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The Hindu : y>GRT Temple Bay comes up with Winter Tan packages

PHOTO: N. SRIDHARANCHILL OUT At GRT Temple Bay

GRT Temple Bay, Mahabalipuram, has launched `Winter Tan’, a package for the winter. The three day-two night package costs Rs. 22,222, and is valid till March 31.

The package includes special chalet rooms on twin sharing basis with a buffet breakfast. A meal credit of Rs. 2,000 a couple or a buffet dinner at Santa Maria for couples is also part of the package. The package is inclusive of an activitycum- health club credit voucher worth Rs. 1,000, and a 15 per cent discount on all outlets (except Ayush).

You also get complimentary pick and drop from airport, half-day sightseeing at Mahabalipuram, and also a night’s stay at Puducherry (at an additional cost of Rs. 3,000 a night). The check-in time is 2 p.m. and check out is at noon. For reservations, call 2744 3636.

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The Hindu :

A brilliant solo jazz piano concert left Bangaloreans asking for more of the city’s own boy wonder Sharik Hasan

Photos: Bhagya Prakash K.PLEASING NOTES The solos were typically taken at quite a clip

It was less than six months ago that I wrote in these columns about Sharik Hasan that his virtuosity on the piano had a tendency to overshadow, ever so slightly, his colleagues on bass and drums. Whether or not that’s fair, since many pianists leading trios tend to dominate them, Hasan solved the problem, if it is one, neatly on January 8 at the Alliance Française (AF).

Performing under the aegis of the International Music and Arts Society and the AF, Hasan played solo piano, a role in which I have never before heard him during the roughly two years since he participated in a jazz concert here. For about an hour and 20 minutes, Hasan regaled the audience with his brilliance on the piano. He went through some 11 pieces, two of them his own compositions, and the rest jazz and pop standards well-known in the jazz canon.

The tempos ranged from slow to fast, but typically on some of the pieces Hasan started with a slow intro, perhaps speeding it up slightly for the main theme and then faster for the improvisation. Then he would slow down again as he returned to the theme. In most cases there was some improvisation even on the basic theme, for instance, adding lots of notes in between those of the original score, before he proceeded to what would be the main improvisation (solos, as jazz musicians call them).

For instance, on Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein’s “The Song Is You”, he made his intentions explicit by saying he had made his own arrangement of the tune, the original of which he recapitulated first before his own performance of it. This was characterised by…More

The Hindu :

Life takes on a different meaning on a houseboat

Photo: K.K. MustafahScenic trip On a houseboat

As I walk along the edge of the backwaters in Alappuzha, I pass by a long row of comfy-looking floating drawing rooms on my right.

Each has a distinctive personality — some have old-fashioned couches, others have stylish recliners, and still others have rustic cane chairs; some even boast flat-screen TVs, satellite dishes and ornate mantelpieces against their far walls, many bearing fond titles such as ‘Lily Darling’ out front.Charmed!

I’m talking about, of course, Kerala’s popular houseboats, those long, smoothly thatched structures with rounded roofs and curved windows that glide up and down the backwaters all through the day and moor by the banks for the evenings.

This is my first sighting of them, and I’m utterly charmed. We finally reach our houseboat for the day — we’ve signed up for a half-day cruise down the backwaters — and I’m mildly disappointed that it doesn’t have any name out front except for that of the cruise company’s (I had quite set my heart on boarding a ‘Lily Darling’ or such).Floating home

Still, we spend the next quarter of an hour or so ooh-ing and aah-ing over the perfectly outfitted little boat, complete with two small bedrooms and bathrooms (shower trays and all) and the small kitchen. Then, the boat begins to move and we forget about everything else but the view.

Sitting in our little open-air drawing room at the front of the boat, feet up on the centre table, the cool, clean breeze in our hair and a glass of cold lime juice in our hands (courtesy of the boat’s cook), there can’t be a better way to experience the beauty of the peaceful Kerala backwaters.

The water is a clean, glassy blue-green and the banks on either side are awash with greenery and filled with clusters of…More

The Hindu : y>Pick up some of the finest coloured crystal that borders on art at Daum

Coloured glass pieces for your mantelpiece adorn the shelves at Daum. Traditionally collecting crystals since 1878, for the last 10 years, Daum from Swarovski, Paris, has been carving exclusive handmade colour crystal pieces. With a host of collections — love, elephant, bamboo, floral, Indian mythology, secret d’amour and more, Daum creates crystal for the discerning collector.

Colours from mint-green to lotus-pink find volumes in the floral collection. From bowls and vases to candle holders, you can find exquisitely-carved pieces in the floral collection ranging from tulip, lotus, roses, iris, papillion, amaryllis and more.

Daum has had the repute of the best artists working with their crystal. Three hundred and fifty artists over a century — from Salvador Dali, Arman, Cesar, Dan Dailey, Andre Deluol, Lalanne, Paloma Picasso, Roland Topor and Manolo Valdes to the current Emilio Robba work on the crystal.

Art as luxury epitomises Daum as Abdul Rehman of Glittex Inc. puts it. “These are premium museum pieces meant for people who can relate to art.” The colours of the crystal change and sometimes, the deliberate bubble-effect, which traps the light, creates different shades and textures under a light. So from the rubbery texture of a pachyderm’s skin from the elephant collection, or the reclining nude woman whose colours increase or decrease according to the thickness, the Daum collection will dazzle you.

The focus of the many collections at Daum is definitely the sheer craftsmanship in the cut, texture and colour. Rare and precious glasswork in different designs and themes come in a limited edition.

Going back to the history of Daum, it is said that it has kept “in close step with all the innovative movements that marked the passing eras, from Art Noveau to the Decorative Arts” and “in 1960 has reworked crystal using the pate…More

The Hindu : y>

Awesome adventures The highly-anticipated sequel

Set your Omnitrix to overload this January as Cartoon Network continues to ride on the BEN 10 wave with the premiere of the highly anticipated sequel to “Ben 10”, “Ben 10: Alien Force”.The animated action-adventure series sequel begins the next chapter in the continuing saga five years later when 15-year-old Ben Tennyson chooses to once again put on the Omnitrix and discovers that it has reconfigured his DNA and can now transform him into 10 brand new aliens. Joined by his cousin Gwen Tennyson and his equally powerful former enemy Kevin Levin, Ben is on a mission to find his Grandpa Max. ITo coincide with the on-air launch, Ben Tennyson invites everyone to take part in online games in the action-packed “Alien Force: Heroes Challenge”, a multi-game online tournament and win spectacular weekly prizes and Nintendo Wii – the ultimate grand prize. Starting from January 19, players will be treated to cool new games every week on http://www.cartoon networkindia.com/contest/2009/01_heroes_challenge/index.jsp. Watch Cartoon Network between 4 and 7 p.m. for more details.

Watch the premiere on today at 6 p.m. and thereafter air every Monday to Wednesday on Cartoon Network.

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The Hindu : y>The Jaipur Literature Festival is back. William Dalrymple tells AYESHA MATTHAN the festival will offer equal space to debutant writers as well as the established ones

CONCEPT The festival is not meant to be a political animal, says Dalrymple

William Dalrymple is clear that Jaipur as a location for the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival has no relation to being a site of blasts last year. In a phone interview, co-director with Namita Gokhale of the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival, Dalrymple says: “It is primarily a festival of books, where writers and book lovers get together to celebrate and cherish books. It is not meant to be a political animal.” But he admits: “But writers deal with the world they live in and this year for the festival, we have got some of the greatest experts on terrorism.”

“So from Ahmed Rashid who in his ‘Descent into Chaos’ explores the failure of the American policy post 9/11 and Malise Ruthven who is an expert on the Middle East and will speak on Gaza to Rajiv Chandrasekharan whose new book ‘Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone’ about Americans in Baghdad that won the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction in 2007, experts on incidents post 9/11 have been invited for the festival,” expands William.Songs for peace

The musical programme emphasises on peace and co-existence, states William. So every evening post talks and discussions, the “Coexist Concert for Peace Series” will have musicians from Rumi artistes like Coleman Barks and Kudsi Erguner, Pakistani Salman Ahmad of Junoon, Shye Ben Tzur presenting a Sufi Qawwali experience, traditional Rajasthani musicians, Cheb I Sabba from Algeria to a Baul Sammelan with Paban Das, Subal Das, Debdas and Kanai Das Baul, Nimai Goswami, Halim Fakir. “The idea was to bring together Hindu, Muslim, Jewish and Christian musicians of different traditions and have them play together in pairs…More

The Hindu :

Young Sharik Hasan has taken his passion for the piano seriously and now plays professionally

Sharik Hasan started playing the piano at the age of five. “We had a piano at home and my parents were into it. I got to play as often as possible. The next logical step was to take classes. Now it’s been five years since I started playing professionally,” says this young musician, who started off by learning classical music but now has a passion for jazz.

“I took to jazz for I was able to express myself in a more creative way,” says Sharik who has studied at the Longy School of Music in Boston and trained under pianist Ludmilla Lifson. Later he learnt at the Bangalore School of Music. When he turned 16 he went to the USA to attend the Berlin Conservatory of Music and “was drawn to the dynamic sounds of jazz”. He has learnt from musicians like Dave Holland, Billy Hart, Gary Bartz and Joe Lovano.

“When I was 17, I chose to study at the Ohio College because of its music programme exclusively for jazz and piano. It blew my mind that I could take to this as a profession and not just as a hobby,” says Sharik, who adds that he learns by listening to live concerts. “And France gives me ample opportunity for that.”

Sharik now comes to India twice a year to perform “as much as possible. I connect with musicians here. I have also collaborated with classical musicians like Rama Mani and Adrian D’Souza (drums) and Karl Peters (bass).”

He says that he sees a growing interest among Indians for jazz. “But we lack venues for live jazz concerts. Alliance Francaise has the perfect place, it is intimate and small and we can connect with the audience,” observes Sharik who then adds that he comes back often and to get…More

The Hindu : y>

Abhishek Hazra’s solo show of his works titled “Inheritance of Alphanumeric Characters”

Venue: Galleryske, St. Mark’s Road

Date: On till February 21

Contact:4112 0873

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The Hindu : y>

Sri Lanka Tourism has launched a tourism development project based in Kalpitiya called the Kalpitiya Integrated Development Project (KITDP) that has selected certain islands best suited to be developed as resorts to generate environment friendly sustainable tourism.

The aim is also to promote 14 “unspoilt islands basking in the sun rimmed by the blue waters of the Indian Ocean and wide sandy beaches await to be discovered.”

Kalpitiya is a stretch of land 150 kms. north of Colombo.

It is skirted by the sea on one side and lagoon on the other. There are many islands — small and large formed within both sea and lagoon, most of which are covered with green mangroves.

There about 22 species of core mangroves found in Sri Lanka.

According to botanists, out of the 22, some very rare species are found in habitats in these islands.

One such find in the island is locally known in Sinhala as “Rathambilla” is an endangered species.

The marine sanctuary is the other interesting place, which includes tropical exotic fish, coral formations found in shallow waters in varied colours and forms.

For details call (0) 112437055/59/60 Extn 295 or log on towww.srilanka.travel.

You can also email-azhara@srilanka.travel.

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Now you can discover Asia with Expedia and get up to 40 per cent off for this Valentine’s Day.

You can log on to Expedia.co.inTM for the details, which helps the Indian traveller to book their travel — like flights, hotel accommodation and car hire — together as a single package.

Travellers can also create their own package by combining all their travel needs with one single price tag, say the organisers.

For Indian couples who are looking forward to their Valentine’s getaway log on to Expedia.co.in orhttp://www.expedia.co.in/holiday-packages/discover-asia.aspx.

The destinations on offer include countries such as China, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Philippines.

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The Hindu : y>

The Park Hotel’s Monsoon restaurant is having the Mud Cake promotion. This time this dessert is infused with liqueurs, grand marnier, blue berry, espresso and so on.

Venue:The Park, M.G.Road

Date:On from January 16

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