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It’s a wrap Saris for the season

Usha Sridhar, a designer from Chennai, will be showcasing her Deepavali collection in Bangalore at 919, Shyam Bhawan, 9th cross, 24th main, 2nd phase, J. P. Nagar.Pamper yourself with an arresting array of fine kanchi silks and village cottons with contemporary designs in paintings, cutwork, appliqué, zardosi, antique kundan work and ethnic block prints etc. Some of the saris also have ethnic prints on light weight handloom silk saris. The collection will also introduce the korva plain silk sari collection with long, short and stunning revived borders set against traditional tones such as mehendi green, orange and midnight blues etc. For more information, call 09444022785.

Designers Anusha and Deepika, will be also exhibiting silk salwars, fitted kurtas and cholis at the venue. Fabrics used include silk and handloom cotton among others. Ethnic designs in khadi handlooms will be the highlight of the show. The exhibition and sale will be on till October 11

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The Hindu :

Bangalore-based rockers Parachute XVI describe themselves as a cauldron of genres

Sodium trail The band believes in finding its own sound

The only Indian band to play at the 2009 Himalayan Blues Festival in Kathmandu, Parachute XVI have established themselves in the blues circuit with a flamboyant repertoire of sound and improvisations.

Playing at the Hard Rock Café recently, Parachute XVI treated music lovers to an evening of uncommon rhythm patterns, unconventional creativity and passionate blues inventions.

Calling their genre of music ‘Progadelic’, a term they coined to describe their music which is a combination of progressive and psychedelic, Parachute XVI is a cauldron of genres. “We are retro, yet modern; progressive, yet alternative and so on. We do not believe in genres, but rather like to combine our varied love for music to create our own genre of music,” says Ananth Menon, vocalist and guitarist.

Parachute XVI has Ananth on the vocals and guitar, Ganesh Krishnaswamy plucking the bass guitar and Gurudarshan Somayaji on the drums. The band evolved from the amalgam of some of Bangalore’s top-notch musicians – Ananth is the former guitarist of Galeej Gurus, a progressive rock band, while Ganesh is the former bassist/vocalist of Kryptos, a trash metal band. Guru, former drummer of His Girl Friday, is the latest addition to the group and a power-packed amplification of energy.

Coming from such diverse backgrounds, Parachute XVI believes that music is a conglomeration of ideas. “The important thing, is not to ape other bands, or musicians, including those you consider to be your inspiration; but to go beyond, and find your personal sound, that allows for the most effective expression of your soul,” says Ananth.

Heavily influenced by legends such as Cream, Traffic, Rolling Stones and the Allman Brothers, the trio venture to reflect the sentiments that rocked the 60’s with a contemporary underground technique.

Having released their first four-song demo album titled “Sodium…More

The Hindu :

Version One Dot Oh! presents Vijay Tendulkar’s The Cyclist, a journey in search of elusive truth

Dark humour The play attempts to capture the spectrum between realism and fantasy

It’s a journey in a metaphysical sense — the search to find a perfect world,” says Harish Seshadri, the director of “The Cyclist”. Written by Vijay Tendulkar, the play, a Version One Dot Oh! (VODO) production will premier at Alliance Francaise tomorrow.

The director describes the play as having “dark humour.” “The Cyclist” starts off on a happy note with the cyclist setting out to find a perfect world, filled with beautiful things and experiences.

“But his experiences lead to nothingness, something very banal and that is the message — A dream of a perfect world completely shattered,” Harish adds.

This is his fifth play as a director, the other plays include Harold Pinter’s “The dumb waiter”, J. P. Das’s “Underdog”, Vijay Tendulkar’s “A friend’s story” and “Leelantha”, a Kannada play.

A total of eight actors play 16 characters. “Ours is a self-sufficient team, the actors went for a make-up workshop to learn make-up, they handle lights and designing too,” he adds.

The cyclist starts his journey from his house, goes to a city and then ventures into a fantasy world. He encounters a lion, a ghost and a mermaid (signifies death and beginning of life), and other characters.

Every character the cyclist meets in the play represents a genre of the society, a metaphor to send home a message. For instance, a bandit who tries to corrupt the main character. And, ‘crowd’ to signify the mob mentality. “They just go on a rampage hitting innocent people,” Harish adds.

Set in India, the story has no geographical and time references and that Harish says is an advantage.

The play talks about current issues and clichés, attempts to break stereotypes and is a satire on the society. “Because, the main character…More

The Hindu :

Take a peek into Manish Arora’s geometry-inspired collection as he heads towards the Paris Fashion Week again

Photo: Shiv Kumar PushpakarPerfect symmetry A model showcasing Manish Arora’s creation at the preview

Dressed in all-black, as he usually is, Manish Arora didn’t exactly wear his colour and design sensibilities. The gold-and-fuchsia Swatch on his wrist (from the range he designed), though – golden dollar sign on the dial and heart-shapedlinks on the straps – gave it away.

Manish Arora heads back to Paris with his Spring/Summer 2010 range. At a preview organised recently, Arora gave a peek into his range.Jungle-themed collections

And those looking for something along the lines of his circus and jungle-themed collections might be in for a surprise, though. While his favourite neons are present, they’re more localised and much more subdued.

This time, there is grey, cream and black, with the intermittent orange and fuchsia. Geometry, especially the circle, forms the theme of his collection. This includes the orange-and-grey dress with multi-layered circles, somewhat like round tablemats stitched together, or the fuchsia-dotted grey dress with mermaid silhouette.

In a cream swarovski-studded draped dress, steel-grey bling shoulders (made of something he calls his “secret material”) with interlinking metal chains turned out to be separates. A printed black dress makes use of neon orange in the form of detailing on the back flaps.

“This collection is a little more mature in terms of inspiration,” says Arora. It also heralds what he describes as the “new Manish Arora”.Futuristic

Elaborating on the collection, he says, “About 25 different colours have been used. I’ve taken the shape of the circle and used Indian techniques in a contemporary way. It’s like the futuristic geometric princess.

Hundreds of metres might have gone into a single piece, which doesn’t necessarily mean more volume. The clothes have Indian embroideries without appearing ethnic.”

He adds, “The trend now is towards futuristic internationally. But you…More

The Hindu :

Former table tennis player Rajath Kamal on his new role as sports analyst of the Indian senior table tennis team

Photo: M. VedhanBack after a hiatus Rajath Kamal

Being away from table tennis for a year made Rajath Kamal realise how muchhe loved the sport. The 23-year-old feels delighted to be back, but in a different role. What he couldn’t achieve as a player, Rajath feels he could deliver in his new role as sports analyst of the senior men and women Indian teams — the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has recently appointed him sports analyst to train the probables till the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.A godsend

“It feels great to be involved with the Indian team in a different way. For me personally, all the pain (as a player fighting opponents and injuries) hasn’t gone waste. I wanted to be involved in sports in some way or the other, and this came as a godsend,”says Rajath.

Not quite a player of the class and calibre of his elder brother Sharath, Rajath showed signs of promise when he became the No.1 paddler in Tamil Nadu in 2007, but unfortunately a shoulder injury the subsequent year scuttled his well-laid plans.

He studied MBA with the intention of entering the corporate world. He did join a reputed BPO firm in October 2008 only to develop a dislike for its rigid ways. “It wasn’t a smooth transition,” concedes Rajath. He quit the job two months ago, determined to pursue a sports-related course.

That’s when he received a call from Bhavani Mukherjee, SAI chief coach for table tennis, informing him that the Table Tennis Federation of India was looking for a sports analyst with a table tennis background to train the Indian probables, and Rajath’s profile turned out to be a clincher.Rajath’s job

Rajath’s job will include taking videos of each and every player (men and women)…More

The Hindu : y>Royal Challengers Bangalore are raring to go in the Champions League, which kicks off at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here tonight, writes K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.Straight bat Rahul Dravid is optimistic about the team’s chances

The cricket caravan has been firmly anchored at the Chinnaswamy Stadium over the last few months. An Indian team camp, the Sahara Trophy corporate tournament and the namma KPL Twenty20 ensured that there was never a dull moment ata venue where the great Viv Richards made his debut in 1974 and the legendary Sunil Gavaskar bowed out in 1987.

The stadium’s pedigree will get an added fillip when the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 commences here on tonight. A global tournament, that missed its inaugural step last year due to the ghastly terror strikes in Mumbai, finally marks its presence to an expectant audience that loves its cricket but also keeps an eye on the football leagues – English Premier, to name just one – late in the night. The Champions League will be held concurrently at Delhi and Hyderabad too and the final will be hosted by the Andhra Pradesh capital on October 23.

Meanwhile for the Bangalorean, it is time to cheer the local team, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), that has had a rags-to-riches story in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Placed seventh in an eight-team league in the inaugural IPL in 2008, the team found its spine and strength in the second edition at South Africa in May this year with Anil Kumble’s elevation to captaincy proving to be the welcome shot of adrenaline.

The team finished as runner-up at Johannesburg, losing the final to Deccan Chargers. Kumble, never one to forget failure even if it came late in the final hurdle, says: “It still rankles but we have prepared well within the limited days ahead of the Champions League and we hope to do well.” He…More

The Hindu :

The launch of Moonward, a graphic novel by Appupen, was a fun-filled, quirky affair

Photo: Murali Kumar K.Bookends Appupen likes working without text

The first floor of Odyssey bookstore on 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, was partially transformed with bizarre artwork strung up along the wall. Weird and wonderful dolls lolled about on the staid plastic chairs.

The occasion was the launch of “Moonward”, a graphic novel by Appupen. Published by Blaft, the Chennai-based independent publishing house, “Moonward” is set in the fantastic world of Halahala.

Thirty-year-old Appupen appeared mighty chuffed when the store manager introduced him. Rakesh Kumar Khanna of Blaft talked with Appupen about the genesis and development of “Moonward”.

There was also a slide show of some panels from “Moonward” revealing stark imagery to speak of urban isolation in a ravaged planet.

Appupen, in another life as George Mathen, has straddled the diverse worlds of advertising and activism. When Rakesh asked Appupen if the book could be called a political book, the artist and writer said he “would like to stay away from the word.”

Talking about the title of the book, Appupen commented: “Everyone wants to open a 100 shops. Where would they build them? On top of each other? That’s where I got the title from — people seem to be going moonward.”

When questioned about his craft, Appupen said he “shades a lot, as grey adds dimension”. Large chunks of the book do not have dialogue. “I like working without text. Then it is open ended and the reader can take whatever they want from it. I use text only when absolutely necessary. For instance if I needed 30 pages of illustration for a few lines of text then I would go with text.”

Appupen, who also is the drummer for the band Lounge Piranhas, says the imagery in the book is taken from his travels. “I have never gone outside the country. The…More