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The Hindu :

You are as smart as the gadget you use. And the defining gadgets of the year are the re-tooled wonders

WHAT ARE YOU? Technology defines the way we live now

We are what gizmos we use. Would that be an appropriate definition for homo sapiens in this millennium? Perhaps. A bit of tweaking, and a bit of magic with money sufficing for abracadabra, were the defining features of 2009. As we bid adieu to WorldSpace, we have to fine tune our WiFi powered Internet radio that catches the best of New York Philharmonic, BBC, Moscow Radio and even our Vividh Bharati.

This was the year in which Apple embedded a magnetic compass in its touch-phone which made you wonder “How the heck did they do it?”.

“Can I hear the needle shake if I shake the phone and put it to my ear?” This was also the year smartphone market came of age with a range of Android devices that are getting racier by the day. The year-ender catalogue of before-and-after is usually cooked up by journalists. In reality, all the tools we use are a continuum of stuff that was always there.

How else do you explain the rise of LED TVs? The much touted LED TVs are nothing more than LCD screens with the backlighting source being an LED lamp. But we all want to have the latest abbreviated wonders. And we are willing to shell out big bucks for them.

Netbooks got lighter, smarter, faster and cheaper. The cheapest one is now available for Rs. 15,000 with Linux OS. Next year we will see the Chrome OS, that promises a boot-up as fast as a TV, and because it comes free from Google, expect the prices to dip further.

The other thing that we can look forward to next year is the Apple’s iSlate or iTablet or iWhatever, that promises to be a cross…More

The Hindu : y>

AFFORDABLE LUXURY A comprehensive range of casual, formal and semi-formal wear

Body N Soul, Coimbatore is showcasing the latest collection of original Pakistani salwar suits, saris, designer salwar suites in cotton, crepe, chiffon etc in an exhibition from January 4 to 6.

The comprehensive range includes casual wear, formal and semi-formal wear. Exclusive designs are also available for special occasions. The Victor Brown line would have on display a range of kurtis, tunics, shirts and skirts crafted in latest designs. The Pakistani collection depicts flowery motifs in bright and subtle hues, tola and benazir work, sequins, zardozi, silk and threads are also used Lawn suits from Lahore and Karachi are also on sale. The work of designers from Ahmedabad, Calcutta and Coimbatore will also be on display. The exhibition is on till January 6 at Gallery 12A, corner gallery ground floor, Safina Plaza.

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The Hindu :

Zurich, with its multiple charms and rich history, is a pleasure to visit

THERE’S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE Zurich is famous for its ubiquitous fountains PHOTOS: BY AUTHOR

Zurich is a disarmingly pretty city. Its roots go back to being Turicum, a Roman customs post. In 1336, the guilds formed by the artisans and merchants took control of the government. Thereafter, Zurich became a hub of intellectual activity and also a financial centre.

Situated at one end of the lake Zurichsee, it is divided by the River Limmat. This is the country’s biggest city and has a huge influx of immigrants. For many years, Zurich has had the reputation of being a robotic city to do business in or a base to fly in and out of Switzerland. But, it’s a city that has re-invented itself — it has a large dose of old-world charm commingling with chic ‘modernity’.

Bus tour

We take the famous ‘trolley tour’ of Zurich on a bright red bus with commentaries in eight languages available on headphones. We start our tour at the pedestrian streets of the old town (called the Alstadt) on either side of the Limmat River.

There are small, winding cobblestone paths and tall heritage houses and guildhalls with wrought iron and wood facades. We lose ourselves in the narrow alleyways, peeking at quaint carvings on doors, family crests and baroque facades.

In the distance, we can see the old St. Peter’s church, dating to the 15th Century, which has the largest clock-face in Europe.

The Fraumunster church with its slender spires is famous for its five large stained glass windows by Marc Chagall. We are so entranced by the pipe organ and the interiors, as the sunlight streams in, that we nearly miss the trolley tour!

This used to be a Benedictine abbey for noblewomen (Frau, German for women). Outside, in Munsterhof Square, we see an interesting plaque, commemorating Winston Churchill’s…More

The Hindu : y>Rights activist and Pulitzer-winning author Alice Walker takes C.K. Meena through the transit points of her epochal journey

MOTHER OF WOMANISM Alice Walker says women are afraid to be women PHOTO: K. GOPINATHAN

Purple is her colour, but Alice Walker is dressed in blue instead – a kurta blue as a kingfisher’s breast. Sitting in a living room overlooking a garden beside Sankey Tank, surrounded by women and the odd man or two, on her first visit to India (under the Distinguished Visitors’ Programme of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations), the Pulitzer-winning author, poet and rights activist is speaking in her soft, measured manner about President Barack Obama. “My love for him is unconditional,” she says, “because of the courage it has taken him to be where he is.”

No looking back

It has taken no less courage for Alice Walker to be where she is today. The eighth and youngest child of poor tenant farmers who laboured for little or no wages on a white man’s cotton field in Georgia, she read and studied and battled her way to being a renowned and respected literary and political figure. The world at large knows her as merely the author of “The Color Purple”, which Steven Spielberg made into a movie, and is unaware of the “many journeys and struggles and pilgrimages” that this extraordinary woman has undertaken.

At 65, Dr. Walker continues to stand up for what she believes in, be it the Iraq war or the Israel-Palestine conflict. Her mother would have been proud of her. Dr. Walker loves to talk about her. “I had a very strong mother who taught me women must be strong,” she says with evident pride. “She was a very moral person.” As she describes her one can picture her vividly: a large woman, a Sagittarian, who was “like the mother of our village”, had a short temper, spoke…More

The Hindu :

Revel in the historic city of Bruges, where time seems to stand still

LIVING HERITAGE Bruges has a museum-like character PHOTOS: BY AUTHOR

Imagine living or working in a museum; imagine a town in which the buildings and neighbourhoods are frozen in the 15th Century, yet the town is bustling with activity like any modern-day metropolis — that’s Bruges for you; a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was one of the key centres of economic prosperity in the 1400s.

Unfortunately, with the shifting of the economic centre to Antwerp, the city went into a slumber for over 400 years, only to emerge in the 19th Century, rediscovered and preserved. Much against conventional practice, we decided to stay overnight in Bruges.

The weather played truant on the first day; so, we opted to take in the museums and cathedrals first. After a cup of steaming coffee and chocolate served in copious amounts by our hospitable host at the B&B, we stepped out into a light drizzle. Bruges is a walker’s dream, and can be covered entirely on foot. Our walk to the central square — the Markt — took us over cobblestone streets, past timber or stone houses, embellished with distinctive gable designs, canals spanned by quaint brides, piazzas surrounded by cafes — each turn opening up a new vista or ambience. The Markt is dominated by pedestrians and cafes, and is a starting point for horse-drawn carriages.

The 83-mt Belfry occupies pride of place in the Markt; you can climb the 366 steps to the top for a postcard view of the town. The adjacent Burg is much smaller, and surrounded by a cluster of the most beautiful buildings in Bruges — the Town Hall, the Museum of Holy Blood, and the Renaissance Hall.

Belgians turn chocolate making into a fine art, and the chocolatiers are like fashion stores. We drooled over the displays, and were…More

The Hindu : y>

A s 2010 dawns upon us, it is time to look forward to some good times ahead, and to hope that this year will be a great year for the world at large. MetroPlusasked city residents on what they feel the New Year holds for Bangalore.

Many people were convinced that the Metro system, sections of which is scheduled to be operational later this year, will improve public transportation in the city and bring down pollution levels a great deal. Many hoped that the State government will get down to business instead of worrying over non-issues and indulging in petty politics. Some were apprehensive about massive infrastructure development in the year, but felt that things will be better than last year.

Some were worried about the spiralling crime rate and the incidents of mugging that are increasing in this city and hoped that the New Year would see better policing. Many felt that this year would see the end of the global recession and would result in the good times returning after two years of economic gloom. We sample some responses

I hope the New Year brings more peace and political stability in the State. The launch of the Metro project will help solve the commuting issues that many people face and will also make public transportation more convenient in Bangalore.

Prem

Engineer

The BBMP elections will be a boon for Bangalore as it will bring in more accountability and force the officials to be on their toes. Politicians must concentrate on actual issues rather than indulging in mudslinging against each other this year.

Gopi

Student

The crime rate may continue to escalate as more and more people come into the city and disparities continue to increase. Better policing should be the key in maintaining law and order. With the Metro, commuting would become more faster.

Chandrashekar

Software engineer

Better policing is important as the crime rate…More

The Hindu :

Do you pile on the kilos after the holiday binging? It is possible to eat sensibly even in the face of a sumptuous buffet

EAT SENSIBLY Keep the serving sizes small PHOTO: REUTERS

How do we survive the holiday buffet? Standing, plate in hand, in line? Chew this over. Which one of these categories do you fall into?

Those who pick what they like, resolutely untempted by the rest; the adventurous, equally resolved to get a portion from all the serving trays; or the I-paid-for-it kind, piling the plate with all they like and some more, making a mental note of what they should attack in the second round.

Whatever your modus operandi, you end up with more food than you bargained for. It is a conspiracy, really. Against the sight and aroma of food simmering on a low flame, what are your chances of walking away with a slim meal?

As you teeter on the “Do I, Don’t I” precipice of a second helping, comes “helpful” advice. “Hey, did you try the chocolate soufflé? Heavenly, don’t miss it!” Resisting is a waste of time. You’re committed to a waistline-snapping diet disaster.

To find out how some people “survive the pitfalls of all-you-can-eat dining”, researchers at Cornell University Food and Brand Lab decided to observe both normal and overweight diners at buffets.

And, this is what they found: heavier diners are more likely to sit near the buffet tables and serve themselves quickly. They would walk to the tables, grab a plate and start spooning in the calories. You won’t find them browsing the food items. The normal-weight eaters, on the other hand, tended to browse the tables, scout around before making their choices.

Sit away from the table

For the statistically-minded, 71 per cent of normal-weight diners browsed the buffet before serving themselves, compared to 33 per cent of obese diners; 27 per cent of normal-weight patrons faced…More

The Hindu :

Neha Dhupia in a new avatar

What is Neha Dhupia best known for?

Her screen-scorching looks? And, we’ve learnt she’s putting it to good use.

This one-time beauty pageant winner, who acted with Abhay Deol in the movie “Ek Chaalis Ki Last Local”, has gone bare to support the green cause on a calendar.

The calendar is part of a ‘Go Green’ initiative launched by a private company, and has been shot by Jatin Kampani, who’s caught Neha on camera her different natural avatars.

HARSHIKAA UDASI

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The Hindu : y>Exclusive women’s group you can travel with

Women on Wanderlust (WOW), an all-women travelling group founded by Delhi-based Sumitra Senapaty is organising a host of international tours for women this year. Let’s begin with those you can take in the first quarter.

WOW’s itinerary for March includes a 10 nights-11 days New Zealand tour from March 10 to 19, 2010. It will take you to Auckland where you can visit Mt. Eden, Parnell Rose Garden, Harbour Bridge, Waterfront Drive, Mission Bay and enjoy dinner at the Sky City Observatory Restaurant. WOW promises traditional Maori concerts and a hangi feast – a typical dinner at Rotorua. Check out Paradise Valley Spring, the Agrodome Sheep Show, The tour also takes you to Christchurch, Greymouth and the Franz Joseph Glacier, Queensland. Enjoy Queenstown, and its Shotover Jetboat Ride. The package costs per person on twin share is Rs. 1,57,000. Single occupancy surcharge is Rs. 20,000. If you pay Rs. 75,000 latest by January 15, you get a Rs. 5,000 discount on package as an early bird offer. Last date is February 28, on a first come first serve basis.

There’s a trip to the Kingdom of Bhutan from March 24 to 30, which takes you to Thimpu and its handmade paper mill, School of Arts and Crafts, Memorial Chorten (temple), the Changangkha Lhakhang – the oldest temple in the valley. Drive through the Dochula pass, the second highest road in your trip at 3010 m. The package costs Rs. 48,500 (twin-share) with a single occupancy surcharge of Rs. 10,500. You get Rs. 3,000 off if you send the full amount by January 10. For details contact Sumitra Senapaty on 0-98916-55054 or email me@wowsumitra.com or check www.wowsumitra.com

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The Hindu :

Tribute to Asheem Chakravarty, Indian Ocean’s singer-percussionist

PHOTO: M. PERIASAMYSOULFUL FORAYS Asheem’s vocals transcended music

Somewhere up there, God is on the floor, with tears in his eyes. He’s laughing helplessly — Asheem has worked his charm on yet another stranger.

All that was special about Asheem could be seen when he met someone for the first time. He reached out with genuine warmth — for him, the person was always innocent until proven guilty.

With a unique capacity to look at things from utterly weird angles, and the ability to express that weirdness with a pointed directness, Asheem had the greatest sense of humour I have ever experienced.

He would make the strangest of pronouncements, sometimes randomly, and then find utterly ingenious ways to achieve some kind of coherence that was in itself delightful to behold. Laughter must have been the background accompaniment during most of Asheem’s talking life. Interestingly, you often felt his incredible warmth without necessarily ever getting particularly personal. There was something else at work here — maybe, this is what human chemistry really means. This chemistry was perhaps the secret to his art too.

Untrained and unpolished, his voice was never “technically” accomplished. He did not even sing much in his younger days — with Bangla band Niharika in the 1980s and even during Indian Ocean’s early years.

But since the mid-1990s when he began singing seriously, that magnificent raw texture would reach out for something beyond the realm of mere musical skill. Drawing from his deep interest in Hindustani classical, that voice began to transform mundane sound waves into soulful forays.

As he gained in confidence, and as vocals became integral to Indian Ocean’s music, his vocal chords found an individuality that brought shivers despite their familiarity. There was deep empathy in his voice, which came perhaps, from the life he had led.

Asheem used to always stress that he was from a…More