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The Hindu : y>Watch episode three of Kingfisher calendar hunt on NDTV Good Times

Digging for clues The contestants go on a treasure hunt

In the third episode of the hunt for the Kingfisher calendar girl, the contestants are sent out on a treasure hunt in teams. At stake is the garment for the next round. So which of the girls get a hang of the right clues? Tune in to find out how wellthe girls do as they pair up and decode cryptic clues. There is also a carping session with Shobha De. Designer Arjun Khanna and former calendar girl Dipti Gujral along with Shobhaa De and Milind Soman announce the verdict on November 13 at 10 p.m. on NDTV Good Times.

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The Hindu :

Novelist-playwright-critic Louise Doughty onhow the new wave in Britain favours Indian writers

PHOTO: R. RAVINDRANCLUED IN Louise Doughty

Most Indian writers in English grew up on British Classics. Now they’re returning the favour.

Louise Doughty, a novelist, playwright and critic, spoke recently in Chennai of how effectively Indian writers have captured the imagination of the British public.She discusses her optimistic views about India’s burgeoning literary scene.Long overdue

“In a way I can’t believe it hasn’t been happening for decades. It’s long overdue,” she says. An influential critic and cultural commentator, London-based Doughty has written five novels and one book of non-fiction.

She has chaired the panel of judges for the Orange Award for New Writers.

More recently, she was one of the five judges of the Man Booker Prize in 2008.

“The U.K. literary scene is completely in love with India,” she says, talking of how this is, in a way, an old habit.

“After all, the U.K. was always enamoured with India. With novels like E.M. Forster’s ‘A Passage to India’ (1924). But now what people want is Indian writing. And while the older generation of writers — like Amitav Ghosh and Salman Rushdie — are already well-established, what’s interesting is there’s a new wave of young writers who are highly successful.”

In a country that’s just beginning to realise the value of its exoticism, it’s easy to dismissa trend like this as a result of savvy marketing. However, Doughty doesn’t believe that’swhat’s luring contemporary audiences. “I think it was the case once upon a time,” she says.

“In the 70s and 80s there was a sense that people were looking for exoticism. First, there was the fascination with Latin American magic realism, then India. But now people are much more interested in stories of India today.”

A good example is how Arvind Adiga’s gritty novel “The White Tiger” ended up winning the Booker the year Louise was…More

The Hindu : y>

India is a hard place to come and win and this victory means a lot, especially when you haven’t got all your players to pick from. It makes it even harder when players are getting off planes and turning up and playing

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, on the sweet taste of victory in the ODI series, achieved in the absence of a number of first-choice players

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The Hindu : y>Theatre and ad guru Alyque Padamsee thrives on ideas that will drive our future, discovers Sangeetha Devi Dundoo

Photo: S. Siva SaravananPROVING HIS POINT The veteran believes 60 is no age to retire

India’s ad guru and untiring flag bearer of the country’s energetic theatre movement, the dogged Alyque Padamsee is all gung-ho, even in his 70s. “I want to leave behind a legacy of ideas for the future,” says this ideas man.“I am in love with life and ideas drive me more than anything else.” In Hyderabad recently to stage the play “Life, Love and Madness”, he talks about his passion for creative arts and ideas for the future.

If Alyque was instrumental in identifying the creative spark of Shyam Benegal in his advertising days, he continues to nurture young talent as part of his AP Advertising Pvt Ltd and London Institute of Personality Training where theatre techniques are incorporated.

He talks fondly of his son Quasar Thakore Padamsee who runs Q Theatre Productions and daughter Rael who conducts workshops but considers his first wife Pearl as the most dynamic theatre personality in India. Excerpts from an interview:

“Dolly (Thakore) and Sharon (Prabhakar) have carried on the creative streak. This play ‘Life, Love and Madness’ is Sharon’s baby.”

Shahzahn on screen: “My youngest daughter Shahzahn surprised us all. After acting in ‘Unspoken Dialogues’, she said she wants to be an actress and nothing else. With Sharon’s help, she is grooming herself whole heartedly with acting and Bollywood dance classes, Kathak and horse riding classes and so on.

She is acting with Ranbir Kapoor in Yash Raj’s ‘Rocket Singh’, directed by Shimit Amin.

She’s done a bunch of ads including Airtel with SRK. I always thought Shahzahn is beautiful but it’s nice to hear it from others. With my hand on my heart I can vouch she’s a good actress.”

Class act: “After my role as Mohammad Ali Jinnah in…More

The Hindu :

Nishka Lulla’s style isgirly, youthful and with an Indian soul

PHOTO: R. RAGUBARBIE DOLL Nishka Lulla (middle ) with models

Remember how as little girls we dressed up our Barbies for fun? As a pint-sized kid, Nishka too did the same. But while most of us graduated to other things, she turned her hobby into a profession, and started with a bang, designing a winner at ‘Barbie All Doll’d Up’ in March.

Eight months down the line, 24-year-old Nishka Lulla is now a well-known fashion designer. “Right from the time I was three, I wanted to become a designer,” says Nishka. Also, when you have ace couturier Neeta Lulla for a mother, designing as a career option only seems natural.

“I used to accompany my mother to the studio, and was fascinated by the different colours and fabrics,” smiles the new kid on the block, who recently launched her prêt label Nisshk in Mumbai. The USP of the label is that it caters to teenagers and girls till the age of 30. According to the young designer, the Creative Excellence Award for ‘Barbie All Doll’d Up’, a contest held to commemorate the 50th birthday of the doll, really helped her shoot into the limelight.Love for lace

“As many as 120 leading Indian designers participated in the contest, and I had a very slim chance. Only when I saw Katrina Kaif on stage wearing my garment, did I know that I won,” she gushes. Since it was Barbie in India, Nishka used Indian fabrics and colours, and the result — a pretty outfit in hot pink with rich turquoise and golden yellow thrown in along with frills and a big bow behind. Her love for lace, georgettes, nets, stones and sequins is apparent from her creations, which comprises young chic outfits with cascades of frills and laces. “Bling is definitely in this season,” she…More

The Hindu :

Painted Storks have arrived at the Hebbal Lake after a gap of four years

Photo (above): Murali Kumar K.Colourful It feeds on fish using its long yellow beak

The arresting sight of a Painted Stork can excite even the most uninterested bird watcher. So, take a drive down to the Hebbal Lake, to check out our winged visitors.

“Yesterday, about 6 p.m., I was crossing the flyover near Hebbal Lake, when I was surprised to notice about 14 painted storks (Mycteria leucocephala) in the lake. This is for the first time in four years that painted storks have arrived in Bangalore,” revealed Prasad Rau who maintains the security for the Hebbal Lake park. “As part of my job I visit the park regularly, so I am sure that these birds have not visited the lake for the last four years.”

Painted storks are in the list of protected species and that is why there is excitement among the bird watching community in Bangalore.

“I saw the flock while passing through Hebbal and encountered about 20 painted storks. This is the first time I am seeing such a huge congregation in the Hebbal Lake,” says an excited K.S. Seshadri.

The Painted Storks belong to the tropics. A tall slim bird, it grows to a height of 95 to 100 cm. It is marvellous to watch the bird in flight as they are broad winged and seem to soar effortlessly with their necks outstretched. The last time I saw them was in a little village outside Bangalore called Kokkare Bellur, with their untidy stick nests built haphazardly on the surrounding tamarind trees. Fledgling chicks made loud demanding calls for food from the parent birds. Found across Asia, the birds congregate mainly in wetlands with trees.

Predominantly white in colour, the wings and chest have black and white markings. The feathers turn a light pink towards the lower back,…More

The Hindu :

Sindhu Sreenath, the only girl from Karnataka on the Indian women’s rugby team is very excited with this aggressive touch sport

Photo: G.R.N. SomashekarTALL ORDER Winning in a sport that’s just taking off in India

She is tall, she is tough. Sindhu Sreenath is the first and thus far the only girl from Bangalore, nay Karnataka, to make it to the Indian women’s rugby team that finished runners-up to Thailand in the four-nation Borneo’s Sevens tournament at Kotakini Baklu in Malaysia, recently.

“Guam, the fourth team, however failed to turn up, and we ended up playing each other twice. We beat Malaysia both times but lost miserably to Thailand both in the league and in the final as well” said the 5’7” Sindhu.

Sindhu, gifted with a perfect physical structure for an athlete, is an all rounder, so to speak. That she walloped into rugby was thanks to her ball-skills (having been a basketball-er), and speed, thanks to her athletic prowess.

“It is a challenging sport,” she admits about rugby. But having been an athlete right from a tender age and with decent basketball skills (she represented the State at the Junior National basketball championships at Ludhiana-2003), Sindhu took to the sport like the proverbial fish to water.

“My entry has been very recent, since August this year. I did see some of the men play the sport at the RSI and BRV grounds. It was exciting just seeing them play. And with body contact and lots of aggression involved, I decided to give it a try”.

Coincidentally, the 10-a-side women’s rugby Nationals at Delhi happened and Karnataka just about managed to field a team of 13, all in the 14 to 25 age bracket. “We did considerably well there finishing fourth amongst the 11 teams in the fray and in the process, beating teams from Orissa, Bombay Gymkhana and even Kerala. But in the matches against…More

The Hindu :

Sameera Reddy juggles de-glam roles with comic capers

This has been one of my best years and I doubt if 2010 can match up to it.” gushesSameera Reddy, still flush from her success in “Vaaranam Aayiram” . “Don’t write me off from Telugu films yet, though,” she laughs. She was in Hyderabad recently to discuss film projects. “Acting in a Telugu film now and then makes me feel closer to my roots,” she explains.Flair for comedy

At the moment, there is more emphasis on Hindi and Tamil films, though. First to release will be Priyadarshan’s “De Dhana Dhan”. The film’s promotional campaign has been riding on Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif and Sameera maintains, “Akki and Katrina have together delivered big hits. It’s up to the producer to decide the promotional strategy. There are 27 characters in the film and I am paired with Suniel Shetty. Before ‘Race’, I never thought I had a flair for comedy. I think I’ve a better job in ‘De Dhana Dhan’.”

She remembers Priyadarshan’s moment of glory while they were shooting in Karaikudi. “When he got the call stating that he was chosen for the National Award, we went nuts. He did an outstanding job in ‘Kanchivaram’. I’m amazed how he shifts gears while directing comedies,” says Sameera.

After this comic caper, Sameera will shift gears too with no-nonsense characters in “Red Alert” and “Yeh Hosla”. In “Red Alert”, which was screened at the Berlin Film Festival, she says, “I play a character who gets raped by police and then joins the naxalites.”

Nagesh Kukunoor’s “Yeh Hosla”, she says, “is my best film so far. We shot for two months in Rajasthan. Nagesh is such a task master. I had lost weight for the role of a slum dweller.”

The characters in “Red Alert” and “Yeh Hosla” warranted that she went de-glam.

Reflecting on her Bengali film “Kaal Purush”, where she…More

The Hindu : y>

DID THE PM BUNK SCHOOL? And other questions kids asked on a TV show

Did Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh ever bunk school? What was the most mischievous thing he did during school? These and other questions will be answered directly by the Prime Minister on IBN7 on a special show that will be aired on Children’s Day. School children from across the country will interact with and direct some very candid questions at the Prime Minister and his wife Gursharan Kaur.

It will be aired on IBN7 on November 14 at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. and on November 25 at 11 a.m.

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Portico New York celebrates Children’s Day with a special collection — bed and bath linen designed for them. The Children’s Collection has cartoon characters like Barbie, Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Dora, Donald and so on. The collection is priced between Rs. 49 and Rs. 3,299 and is available at leading furnishing, department, and furniture stores.

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To mark Children’s Day, Podar Education Network is organising a Children’s Meal. There will be 21 different theme stalls too. Students of Podar Jumbo Kids will sell wrist bands made with their parents’ help, for Rs. 50.

The proceeds will go towards several NGO shelters sponsoring food, education, etc. The event is on November 14 at 10.30 a.m. at Freedom Park, Ramachandra Road, Gandhi Nagar. Contact 9164758626.

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Kenko Reflexology And Fish Spa Celebrates Children’s Day with Kenko Kids Karnival on November 14 between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. The participation is free for all the children and offers a fish spa experience for every child along with a lucky dip. The Kenko Spa, on Lavelle Road, can be contacted on 42070303/42110304.

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Kiara Kids and Teens Chorale, conducted by Wendy M. Dickson, comprising 54 singers aged between five and 16 will stage “Kiara Sings”. This will be the children’s maiden public performance…More