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The Hindu : y>An opportunity for photography buffs to explore Agumbe forest

Great Escapes, a travel advisory firm based out of Bangalore in association with Pixetra Club and wildlife photographer Amoghavarsha, has launched a photography expedition.

A two-day camp for select photo enthusiasts will be held in the heart of Agumbe forest in the Western Ghats on May 30 and 31.

Photography buffs will be treated to some beautiful sceneries and will also learn the nuances of wildlife photography. The team will be based at the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station.

Total cost ex-Bangalore is Rs. 8,900, which includes travel charges to Agumbe and back, pre-expedition photography workshop, food and accommodation, local transport, guide and tracker charges.

Call 9844161733/ 9886101005 or visitwww.greatescapes.co.in

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The Hindu : y>A book reading? An interaction? Yes, it was all of this, but the launch of Jeffrey Archer’s latest novel, Paths of Glory, was also something of a rock show. DIVYA KUMAR reports

PHOTOS: V. GANESAN & R. RAVINDRANCROWDPULLER Jeffrey Archer

When Lord Jeffrey Archer tells friends and family in the U.K. about the sort of reception he got during his tour of India last year, they don’t quite believe him. And he really doesn’t blame them.

“It’s hard to describe what was happening in the room; I think they need to see for themselves,” he muses. “I’ve certainly never seen anything like it before!”

Well, if they’d been at Landmark in Chennai for his recent interactive session — the first stop of his second tour of the country — they’d have been able to see it happen all over again.

Think rock show (except with no music and with references to R.K. Narayan and Shakespeare instead), think packed-beyond-belief, hot-as-a-sauna mosh pit sans head-banging, think snaking lines extending across the arena… er… store, as over 700 audience members waited to have their favourite dog-eared and/or brand-new Archer book signed after the event.

It was, once again, an incredible demonstration of the best-selling author’s popularity in India, and Archer visibly enjoyed every single moment of it as he held forth on stage, mock-abusing his publisher (a running joke from last year), making sure to include cricket anecdotes, and gamely interacting with fans (ranging from a remarkably insightful and tenacious 10-year-old to the gentleman who took the opportunity to quickly read out the first paragraph of his own novel).

“Pop stars and rock stars get treated this way by young people who don’t quite know what they’re doing, but this was a highly-intelligent audience that was going out onto the street because you couldn’t get everyone in the room and was standing anywhere it could,” he says. “That is thrilling as…More

The Hindu :

How to enjoy budget travel in the Italian capital? Check this out

Photo: AFPTIME FOR A CUPPA At La Piazza Navona

In the very centre of Rome, the terrace of a small café is like a haven of peace. The thick stone walls of the surrounding domus muffle the hubbub of the ancient city. In the shade of an olive tree, what else would you enjoy other than an espresso stained with a drop of hot milk?

Guide book in the left hand, and an ice cream in the right, I start wandering among the monuments. More than anything else, the superposition is striking. From the Palatine Hill that overhangs the Forum Romanum, the view seems incoherent. Ruins foregroundquaint residential areas, which half-hide the sky-scrapers that screen the horizon.Fascinated tourists

In front of the Roman Colosseum, super-AC DVD buses pour streams of tourists who are told about the ancient city, under a blazing sun. Long before the end of the story, they all rush towards the “mini plastic Colosseumsin a snow ball” seller.

A bunch of them writes a quick post card to their family, and hop back onto the magic bus. Like in front of the Taj Mahal, the reactions of the crowd are as interesting as the ravaged monument that time has devoured like candy in an anthill.

From the leftovers of the amphitheatre, I choose to wander through the pedestrian streets till the sun sets. For many Roman youth, life begins on la Piazza Novana after the tourists and guides leave the place — with artistic performances. And, dozens of loud bars that frame the Campo dei fiori start pouring drinks.

By 7 p.m., the young Italian crowd clutters the aperitivo bars. Order a cocktail for some eight euros, and you are entitled to a delicious appetiser buffet that displays several kinds of pastas, risottos, pizzas and sandwiches. Students will take it…More

The Hindu : y>

There was a time when pure science were quite the jewel in the academic crown. That was a long time ago, when people spent years studying botany, zoology, physics and chemistry. Now all has changed and we read about colleges in the city being forcedto drop pure science courses from their curriculum, since they are unable to fill the seats allocated for these subjects.

Metroplus asked city residents about the lack of interest in pure sciences in youngsters. Many felt that the pure sciences courses need to be restructured and must enhance the employability of the students, to generate more interest. They felt that pure sciences has not managed to create a skill set that will make the students employable and is preferred by students interested in pursuing academics alone. They felt that money also played a vital role in influencing the decision of the students.

Many felt that the onus lay on the government to ensure that they not only make these courses more employer friendly, but also restructure the course structure to make it more contemporary and enjoyable for the students. We sample some responses

It is a very sad situation. We must understand the root of the problem and try to resolve it. We need better course content that will make the students more employable and thereby attract more students. We need to maintain the quality of education at all costs.

Ramesh

Engineer

It is the lack of employment opportunities after a general degree that forces more students to take up a professional course such as engineering or computer science. The need of the hour is to rework Science courses and make them more job-centric.

Yuvraj

IT professional

The government must create a separate policy to ensure that pure sciences do not lose their relevance. These disciplines are essential and necessary for the scientific growth of the country. The content must under no circumstances be…More

The Hindu :

Louis Armstrong: Unique

Times Music; CD; Rs. 395

One of a series of compilations each titled “Unique” and purporting to showcase the music of a great popular recording artist, this album singularly fails to be either a showcase of Louis Armstrong’s uniqueness in pop music (or jazz) or unique as a compilation of his work. For jazz buffs, it is a commonplace that Armstrong was the first pioneer of jazz, the one who with his brilliant improvised solo intro to “West End Blues”, recorded in 1928, firmly established that the improvised solo was what distinguished jazz as an art form from pop music. Not long after having followed up this innovation with inventing the solo improvisation technique of scat singing, Armstrong, blessed with enormous popular success, decided to blur the line he had himself drawn and cross it into pop music. He concentrated on exploiting his popularity by playing down the jazz or improvisatory side of his work. By the ’40s and ’50s, there was less trumpet playing and more singing, and in both hardly any solo improvisation, in most of his performances, although he did from time to time return to his jazz roots with his All-Stars.

Most of the tracks here are taken from the time of the All-Stars, though with little attention to showcasing the jazz aspect of that outfit. A couple, such as “La Vie en Rose” and “Blueberry Hill”, are frankly chosen from his greatest pop music successes of that period. But if Armstrong as the pop singer was the focus of this album, it is difficult to account for the absence of such huge hits as the feel-good “What a Wonderful World” and “Give Peace a Chance”. There is a woeful deficit of Armstrong’s trumpet-playing, which at its best could still be both powerful and innovative at this time. And his singing, while providing abundant evidence of his…More

The Hindu : y>

New fads Check out the new collection at Shoppers’ Stop

Shoppers’ Stop’s Simply Desi collection makes Indian wear the latest style statement! It manages to capture the vivid Indian colours and native Indian motifs.

The collection aims at capturing the essence of India with the use of vibrant colours, folk prints and rich textural embroidery. The contemporary designs and international silhouettes enhance the local flavour of the collection. The desi look has been made chic with the use of embellishments, sequins and stunning embroideries.

The collection is a visual treat with its rich Indian palette of colours such as turmeric yellow, chutney green, rani pink, crimson red, royal blue and saffron. The collection will be available under the exclusive brands; Haute Curry, Stop, and Kashish which are available exclusively at Shoppers’ Stop stores across the city . It will also be available atwww.shoppersstop.com

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The Hindu :

Inez Baranay pays a tribute to Somerset Maugham’s TheRazor’s Edge

India calling Inez Baranay

“Perhaps if I could answer what attracts me to India, I wouldn’t need to write complicated novels about it!” says Inez Baranay, critically-acclaimed Australian author with nine books under her name.

Two among them, as Baranay refers to here, have India as a backdrop — “Neem Dreams”, and her latest novel “With The Tiger”. Though she is yet to put her finger on one particular reason as to why India exerts a pull on her, the Naples-born author says somewhere during her visits to the country for the last two decades, she felt a need to have a more personal engagement with it.

“That’s when I started to plan ‘Neem Dreams’ (published in 2003). It basically looked at the clash of modernity or globalisation and tradition with Indian settings, themes and characters, and having it first published in India was a very agreeable outcome.”

“I was wondering if I should pay attention to the cliché of the Westerner’s ‘spiritual search’ in India.”

The question took her back to the novel that reputedly began the popular craze for ‘spiritual India’ — W. Somerset Maugham’s “The Razor’s Edge”, published in 1944. The result is “With The Tiger” published by Harper Collins India recently. A Maugham reader since her teenage days, Baranay says: “He was an eternal outsider and judged people by their character, not their social status.”

Calling her book both an imitation and a tribute to Maugham’s novel, Baranay says she doesn’t quite know why she chose its structure. “Once the idea took hold, it was as if there could be no other way.”

Baranay’s characters “are 60-years-later versions of Maugham’s, and Australians not Americans. Perhaps, it’s a bit of an empire-writes-back project.” In “With The Tiger”, the central character Larry,who turns his back on a life of privilege, has his life-changing experience as a…More

The Hindu : LAKSHMI SHARATH

Darasuram, near Kumbakonam, abounds in legends

Photos: BY AUTHORAwe-inspiring Darasuram

The morning sun caresses the stone, and we find that we are the only visitors to the temple. The portals of an ageless Shiva temple led me into a different era.

It was in the middle of 12th Century that Raja Raja Chola II built a miniature marvel called Airavateshwar temple that took25 years to complete. The town was then called Rajarajapuram.

Today, it is a dusty village called Darasuram, lying on the outskirts of Kumbakonam en route to Thanjavur.

Legend has it that the king was fulfilling a wish of a female cowherd, who wanted to have a temple in her village. He personally designed every single stone here.

Described as a sculptor’s dream in stone, the temple is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The temple wall is a veritable art gallery. Multi-headed and multi-armed, the sculptures come alive with various emotions.

There is an angry Agora Virabhadra, with three heads and four arms, a four-armed Nagaraja folding his hands with a snake above his head, and an Ardhanarishwar with three faces and eight arms, among others.Hesitant guide

The Shiva Purana and Periya Purana are enacted here as well. A curious onlooker who was sleeping under the tree walks over.

He hesitates to don the role of a guide, but offers to show us around. The main deity, the Shivalinga, he says is called Rajarajeswaram Udayar or Airavateshwar. It is then time for the stories behind the names. There is Indira’s white elephant, Airavata, who worshipped Shiva in this temple; hence Airavateshwar. A sacred tank in the temple is named after Yama, the lord of death; so, it derives the name Yamatheertham.

“Oh, in Indian mythology, even the gods get cursed by Rishis,” says my guide, Mani. “Yama drank water from this lake and was cured of a curse which had left him…More

The Hindu :

Check out the new offers for a fun-filled holiday

Range of options For every traveller

New Zealand reminds one of the grand scenes from “The Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy and looks inviting to the ordinary visitor, with a range of activities such as river rafting, bungee jumping and walking around the tallest building inthe southern hemisphere. If you are not an adventure sports fan, you can take off on a long ride and enjoy the scenic beauty of long coastlines, doted with scenic forests and mountain ranges.

The New Zealand High Commissioner to India, Rupert Holborow says: “India and New Zealand have always been friends, but never shared a very deep relationship. We endeavour to change that situation.”

He adds: “Over the years, Indian interest in New Zealand has increased. Nearly 25,000 people travel to New Zealand from India every year. It includes ordinary tourists, honeymooning couples, business travellers etc. The Indian cricket tour of NZ also provided a major boost, as it showcased the natural beauty and the adventure sports .”

Kiran Nambiar, Regional Manager, India and South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand says: “Nearly 10 percent of our economy is related to tourism earnings. An average Indian traveller spends nearly 14 days in the country. New Zealand offers a range of options for travellers. For example, if you are a honeymooning couple, you could rent out a car and travel across the country and be spared the rigours of a conducted tour.” He adds: “If you are travelling with friends and like adventure sports, you can choose from a plethora of options available. It is the safest place to have fun and indulge in all kinds of adventure sports. The Indian cricket team had attempted many such activities and had a ball.” On the costs involved , Kiran says: “Excluding the air fare, the average spend per person works outto…More

The Hindu :

Dr. Anand Teltumbde, author of Khairlanji: A strange and bitter crop, says that present-day violence is a result of the socio-economic crisis unleashed by the capitalist development

EVER-DEEPENING Globalisation has accentuated crisis of living in rural areas

Dr. Anand Teltumbde is a well-known activist and as a theoretician of the contemporary issues. His writings are equally sought among activists and progressive thinkers all over the country. His recent books include “On Imperialism and Caste”,“Hindutva and Dalits: Perspectives for Understanding Communal Praxis”,and “Ambedkar”.

He was in Bangalore recently for the release of Kannada translation of his book on the Khairlanji atrocities. Excerpts of an interview.

Your book on Khairlanji has been acclaimed as the best non-fiction from India in recent times. What were the compulsions you faced to write this book?

The compulsion for writing this book was that Khairlanji provided an exemplary setting to expose contemporary social dynamics that produces caste atrocities.

It appeared to embody many dimensions to comprehensively map this dynamics as well as explode many a myth. Foremost, it represented the plight of a typical Ambedkarite family in the den of Ambedkarism, not very far from the city that signified shining India.

It presented the quintessence of existential casteism suffered by the not-so-poor Dalits. More importantly, the State response to the spontaneous protests of Dalits exposed essential intolerance of the State.

The repression unleashed was so glaringly unjust and disproportionate that even Khairlanji may pale in comparison.

Maharastra is one state where Dalit cultural resources had replenished the Dalit political movement. What has happened to this in the growing political co-opting of Dalit leadrship?

It is true that the Dalit political movement in Maharashtra arose from the bedrock of a cultural movement.

For instance, before Ambedkar, there was a sizeable reform movement within the Dalit community led by the people like Gopal Buwa Walangkar, Kisan Fagoji Bansod, Shivram Janaba Kamble, not to ignore Jotiba Phule’s non-Brahmin movement.

After…More