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The Hindu : TERRINA JAIRAJ

A love for painting and jewellery wins this young artist an International award.

“i want to spread the message of environment conservation through my work”

An international gathering of artists…: And the winner among them.

With 270 awards for painting including 30 international awards and visits to Poland, Malaysia, Singapore and most recently, Slovenia, in her kitty, 12-year-old A.J.S Lakshmishree has lots to smile about. The theme…

This Std. VIII student from Bethesda School in West Bangalore recently bagged a gold medal in the 11-15 years category of the 14th International Children’s Art Contest, 2009. The contest was organised by The Gallery of Young People’s Artworks in Celje, Slovenia. With 8000 entries from 42 different countries for this year’s theme was ‘Who am I?’

Lakshmishree, who depicted a Lambani woman looking at her reflection in a mirror, was in Celje last month to receive her prize. “I got a chance to meet President of Republic of Slovenia Danilo Turk and the First Lady Barbara Turk at the Presidential Palace. I also presented them with their portraits that I had made. On the same evening Indian Ambassador V.R.Seshadri and his wife Vidya Seshadri hosted a party for me at the Indian Embassy where my previous works were exhibited,” says Lakshmishree.Global message

She says that her technique involves first sketching and then using water colours. When asked why she decided upon a Lambani woman as a subject for the competition, Lakshmishree said, “Because they are very attractive and I like painting. Their clothes contain a lot of mirror-work and silver jewellery.”

She hopes that her work sends out a global message. “I want to spread the message about environment conservation through my work,” she declares.

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The Hindu : y>

Little critters A chance to get Zoozoo DVDS

Vodafone customers can now get Zoozoo DVD at all Vodafone stores and watch these characters from Vodafone Essar’s recent television commercials.

You can get the free Zoozoo DVD through the purchase of a new Vodafone post paid connection, purchase of a Vodafone Magic Box, signing up for Direct Debit /ECS facility for bill payment or for a one-time Prepaid recharge greater than Rs. 300, say the organisers.

To download from the net log on towww.vodafone.in/zoozoo. Here you can download Zoozoo wallpapers/greetings / Ecards screensaver/emoticons.

The offer is valid at all Vodafone stores across Karnataka and is on till June 30 or “till stocks last.”

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The Hindu : y>A multi-dimensional show of Tibetan culture

VAC @1Shanthiroad Studio/Gallery, in collaboration with Think Tibet, is organising a three-day event. Called “50 years of Hope” the event will showcase “the culture, resistance and hopes of half a century in exile. The curated show will present a multi-dimensional exhibition of elements that are integral to Tibetan culture,” say the organisers.

It will also feature Indian and Tibetan artists, including Suresh Jayaram, Tenzin Tsundue, Shantamani M, and Mamata Sagar.

The event begins on June 26 at 6.30 p.m. with the screening of the film “Murder in The Snow” followed by a story telling session for children by PATARA and poetry reading by Tensin Tsundne and a talk on Buddhism. Entry is free. The inaugural day will also include a concert of Tibetan folk and contemporary music by various artists.

For details contact 09844516053.

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The Hindu :

Lanvin’s Spring Summer ’09 collection drew inspiration from the roaring Twenties

Come together This collection is a fusion of history and modern detail.

This was a different Sanchita Ajjampur who appeared at the launch of Lanvin’s Spring/Summer 09 collection at the Blue Bar in the West End last week. Two days earlier we had met in Paris airport and she was in skinny jeans with tousled hair.

At the Blue Bar she looked straight out of a 1920’s fashion magazine in what she called a flapper dress inspired by the fashion of the times. It glittered with intricate hand embroidery which sparkled as she danced Fred Astaire style, making the skirt whirl and flap around her. “I am dressed in the style reminiscent of Mia Farrow in ‘The Great Gatsby’ and Angelina Jolie in ‘The Changeling’,” revealed Sanchita.

“I have used the art deco theme with vodka martinis and rose champagne for the evening.”

Sanchita was there in the capacity of consultant and co-host for Lanvin and had planned the entire evening around the 1920’s. Besides music from the era and the open-air ambience of the Blue Bar, there were mannequins dressed in actual iconic outfits installed on one side, showcasing the Lanvin historic collection, while Pinky Vodka cocktails and hors d’oeuvres made the rounds.Design philosophy

“Lanvin is the world’s oldest couture house and comfort, beauty and timelessness is the hallmark of their style. Between the front and back of a dress is a woman,” says Alber Elbaz the designer behind the collection, revealing the design philosophy of the line. Established in the early 1900’s Jeanne Lanvin was famed for the use of intricate trimming, embroidery and bead work on clear, light and floral colours. This collection according to Elbaz is a fusion of history and modern detail.

The list of celebrities dressed by Lanvin was impressive – Katie Holmes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Heidi Klum, Drew Barrymore…More

The Hindu : y>

People who adopt Indian dogs have quite an adventure in the process. Gopi Shankar has four such happy endings to his credit. All his dogs came into his life when their paths crossed unexpectedly. “The first was an abandoned puppy”, he says. “The second was hiding in a traditional water heater where they set fire to it without realizing the dog was there. She came out with her fur and skin completely burnt. Sonu was treated at CUPA (Compassion Unlimited Plus Action) and is now a beautiful angel of a dog”. He took in his third dog from the street because of her old age. His fourth much-loved pet was dumped callously in front of his house a few years ago.

His family of seven includes his wife and his one-year-old daughter. “I tell her they are her sisters”, says Gopi. Raised in an affectionate environment, their unique personalities began to emerge. “Meenu is possessive, while Chotu reminds me of the dog in Marley and Me. The eldest lords over the group. Sonu is the best-behaved one”.

Explaining why he’d rather adopt or rescue a dog than circle the classifieds and purchase a pedigree, he says: “This is our way of making a difference to reduce the population on the streets. And these dogs are very loyal and loving”. Their gorgeous faces betray nothing about the difficult journeys that led them to their family, which is why it’s a good idea to ask. Indian dog owners always have great stories to tell.Hero of the week

College student Shonali Mani is our hero of the week for rescuing an injured kitten and nursing him back to health. After recovery, Shonali also spread the word and found the kitten a new home.

Know of a hero who has performed of an act of kindness to animals? Write topetpalsbangalore@gmail.com

Take me home

This kitten with inquisitive eyes likes playing…More

The Hindu :

All’s not over when a marriage ends. There are other ways to make life fulfilling

PHOTO: REUTERSNEW BEGINNINGS The end of a unhappy marriage can sometimes show the way for a better tomorrow

As they pack their lunch, grab their handbags and join the rush-hour traffic, these four women (and scores like them!) send out a strong message: there’s life after divorce, and in their reckoning, a good one. Shweta’s marriage ended in three years. “Our relationship simply stagnated,” she says. Even as the case was on, his family found a bride for him.

Nina’s daughter and son were in primary school when she walked out fourteen years ago. “My husband strayed; for three years I fought for my rights,” she says. She turned down her in-laws’ offer, and checked into a Chennai hostel, “with just a chain and two bangles. My kids joined me later”.

Shirin is glad she didn’t have kids in the eight years she “put up” with her husband. “Ours was an arranged marriage, and doomed to crumble from day one,” she says. “He told lies.” He too married before the ink dried on the settlement.

Gayatri says: “Loss in business he said and took my silver items. I had no clue where the money went. Officials came searching the house. I was alarmed, and got out.”

Shweta runs a tailoring business, Shirin’s with an NGO, and the other two draw good paycheques at MNCs.Difficult transition

However, it isn’t as smooth or easy as it sounds. “It does hurt a bit,” Shweta nods. “But I’ve seen things I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.” Bringing up kids on your own means more compromises, Nina says. After a ten-year gap she applied, got a job, and added an MBA to her résumé. “Many lost everything in the tsunami. It’s all up to us.” Gayatri’s relatives began avoiding her. “I felt insulted.”

The big issue — bigger…More

The Hindu : y>Sound off! Heera Nawaz feels that divorced women get a raw deal if they remarry

I have a major peeve against the double standards that prevail between men and women divorcees should they decide to re-marry.

Being a paralegal social activist with a feminist background, I feel angry when I acknowledge that women divorcees are given short shrift and receive a raw deal, if they wish to re-marry. The woman divorcee could face ostracism, ridicule and even torture and could be considered “lucky” to find a broad minded partner willing to accept her.

This scenario and situation are further complicated if the woman divorcee in question has a child/children from a previous marriage.

Such a situation does not hold true for men divorcees, as legal statutes, societal norms and cultural mores favour men. Due to these double standards, the ‘second’ wife is willing to accept children from a previous alliance, without any issues.

To drive home my point, let me elucidate an example given by a “broad minded” speaker. It appears that there was an unmarried woman who had received three proposals, from an unmarried man, a divorcee and a widower. The divorcee felt that his “divorcee” status could work to his disadvantage. The speaker said, “Do not worry! She may choose you because, after all, you have more experience!”

The question I want to ask is whether a single man would marry a divorced woman on the ground that she had more “experience”? Such statements are a discriminatory and sexist example of double standards in operation.

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.And dash off your piece with your photograph. Email it tobangmetro@gmail.com or post it to MetroPlus, The Hindu, 19 & 21, Bhagwan Mahaveer Road (Infantry Road), Bangalore 1.

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The Hindu : y>

LIFELONG FRIENDSHIP The Shawshank Redemption

Warner Brothers will screen Roman Polankski’s “Frantic”, starring Harrison Ford as an American doctor, pulled into a Byzantine underworld of crime and corruption, when his wife is kidnapped in Paris. Catch the movie tonight on 8.30 p.m. at WB. Kevin Costner’s “The Postman”, based on the novel by David Brin will be screened at 10.30 p.m. tonight.

On Wednesday, catch Lasse Hallstrom’s “Something to Talk About”, featuring a young, married woman who has wealth, stability, strong family roots. Her life changes on the day, she sees her husband kissing another woman.Catch all the action at 8.30 p.m. on Wednesday.On June 27At 10.30 p.m., watch Frank Darabont’s “The Shawshank Redemption”, based on a novel by Stephen King. Red, serving a life sentence, and Andy Dufresne, a mild-mannered banker wrongly convicted of murder, forge an unlikely bond that will span more than twenty years.

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The Hindu :

This month at indiaplaza.in

A Case of Exploding Mangoes

Mohammed Hanif

Random House India

Rs. 195

Nobody quite knows what happened to President Zia- u-l Haq’s plane to make it crash mid-air, despite all the detailed routine security checks that had been carried out, but the political implications were clear enough. As was Zia’s role in the complicated political web of that time, which included the U.S., Afghanistan and Russia.

The presidential death has no official explanation to date and “A Case of Exploding Mangoes” is written around this incident taking into account all these elements to create a story that is complex and bitingly funny.

Mohammed Hanif’s wit is scathing and intelligent and one doesn’t tire of it; his characters are interesting and well nuanced; the plot stays taut throughout and as the story unfolds, the reader will find herself admiring the writer’s attention to craft .

Excellent reading, worth the buy.

My Friend Sancho

Amit Varma

Hachette

Rs. 195

This one isn’t worth buying, perhaps you can borrow it, if you like this kind of thing – its’ on the Chetan Bhagat level – just about readable in bits and that, if you have nothing else to read.

“My Friend Sancho” is badly written – though it begins with promise- without much of a plot or story to speak of and with flourishes that the writer is incompetent to sustain. The story of a journalist who is in a place he shouldn’t have been at and witness to an accidental killing by the police, is then given the task of doing a human-interest piece on the dead man, a Muslim. The rest of the story, which I must confess I couldn’t get through, is about the stuff that he goes through when he has to interact with the dead man’s daughter.

The Colour of Law

Mark Gimenez

Hachette India

Rs. 295

Hailed as the next Grisham, Gimenez has already made a name for himself writing…More

The Hindu :

Amrita Chowdhury’s Faking It attempts a sympathetic view of the elusive world of art

Photo: Murali Kumar K.OFFERING ART WITH A HEART Amrita Chowdhury

“It is the journey of Tara, — a fun-loving, gutsy heroine who tackles problems head on,” says author Amrita Chowdhury with pride about her protagonist.

In Amrita’s debut novel “Faking it”, Tara is a 21st century woman, who works as an economist in the U.S. She returns to India, experiments with art, spends a lot of money on an untitled painting by the Indo-Hungarian legend Amrita Sher-Gil only to realise it is fake. A self-confessed art lover, Amrita has been collecting art for more than eight years and calls her work of fiction, an art thriller. “The art world in India is at an exciting stage and is evolving. A lot of conversation is happening between artists here and abroad. And there are highly-publicised forgeries too. The book uncovers one such forgery,” she adds.

The book is an attempt to expand the vocabulary of art. “There is an explosive growth. And the ‘hyper’ thing about art is settling down. As education of art happens, there is a growing need to get a lot more information.”

Set mostly in urban India, the fast-paced entertainer is a reverse migration story.It gives an insider’s view of the art world and takes you through the world of elusive artistes, gallery owners, art auctions and explores art writing and criticism in true settings.

“In the book, Tara wants to buy trophy art. She has a limited budget and participates in a charity auction to bid for an M.F. Hussain work. The pre-auction process and how the auction happens are narrated in a fun format,” Amrita explains.

More of a tongue-in-cheek commentary about the silly things that happen in the art world. “I love art and never think about it as a chore to buy art. I buy art…More