News

The Hindu : y>

Jai ho Watch Slumdog Millionaire and participate in a contest

Watch “Slumdog Millionaire” on June 27, 9 p.m. on PIX and win a trip for two to Atlantis at the Palm Dubai for two nights and three days.

To win, you have to answer a question that will be shown during the telecast of the film. The winner gets to “experience the life of a millionaire by flying first class to Dubai and staying at Atlantis The Palm, a hotel,” say the organisers.

The resort offers relaxation and thrills, spa and cosmopolitan boutiques.

<FONT …More

The Hindu :

The band Bridge believes music and lyrics are equally important

PHOTO: V. SREENIVASA MURTHYGenre hopping The band is open to eastern and western influences

Bridge’s music and lyrics reflect the issues of urban existence, individual behaviour, failure, goals, pursuits and following one’s passion. The rock, metal and instrumental band with Vijay on lead guitar, Mike on vocals, Chala on drums,Nitin on bass and Danny on keyboards reflects the coming-in and going-out of band members, gaps and bridges between genres in their title.

The band who performed at the Hard Rock Café recently says: “We don’t believe in playing covers all the time.” They point out that their band formation is largely due to the social networking group, Orkut. And Bridge believes just as music is important, so are lyrics.

“We stress on the audibility of the lyrics as most lead singers growl and the lyrics are lost.”

Their four original songs are about breaking free, positive thinking and getting lost in the pace of life. They feel that bands are much better off today thanks to more opportunities and media exposure. Bridge won at the IIM-B School of Rock, Battle of Bands at NMIT and more. “Things are different now as we can play in pubs, record music and post it on YouTube to gain recognition faster.”

Bridge does not believe in sticking to one genre and are open to Eastern and Western influences. “Bands like Parikrama, Mother Jane and Swaratma have a wider audience because of their combination of different musical styles. It is all about who you cater to,” they believe. Their new album, which will be out at the end of the year will have definitive hip hop, rock and Eastern influences. The band is sponsored by Flying Machine.

AYESHA MATTHAN

<FONT …More

The Hindu :

David Notman-Watt talks about the unusual marriage of drugs and rock n roll in his BBC documentary, Alex James – Cocaine Diaries

Real people, real stories A still from the documentary and Alex James

Director and cameraman David Notman-Watt made an inventive choice of anchor for his documentary, “Cocaine Diaries”. He chose former cocaine addict Alex James, the bassist of the British Band Blur. The documentary, which was recently airedon BBC, goes to “the heart of the industry”, Colombia, where James meets with farmers, dealers, hitmen, processors and law enforcement agencies. In an email interview, Notman-Watt explains his choice of James among other things.

How did Alex James come to be the anchor of the show?

When Alex released his autobiography “A Bit of a Blur” he hit the headlines for an admission on page 228 in which he says: ‘I’d spent about a million pounds on champagne and cocaine. It sounds ridiculous but, looking back, I don’t regret it.’

The media and British politicians were shocked and there was moral outrage in the U.K. Having been brought up in Brazil, a lot of my work is in Latin America and I have strong contacts throughout the region, including Colombia. So, I contacted Alex and asked him if he would like to go to Colombia with me. I fully expected him to say no but, to his credit, he agreed.

Was there a fear of James relapsing considering he is a recovering addict?

That was one of many fears we had. Taking a multi-millionaire rock star into a country with one of the highest kidnapping rates in the world was another concern as was taking an inexperienced person to the front-line of battle, which we did. Alex was professional from the minute we landed – his fears were overcome by his desire to tell the story properly.

Cocaine diaries looks at the drug in a new and…More

The Hindu : y>

Another one The Forum Value Mall

Prestige Group, in partnership with CapitaLand has launched the Forum Value Mall at Whitefield. With a mix of local and international brands, the mall promises to bring a Forum-like experience at a value price for the people of Bangalore.

The mall will feature over 100 brands of leading international and national brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Adidas, Nike, Reebok and Pepe Jeans alongside Megamart, a lifestyle retail chain and Fame Cineplex, a five-screen cinema. The mall will also have wide variety of cuisines with prominent food joints like McDonalds, Toscano, Angeethi, Firangi Paani and others setting up their outlets. It will have factory outlets of leading international and national brands, thereby providing a range of discounts.

<FONT …More

The Hindu :

While the game is gaining popularity, a lot more needs to be done

Photo: K. GopinathanYou made contact Tarun Appanna (left) and Gerald Antony Prabhu bat for the game

Rugby is not a sport for the faint-hearted, as it involves 30 well-built men fighting for an oval-shaped ball. Though the game was born and evolved in Europe, it was introduced in India in 1871 and found followers in Calcutta, Chennai and Mumbai.

The sport attained popularity in Bangalore due to the efforts of Keplar Joseph, Amos Ouma, Raymond Shaw and Chandran Sudarsanam in 1997. The first official game was held at theHoly Ghost Church grounds. The Karnataka Rugby Football Union was founded in 2002, by Gerald Prabhu and Charu Sharma, to popularise the game in the State.

Bangalore boasts of four clubs playing active rugby — Bangalore Rugby Football Club, The Assetz Refugees (an expatriate team), Bangalore Tigers and Corps of Military Police (CMP).

The Bangalore Rugby Football Club falls under the jurisdiction of Karnataka Rugby Football Union (KRFU), which was formed to promote the game in Karnataka. The KRFU introduced rugby in the sports curriculum of eight schools in Bangalore — Inventure Academy, Canadian School, The International School, New Baldwin International, Green Wood High, Ebenezer International School, Delhi Public School and Stonehill School.

The Bangalore rugby team has two international trainers, Landale Cranfield and Adam Whittington from Scotland and England respectively. Their main goal is to promote rugby among children and youth. “People feel that rugby is a violent game. In fact, it involves a high level of technique and discipline and is not as violent as made out to be,” says Gerald Prabhu, vice-president of the South India Rugby Football Association (SIRFA).

“In an attempt to enhance public interest, our trainer’s coach school children to play tag rugby which is a non-contact sport. It will give them confidence to play the actual game later,” he…More

The Hindu : y>The last century saw the expression of public outrage against injustice, through music. Pheroze L. Vincent takes some notes

Conscience of a generation Bob Dylan’s protest songs of the Sixties powered various movements

Pakistani band Laal has been creating waves with their debut album Umeed-e-Sehar (2009), which means ‘Hope of a new dawn’. Though Laal has links with the Communist Mazdoor Kisan Party in Pakistan, their appeal has transcended party ranks and elevated them to cult status during the protest for restoration of judges.

Their song Kal, Aaj aur Kal (Yesterday, today and tomorrow) became the anthem of the Lawyers’ Movement. The lyrics of many of their songs are the poems of poets Habib Jalib and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The music video of the title track shows people stopping a VIP convoy, non-violently, to let an ambulance go through. Umeed-e-Sehar is part of a revival of the fading genre of protest music. Famous former protest singers like Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young have come out against the “War on Terror”. Contemporary American protest singers include Alicia Beth Moore a.k.a. Pink who’s When the president talks to God, has been called this century’s most powerful song.

The genre itself has historically been congenitally controversial. Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind (1963) and Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall (1979) were anthems of the social churning of the 60s and 70s. One of the greatest music festivals of all time was the Woodstock music and art fair at New York in 1969. Though it started out as a commercial venture, it turned into a youth movement. Placed at a time when the Vietnam War was at its peak and racial discord plagued the US, the festival, surprisingly, passed off without a riot.

The New York Times journalist Barnard Collier recalls, “Every major Times editor up to and including executive editor James Reston insisted that the tenor of…More

The Hindu :

Successful men-about-town conjured up dishes at a Men Can Cook evening with Karen Anand

Showing off their cooking skills The enthusiastic participants

Was Carlsberg reinforcing stereotypes I thought, as I made my way to the Leela Kempinski for the ‘Men can cook’ evening withKaren Anand, organised by Carlsberg. “Here in India most women prefer the man staying out of her kitchen and that is why most of our men feel intimidated in the kitchen,” saysKaren Anand, one of India’s premier food consultants, with a laugh.

“So that is why, we have brought in the ‘finest’ men in the city to cook using the finest ingredients, and to show off their cooking skills this evening,” she adds.

“The winner will be selected from six contestants on the basis oftaste, appearance and here is a secret— extra points will be given to the guy using a dash of Carlsberg for flavour,” reveals Pradeep Gidwani,managing director of Carlsberg, India.

There were six cook stations positioned in the Citrus Coffee shop where the event was held. The participants included Raj Shroff (fashion designer), Rajesh Reddy (CEO, July Systems), Ravi Naware (Chief Executive ITC Foods), Sune Kjeldsen (Danish Trade Commissioner), Vikram Kirloskar (Executive Director, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd) and Waseem Khan (ace fashion photographer). A table was arrangedwith the finest ingredients from which the contestants had to conjure up their dishes.

“Premium salmon, the finest fillet mignon beef steak, its all about quality and passion,” said Karen.

The heat was really on once the contestants turned on their cookers and began to swirl their ingredients around. There were aprons and chef hats for all, and the men enthusiastically got into the spirit of the contest.

Rajesh Reddy’s curry leaf aroma of his rasam-inspired prawn dish, blended with Vikram Kirloskar’s delicate coconut milk addition to his chicken curry.“I am making drunken fish and tipsy prawn,” said Sune with asmile, as he cooked. Raj Shroff was…More