiency in fibreglass and clay.It would…More

The Hindu : Teacher travailAs schools open for the new academic year, teacher Usha Unnikrishnan spills her woesWe have been hounded by the media, psychiatrists, counsellors and parents. The teacher community is under threat. The amount of pressure that a teacher undergoes is what goes unnoticed.One has to maintain discipline, but where does discipline come from when you cannot correct a child? Correcting a student is looked at with bitterness. The media has helped by updating news and information and of course, sensationalising things beyond limits. There are plenty of positive reports that the print media can come out with. Why do they choose to prey on us? There is hardly anything even on Teachers’ Day. What a pity!Earlier corporal punishment was prevalent. Now teachers have accepted the changes in the scenario; almost playing the role of a counsellor. In today’s nuclear family, a child has acquired the art of intolerance. Are parents inculcating the virtue of being tolerant? Do parents have the time to instil values at home? Value-based learning systems are in place in schools.Every child is precious to us and we nurture them with deep care and attention, bringing out their talents and helping them with every little thing. Teachers have no incentive except forthe smiles, love and success of their students. A few have blemished the clan but they are just a few. There are many who are passionate about the profession and I write on behalf of ‘the many’.Do you have anything to say? About the state of the world, the city, your angst? Pen it stylishly and you might get it published.Dash off your piece with your photograph in 300 DPI resolution. (Please do not send pictures taken on mobile phone cameras.) Email it tobangaloremetro@thehindu.co.in or post it to MetroPlus, The Hindu, 19 & 21, Bhagwan Mahaveer Road (Infantry Road), Bangalore 1….More