News

The Hindu : y>Argentinean bartender Mariano Velo says people the world over behave the same way when drunk

Photo: Sampath Kumar g.p.BARTIME BLUES Mariano “Voraz” Velo concocting one of his beauties

“Bartending is a job that requires a combination of speed, some basic skills and a positive attitude,” says Mariano “Voraz” Velo, an Argentinean bartender, currently visiting India. He started his career as a waiter in a restaurant, but was always fascinated by bartending. “I thought it was a glamorous job and fun too.”

Mariano eventually took up the bartender’s job and has enjoyed the experience. “Anyone with some speed and a positive attitude will pick up the art of creating the best cocktails with experience and time,” he says.

“It is a job that cannot be learnt in an academic environment. Though schools that provide tips on bartending and finishing schools are becoming a rage, this is one job where you learn on the job. Of course, you need to experiment and invent new drinks.”

“Cocktails vary a great deal across the planet. In warm countries, colder cocktails are popular and vice-versa for colder countries. In the tropics, people can choose cocktails to their own liking.”

Mariano says that though most of the customers are usually well behaved, he is forced to deal with some miscreants occasionally. “When you are managing the bar, there may be some fights or drunk customers ordering more drinks. You have to be calm and ensure that the situation does not get too serious.”

He adds, “You encounter such behaviour across the world. It is not restricted to any particular region.” With a chuckle, he adds, “Once drunk, people across the planet act very similarly.”

He is currently working at Zara Tapas Bar, and divides his time between the company’s outlets in Chennai and Bangalore. He says, “Before coming to India, I thought that Indians will not be willing to experiment with their drinks. On the…More

The Hindu : y>

Orissa Cultural Association is celebrating “Utkal Dibas” (Orissa Day) with performances to the songs of Mohammad Sikandar Alam and Tansen Singh, and singing by Nazia Alam and P. Roomesh Kumar.

Date: April 4, 6.30 p.m.

Venue: RV Dental College Auditorium, JP Nagar

Contact: 9845042707

<FONT …More

The Hindu :

The Oberoi’s Le Jardin offers the best of a buffet and a la carte menu so that you tuck in only as much as you need

Photo: Murali Kumar K.The right balance One can eat to one’s heart content without being uncomfortably stuffed

A buffet meal often leaves one in a strange situation and forces you to eat less, in your attempt to sample all the delicacies on offer.

Le Jardin at The Oberoi has launched a new menu that merges an a la-carte experience with the buffet lunch menu.

This system aims at providing guests the best of the buffet system and allows them to choose the main course dishes, tempered to their specifications, instead of having to grapple with mammoth choices and ending up wasting a lot of food and not being able to enjoy a nice filling meal.

The soups and salads are served like in the regular buffet. We start with the chicken and leek soup that boasts a soft flavouring, tender and fresh chicken pieces. The soup manages to score high on taste and flavour. We move on to the salad section, which apart from a number of vegetable and cold cut meats, also offers a selection of cheeses from across the planet. After gorging on the cheese, we move on to the main course.

We choose the Allepey fish curry, Bekhti fish cooked in kokum gravy with shallots and curry leaves and the Goan shrimp curry — shrimp in kokum gravy with shallots and curry leaves, served with a liberal helping of white rice.

The Allepey fish curry was superb; the fish was fresh and the flavouring perfect to tempt the palate more.

The oil content is not very high and it proves to be a relatively healthy dish that goes well with white rice.

We also try the pave of chicken breast, which apart from providing a melange of sweet and sour…More

The Hindu : y>Play sports, make jewellery or learn drama during your holidays

Photo: S.R. RaghunathanArt attack Make summer colourful

Sports Authority of Karnataka will conduct summer camps in two groups at Sri Kanteerava Stadium, Koramangala, J.P. Nagar, Wilson Garden, Austin Town, Vidya Peetha and other places. Coaching will be offered in cricket, lawn tennis, volleyball, basketball, chess, judo, boxing, hockey and yoga. The camp is also open for physically challenged children. Call 22214044/ 9980833847.

* * *Silicon Valley Academy of Excellence will organise “Fun with English” summer camp for children aged between nine and 15. Activities include grammar, phonetics, spelling rules, debates, public speaking and confidence building. It begins on April 6. Call 98450-52267.

* * *Global Art India will organise in April a fun-filled programme designed to encourage drawing and colouring skills in children and stimulate creative skills. Call 93420-70410 / 32924753 or visitwww.sipacademyindia.com

* * * Hanumanthanagar Bimba will conduct a creative workshop for children aged seven to 15. Classes begin on April 10. Call 97312-11147/ 22424253.

* * * Krishnadevaraya Sports Association will organise an athletics summer camp from April 8. There is no entry fee for the camp. It will be conducted at Jaraganahalli Government School at Yelachenahalli. Call 94487-33278.

* * * Bharat Geo Guides will conduct a three-day workshop on geography and geo-environment from April 15. It is open for teachers and students of high and higher secondary schools in Karnataka. The workshop includes lectures by professionals and practical sessions. Call 23563844/ 99452-82653.

* * * Innova Education Research Foundation and Silicon Kids will jointly conduct a summer camp on robotics and electronics from April 2. It is open for children aged eight to 14. Call 26609313/23.

* * * Shristi Center of Performing Arts & Institute of Dance Therapy will organise a month-long summer course in dance, music, crafts, bhajans and story-telling. It will be conducted at Sanathana Kalakshetra, Jayanagar. Call 98456-98089/ 97390-56157 or e-mail:sing7dance@rediffmail.com

*…More

The Hindu : y>

Ranga Shankarais presenting Vibhawari Deshpande and Padmavati Rao’s “Gumma Banda Gumma”, an adaptation of the German “Max und Milli” to inaugurate Summer Express workshops.

Venue: Ranga Shankara

Date: April 5, 3.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m.

Contact: 26493982.

<FONT …More

The Hindu : y>

BLACK AND WHITE A charity art show

The Pyramid Spiritual Trust is organising a one-day introductory workshops on “The Science of Meditation”. The workshop will be held on April 5 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. at Pyramid Valley, near Harohalli, Kanakpura Road. Contact 9448177563.

* * *

i-bar is launching Retro Saturdays with DJ Bobby. The event will be held at 8 p.m. on Saturdays at i-bar, The Park. Call 2559 4666.

* * *

Jagadish Kadur is presenting “Black and White”, a charity art show. The display will be on till April 5, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.

* * *

Nupura is presenting the Bharatanatya Rangapravesha of Sahana Dasarathy on April 4, 6.30 p.m. at Ravindra Kalakshetra, J.C. Road.

* * *

Sri Ranga Kalakshetra is celebrating its 17th anniversary with morning and evening music and dance sessions.

The event is on April 4, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. at Parimala Sabhangana, Raghavendra Swamy Mutt, C.M.H. Road, Indiranagar. Call 9342859309.

* * *

There is a clothes and jewellery exhibition with a range of tunics and kurtis designed by Vima Dilip, Archana Reddy and Yamini Reddy and silver jewellery by Purvi Patel. The event is on today at Raintree, Sankey Road, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

* * *

Pedestrian Pictures will screen films on “Global Recession – Capitalism in Crisis” with Roel van Broekhoven’s “The day the dollar falls” and Michael Kirk’s “Inside the meltdown” on April 4, 4.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. at IAT, Queen’s Road. Call 94483 67627, 98802 76820.

* * *

Maraa is having its Theatre Jam on April 5 at Public Park, 33rd cross, off Nanda Road, near South End Circle, Jayanagar. Call 9886928582/9343763497.

<FONT …More

The Hindu : y>

Goethe-Institut is presenting electronica band “Mouse on Mars” who will perform with The Bobbleheads featuring Archana Prasad and Tanvi Rao.

Date: April 4, 9.30 p.m.

Venue: Goethe Institut, No. 716 CMH Road, Indiranagar 1st Stage

Contact: 25205305-203

<FONT …More

The Hindu : MUKUND PADMANABHAN

Bruce Cakebread

Having meals with owners and representatives of wineries tends to proceed along familiar lines. Bottles of wine are opened with every course and you are walked through the repast with tasting notes, viticultural practices, wine-making techniques and a potted history of the winery.

In this respect, the lunch with Bruce Cakebread, President and COO of Cakebread Cellars, at the upscale Italian restaurant Prego at Taj Coromandel, is refreshingly different. He seems less keen on showcasing his wines than talking about the region in which they originate, the Napa Valley in California, which has emerged as one of the finest wine-producing regions in the world.

All right, so Bruce is a member of the board of directors of the Napa Valley Vinters, a trade organisation with a membership of some 325 wineries that promotes the region. But I suspect that such altruism also stems from the history and culture of the Napa Valley viticultural area.

The first commercial winery was established as far back as 1861, but it was only in the middle of the next century that Napa — thanks partly to the introduction of new wine-making techniques — began to develop the reputation it deserves. Today, it attracts some 4.7 million visitors a year and has emerged as the second-most popular tourist spot in the U.S. after Disneyland.

The collective effort to promote the region is a result of many things. First of all, geography. Bounded by mountains, the valley is a small and narrow stretch some 30 miles long. “If I go and see a film in Napa, the chances are that I will know almost everyone there,” says Bruce, with a possible touch of exaggeration to emphasise the sense of community.

Second, there was the challenge of trying to get the world’s notice. It was Napa that convinced the world that top-quality wines could be produced outside France. Other new-world countries…More

The Hindu : y>

The Big Picture, a fund-raising art exhibition by the India Foundation for the Arts will feature 57 artists and 63 works, curated by Abhishek Poddar.

Date: April 5 to 8, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and April 10 to 15, 10.30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Venue: WelcomArt Gallery, ITC Windsor and Gallery Sumukha

<FONT …More

The Hindu : y>SHILPA SEBASTIAN R. has good fun at Dana Kolker’s acrobalancing class

Photo: Murali Kumar k.GOOD RESULTS Be at it steadily

Dana Kolker is a dancer who teaches acrobalance, a combination of dance, acting and acrobatics. She is at the Shambhavi School of Dance in Vijayanagar and will conduct a two-weekend workshop.

“It is a workout where you will be working in pairs and you might be a bit sore after the workout. This, however, is a good sign.”

She starts with some stretches. Her class is lively and fun for she connects every exercise to nature. For instance, while at a painful stretch she says: “Imagine you are sailing on the sea.”

She adds:“None of you are breathing. Breathing while exercising is important,” and she makes us inhale and exhale noisily. After a few rounds of this we are ready to try acrobalancing.

First our hands have to be locked with our partners and then bodieshave to be pushed away from each others as far back as possible and then try to sit and stand, while keeping our hands locked and not changing our bodylines.

“You have to use your centre for this then you will feel no strain on your knees or back. If you do it means you are not using your centre,” explains Dana, pointing to her abdomen. After a few tries of this we are to stand back to back with our partners. This time we try to sit and stand at the same time in a straight line. While the first one was easy the second one was a bit difficult to co-ordinate without eye contact.

“Don’t be discouraged. It will happen but with practise you will be perfect,” says our young instructor. Then we move on to the difficult task, balancing our partners in varied acrobatic positions.

First one of us forms the base while the other becomes the weight. While the…More