News

The Hindu : y>The next-generation Indigo rolls in as Manza

Tata Motors has launched the next-generation Indigo, named Manza. The Manza comes with two engine options — 1.3-litre Quadrajet diesel and 1.4-litre Safire petrol — sourced from Fiat.

On the inside, it has two-tone beige interiors, tilt-adjustable power steering, height-adjustable driver seat, two-din music system with USB/AUX-in ports, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, Bluetooth connectivity through Blue5, ABS and two airbags. The car is priced at Rs 5.65 lakh to Rs 7.78 lakh (on-road, Mumbai).

<FONT …More

The Hindu :

Bangalore School of Music celebrated Children’s Day with a concert by little musicians

YOUNG WONDERS Celebrating budding talent at BSM

The idea was innovative and simple. To celebrate Children’s Day, Aruna Sunderlal, principal of the Bangalore School of Music had a selection of her little maestros entertain a roomful of their fellow maestros from the BSM. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and children filled the Alliance Francaise auditorium to celebrate protégés who showcased their talents.

The evening’s entertainment was kicked off with Nachiketa, Aron, Shriya, Rivya, Dhanshree A., Tanvika and Divya regaling the audience with a medley of nostalgic old tunes on the keyboards. “Wooden Heart”, “Edelweiss”, “Brahms Waltz” and the catchy “Santa Lucia” among others, set the tone for the evening.

Up next was a group of six little choral singers called Angel Voices, who had the audience enthralled with a spirited rendering of “Chattanooga Choo Choo”. The singers were accompanied by Shubha and Sheetal on the piano. There was always a hurried shuffle in the front seats, with proud dads or mums quickly sliding in and out to record their little one’s performance.

Madonna-faced violinist Jayanthi J., trained by Arun Rozario and accompanied by pianist Shreelakshmi V. came on next with an accomplished performance. Considering that the performers were young and from Grades I to V the silent appreciation by their fellow school mates, through the entire evening’s programme, was commendable.

Piano Harmonies was up next, with the miniscule pianist’s feet swinging way above the floor. Solos by Sheetal P., a duet by Elin G. and Moana G., solos by Seher K. and Advika B. and another round of solos by Tejas Jayshankar and Simran S. trained by different teachers marked the piano round. Special mention of Jayshankar’s rendering of “Ghost in the Chimney” by Theodore Kullak, and Simran S’s delicate finger work in a Francois Couperin piece must be made.

To…More

The Hindu : PRINCE FREDERICK

From 1929 to the early Sixties, an inline six engine that used slotted-head bolts meant for a stove greatly contributed to the popu larity of Chevrolet trucks

Ford’s world orbited for a long time around its Model T.

Only in the latter half of 1920 did Henry Ford wake up to the necessity of retiring the epochal model.

As Chevrolet was keeping its low-priced cars far from staid by constantly adding refinements,

Ford could no longer hope to remain the market leader bychurning out the same old Model T.

The Model A was scheduled to replace the Model T in 1927. But the switchover was fraught with unexpected delays and it was only in 1929 that the new Ford actually got on the road. Chevrolet took maximum advantage of the situation — a fact reflected in its sales figures during the period.

Chevrolet’s head, William S. Knudsen (a former Ford executive who had acrimoniously parted ways with Henry Ford) tried to deal his former company a blow by offering at an attractive price, a car that was steered by a powerful inline six-cylinder engine.

Called ‘International’, this Chevrolet series was introduced in 1929 with the promise of “a six for a price of a four”. This engine was christened ‘The Stovebolt Six’, taking into consideration the use of slotted-head bolts traditionally used in the making of wood-burning metal stoves.

The feature lent the engine an element of exotica; its over-head valve design and durability contributed to the engine’s enduring popularity.

It serviced Chevrolet cars and trucks until early 1960s — the Chevrolets, especially the trucks, powered by the Stovebolt Six are pithily referred to as the Stovebolt.

The greatest evidence of this engine’s success lies in the fact that it survived many major overhauls, especially the one in 1947 when a new era of Chevrolet trucks was augured in. The Chevrolet trucks, from 1947to 1955, are…More

The Hindu : y>British graphic novelist Tony Lee tells NANDINI HEBBARthe real challenge is to tell a story in just 30 pages of five panels each, yet not disturb the status quo

Photo: SAMPATH KUMAR G.P.Star trooper Tony Lee throws in imagination and experience

For a graphic novelist, Tony Lee is quite the realist when it comes to himself. He begins with a list of everything he is not: he is neither the creator of Spider Man and X-Men nor does any of the illustrations. He is just one of the many writers whowrite for the comics that Marvel brings out every month, he says, dispelling any myths about himself.

The British writer, has, however, also written for the “Doctor Who” license held by Panini and IDW comics, authored books for the “Starship Troopers” adapted from the Robin Hood legend into a 140-page graphic novel called “Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood”, and written his own mini series “Hope Falls” and “Midnight Kiss”.

Touring India as a part of the British Council’s Litsutra programme, Lee judged a drawing competition for children aged 11 to 17. As they queued up to get their entries autographed by the author, he reserved a special comment for everyone, sometimes scribbling ‘Nice Hat!’ on a Dracula drawing or ‘I like the tuft of hair,’ on a Doctor Who.Let them run

“As a writer, you have to lead the reader by the hand. But sometimes you have to let them run,” he says explaining the challenges of telling a story in just 30 pages of five panels each, yet not disturbing the status quo. “It’s like taking out all the toys from a toy box, but having to put it back exactly as you found it. The character has to progress, the story has to be built, but everything should remain the same.”

Building the story comes from his own experiences and imagination. He had…More

The Hindu : y>

The Un-Convention music event is gathering momentum with events planned around the world. Mumbai will host the fifth Un-Convention music conference and the first of its kind in India, on November 21 and 22. International panelists Andrew Dubber (NewMusic Strategies), Jez Collins (Birmingham Music Archive), John Sullivan (Source Productions), Ruth Daniel (Fat Northerner Records, Un-Convention and TourCore) will be coming together to look to the future of independent music, understand how it functions, discuss, debate; provide insight and inspiration. It will be marked by the introduction of 100 Un-Convention Fellowships enabling musicians from all around India the opportunity to attend the event. Some bands from Bangalore like Lounge Piranha, Slain, and Parachute XVI, as well as people like Salman Syed, band manager-Kryptos, Arpan Peter, Bangalore I-Rock organizer will participate.Founded in October 2008, the event is aimed at grass roots and independent artists and music related companies.Log on towww.unconvention.in

<FONT …More

The Hindu :

Bhicoo Manekshaw’s recipe book has you falling in love with cooking all over again

Photo: M. PeriasamyCUSHIONING Those inevitable kitchen disasters

If I should meet Bhicoo Manekshaw, I shall give her a big hug. One, because she has written a cook book called “Feast of Love 50 Classic Menus” that makes me want to sing out loud. We also have something in common. Bhicoo is an Air Force wife too. She became the first Indian woman to complete the Advance Certificate Course of the Cordon Bleu School of Cookery, London, in 1963, while I joined the ranks of the `also cooked’ after wedding the Air Force.

All out of love

But, Bhicoo will bear meout when I say that ArmedForces wives face culinarychallenges few others do.And, as she says in her book,we have all leaned heavily onone ingredient to see usthrough kitchen disasters -love. Sometimes, love is theonly reason that has keptspouses chained to the diningtable, and friends have remainedfriends.

Memories flood in as onereads of episodes and encountersthat Bhicoo writesof. Some of them are scary,and all of them make onesmile now.

It was not funny at all howin 1993, I stood paralysed inthe mess kitchen in sub-zeroLeh. The `bachelor’ officershad demanded idlis, and I hadlaboured over huge quantitiesof batter ground in a smallBraun dry grinder. I had sentit to the mess in advance (wedidn’t cook in our rooms).When I went to the mess alittle before to check on myidlis, I was confronted with ahuge ice sculpture wroughtentirely of my batter. Somebodyhad put the batter intothe freezer!

Bhicoo would have beenproud of me. When the worldswam back into focus, I quicklyput a huge pan of water toboil and had the idly batter inits container thaw in it. I didnot know then but what I didis called `Bain-Marie’.

One also recollects beingpart of a cooking class. Thatday was souffl‚-making, andeveryone was…More

The Hindu : y>Car and bike questions? We have the answers

I want to buy a premium hatchback within Rs. 6.5 lakh. It should be spacious, comfortable, good looking, and have a big boot. I have short-listed the Hyundai i20 Asta, Maruti Swift and Fiat Punto. Fuel economy is not a concern. Which one should I go for? And, will I have to wait long for these cars?

Akash Varun Kullu

The Hyundai i20 Asta with the 1.2 petrol engine should suit you best as it comes closest to combining all that you are looking for.

The i20, which has been styled for Europe, is contemporary looking but then so are the Swift and the Punto. The i20 has the most comfortable interiors, lots of safety features (in Europe it received a commendable four-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash tests), and the most generous boot of the lot. In terms of quality too, the i20 is good. Fuel efficiency is average, but since that doesn’t matter to you, it won’t be a concern. The i20 desn’t have much of a waiting list, and is readily available.

<FONT …More

The Hindu : y>

The Jayaraman family and Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) jointly call for nominations for the Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award 2009. The Award had been set up in the memory of Anupama Jayaraman, a young and promising Bangalore-based journalist who passed away in January 2006.

Entries must address the broad themes of human rights and social justice, access to natural resources, gender equality, climate change and environment. Eligibility Criteria: The 2009 Award is open to Indian women journalists aged 25 or less, working in or contributing to the print media in India (freelance journalists eligible). Three representative articles with at least one on the specified topic, published over a two-year period (between September1, 2007 and October 30, 2009) will be considered.

For details log on towww.nwmindia.org. Last date to send in nominations is December 1, 2009.

For enquiries contact Nirmala Jayaraman: 9242150045, Anita Cheria: 9448484797 or e-mail:award.aj@gmail.com.

<FONT …More

The Hindu : y>We Are What We Eat is a series of film screenings, discussions, and lectures that take us on a tour of our daily bread

Bangalore Film Society presents ‘The Joan P. Mencher Lectures: We are What We Eat’, a series of film screenings and discussions. Joan P. Mencher, renowned anthropologist and one of the foremost voices across the globe on issues like foodsustenance and security; pollution and climate change etc, will be present for three days.

On November 20, at 6.30 p.m., the film “The Story of Stuff” will be screened. From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities, yet most of this is hidden from view. The film looks at the underside of our production and consumption patterns.This will be followed by a screening of “Fresh”, a film by Ana Sophia Joanes, that takes a close look at the innovative alternatives to industrial food production.On November 21, at 6.30 p.m., Joan Mencher will talk on “Women and Alternative Visions for the Future of Food in India”. This will be followed by a screening and discussion of “The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil”. On November 22, at 6.30 p.m., “Thirst”, a film by Alan Snitow and Deborah Kauffman will be screened. It reveals how water is the catalyst for explosive community resistance to globalization. This will be followed by “Caminos- The Immigrant’s Trail” that traces a group of U.S. and Canadian citizens retracing the immigrant trail from El Paso, Texas to Oaxaca, Mexico.

Admission is free. The event will be at Ashirvad, 30, St. Mark’s Road cross, opposite State Bank of India. Call 25493705/ 98862-13516. Email:bangalorefilmsociety@gmail.com

<FONT …More

The Hindu : C.K. MEENA

Parents of middle class youngsters are so indulgent, they can barely care for themselves

Photo: Thulasi KakkatBANKING ON HELP To survive daily drudgeries like cleaning

There’s a young working couple not far from where I live, whose house appears to be a pigsty. Unconfirmed reports state that you have to dig your way through a good deal of muck to get to them.

Apparently they start shedding their belongings like moulting snakes the moment they come home from work. They take off one shoe in the balcony and the other one in the bedroom. Their clothes are similarly scattered on the floor across the house. All evidence points to the likelihood that they haven’t yet discovered the kitchen sink.

If they drink a glass of water in the bedroom they leave the empty glass right there. The same goes for coffee – they abandon the cup at the spot where they took their last sip. At night they leave their plates, encrusted with traces of dinner, on the table. The hot box for the rotis lies open next to the unwashed plates. The next morning they leave their newspaper in a dozen sections all over the house. The breakfast dishes, needless to say, remain in situ.

And so on and so forth. C, the woman who cleans their house (or at least attempts to), scolds them often and mock-threatens to quit but the wife pacifies her: “Don’t bother to fold or arrange anything, didi, leave it as it is.” C speaks of them with affectionate tolerance. “They are both working, so they don’t have time. And they’re young, after all.” Young? They’re the same age as C, who works in four houses not including her own, and has a small child. “It’s the way they’ve been brought up,” she concludes. There is some truth in that remark, but before we go into it, an…More