News

The Hindu : y>

Hong Kong Disneyland’s Year of the Tiger Celebration offers an opportunity for a unique Chinese New Year experience.

From February 5 to 28, Mickey, Minnie and other Disney Characters will put on their new festive costumes to wish guests the best of luck in the New Year.

There will also be an all-new ‘Disney’s Jumping Jam’ and the popular ‘Celebration in the Street on Main Street U.S.’ that includes elaborate drum and acrobat shows.

As one visits the different themed lands in the park, guests will discover the all-new lucky trail and find festive Chinese New Year merchandise as well as all kinds of delicious cuisine.

To take part in the lucky Year of the Tiger Celebration, you can purchase tickets at the main entrance of the Hong Kong Disneyland Park, front desks of the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, The Magic of Hong Kong Disneyland at Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong Disneyland Ticket Express at MTR Hong Kong Station, selected Circle K outlets and online at www.hongkongdisneyland.com.

You can also avail the ‘Stay and play for two days’ offer, which allows registered guests to stay either at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel or at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel until June 30, 2010. They will receive a complimentary park admission for the second day.

Call (852) 1-830-830 or visit www.hongkongdisneyland.com for ticketing details of the celebration.

<FONT …More

The Hindu :

Recent studies prove that fish are as smart as dogs and chimps and, in some cases, scale up even higher on the learning ladder

THINK TANK Fish are capable of complex logical reasoning

When Sapna is at home with her goldfish, often she feels the fish are studying her, observing her behaviour and watching her carefully. Sapna has noticed that they look different when she plays some soothing devotional music. She says: “They have this calm, beatific look on them, as if they are enjoying the music.”

Biologist Ava Chase at the Rowland Institute for Science, Cambridge, Massachusetts, who played music CDs to fish for four years, found that fish learned to discriminate blues recordings from classical, generalising from John Lee Hooker (guitar and vocals) and Bach (oboe concertos) to multiple artists and ensembles. Amazing, isn’t it? So Sapna’s intuition was perfectly on track. Now, she’s seriously considering having her music practice right next to the aquarium so that the fish can enjoy the songs too.

In the last few years, there’ve been some amazing studies done that prove that fish are as smart as dogs and chimps and in some cases, scale up even higher on the learning ladder. Fish can tell time, count numbers, solve puzzles, recognize symbols, identify different colours, play games, and just like you and me, they too can remember, learn and adapt.

Studies by Christian Agrillo, psychologist at the University of Padova in Italy, showed that fish can count to four. According to Agrillo, fish have a numerical ability that is on a par with that of monkeys, dolphins and infants. The idea that fish cannot remember for more than a few seconds is also a complete myth. Dr. Lynne Sneddon, a researcher at the University of Liverpool who was able to successfully identify the location of the pain receptors in fish says, “Studies have shown that fish can…More

The Hindu :

The city of canals floats on a sea of masks during the unique Venice Carnival in February

Photos: BY AUTHORFull of drama The masked revellers (and, below) the famed canals

There’s nothing about Venice that hasn’t been said before, including this sentence, as writer Geoff Dyer put it. And, when a city has been inundated with laurels and descriptions galore, it seems like there’s little else to discover.

The much-feted Venice however knows her stuff; it’s a city that has always considered itself as apart from Italy. So, in February, Venice, a city that is alive through the year, puts up the most colourful and longest carnival on earth.

The Venice Carnival — Carnevale de Venezia — is when a sea of humanity congregates by the canals in Eastman colour, united in purpose like their own Benetton.

Starting mid-February, Venice is transformed into an ostentatious bride. There are no real people anymore; only masks, costumes, allegorical characters and gallons of grease-paint! Tiny streets, large squares and the innumerable bridges have the Venetians, other Italians and a few lakh tourists don masks and costumes, ranging from the grotesque and fierce to beautiful and ornate.

The fortnight-long government sponsored street party finally ends with a bang on Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday), the day before Ash Wednesday.

For a city built entirely on water, not a shred of space is available, right from where the traveller alights at the Stazione de Santa Lucia, the train station. The Italians know a thing or two about intelligent architecture — the station exit opens directly into the Grand Canal, described as early as the 15 {+t} {+h} Century by French writer Phillipe de Commines as “the finest street in the world with the finest houses”. But, why don’t they do something about the ritzy hoardings screaming out Versace perfumes, Emporio Armani underwear (the Beckhams!) and D&G sunglasses.

The mandatory gondolas, vaporettos apart, the…More

The Hindu : y>

OUT OF THE BOX The material and products

Myntra.com has launched a range of over 90 eco-friendly products made from natural substances, for companies and colleges. It includes t-shirts, hand bags, jute laptop bags, wall hangings, coasters, solar powered lanterns, office stationery made out of recycled paper such as pen stands, pens, folders, memo pads etc.

Check out more products and place orders through the Myntra website – www.myntra.com or call the toll-free number 1800 102 9696.

* * *

Nick, the children’s entertainment channel, has launched a comic series “Chicken Stew”. The shows will première at 5 p.m. on Monday.

“Chicken Stew” is a fast-paced comedy that follows the classic tradition of ‘the great chase.’ It is the story of three chickens; Small Fry, Free Range and Uncle Wattles sharing a spacious two-storey house.

Nearby, a junkyard is home to a sneaky pair of weasels, who hatch evil plans in pursuit of the elusive hot chicken dinner. Catch all the action on weekdays at 5 p.m. on Nick.

<FONT …More

The Hindu :

Debutant director Abhishek Chaubey brings together very different kinds of actors in Ishqiya

YOUNG BOLLYWOODDirector Abhishek Chaubey with Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan

In a recent interview veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah said, “I’ve never regretted working with debut directors. In fact, they make better films than even veterans of my times.” That’s why youngsters like Neeraj Pandey (who gave Shah a convincing role in “A Wednesday”) and Abhishek Chaubey (who, according to Shah, is the first director to have given him a romantic role in “Ishqiya”) gain confidence.

Good backing

“Ishqiya” is Abhishek’s debut film as a director. Besides Shah, it features Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan. Shah didn’t know Abhishek before this film but his association with Vishal Bhardwaj, producer and co-writer of the film, helped. Admits Abshishek: “I assisted Vishal in writing ‘Maqbool’, ‘Makdee’, ‘The Blue Umbrella’, ‘Omkara’ and ‘Kaminey’, and he has great faith in me. That’s why when I gave his reference to these actors.”

“Ishqiya” deals with two men, 52-year-old Khalujan (Naseer) and 32-year-old Babban (Arshad), united by the misery caused by their boss (played by Salman Shahid). In a bid to escape from him they end up at a friend’s house in Gorakhpur where they meet a widow, Krishna (Vidya), and their hearts go aflutter.

Filmmaking, says the alumnus of Delhi University, is not simple, especially when one deals with actors from different schools of thought. The actors dealt with the film in their own way. Recalls Abhishek: “Naseer bhai believes in proper rehearsals through workshops or otherwise. He prepares himself to the fullest before facing the camera, while Arshad is spontaneous. Hence, a lot of things he does are not penned or rehearsed. He was a blessing for me as he improvised during the shooting. Vidya, took her role as a challenge. Her character is complex with negative shades. She surprised me with her commitment and interest in everything…More

The Hindu : y>Amitabh Chakraborty’s Bishar Blues delves into the lives of Bengal’s fakirs, who epitomise the convergence of various religious cultures in the State, says VIKHAR AHMED SAYEED

Photo: K. GopinathanTRIPPING ON the MUSIC Filmmaker Amitabh Chakroborty says of the singing fakirs

The Muslims say Allah, the Hindus

say Bhagwan

Why is there this difference

between them?

To Medina came Mohammad

and to Mathura went Krishna

Mohammed and Krishna

both play the spiritual game

These lines, when read, appearsimple, but when JalalShah, a fakir, sings the sameverse in the film “BisharBlues”, they seem to acquire avague spiritual strength and aprofound contemporary relevance.Shah is one of the manyfakirs of rural Bengal whoselives and beliefs are thrownopen to Amitabh Chakraborty’ssensitive camera in the film”Bishar Blues”. The documentary,the first to show this ruralgroup of performing spiritualists,was screened last week inthe city. “Bishar” means outsidethe bounds of the Islamic shariatand the film portrayed thehistorical traditions of the fakirs,whose practices mainstreamIslam would considerblasphemous.

The 90-minute film that wona National Award in 2007 containsperforming vignettes of,and discussions with, a motleygroup of syncretic fakirs spreadacross the districts of Birbhum,Nadia, Murshidabad and Burdwanin West Bengal. The fakirssing songs of spiritual syncretism,in villages and in shrines,providing a unique perspectiveof a lived faith partly cocoonedaround the mystic legacy of LalonFakir. There is no clear narrativein the film but its lack isnever felt as there is a certainserene flow to the film as wemeet the fakirs and their songs.

Chakraborty, the director ofthe film, could also pass as amodern urban fakir with hiscontempt for mainstream religiouspractice and his curiosityto seek out and focus on the convergencesof religions as he doesin this film. Even his e-mail addresshas the word `fakir’ in it.His fascination with the lives ofthe fakirs is obvious. “I have aproblem with this whole murthi(idol) business and the mumbojumboof organised religion,” heexplained when asked why hechose to make a film on thistheme. Chakraborty does notget very excited and conveys hispassion in a measured and calmmanner….More

The Hindu :

A delicious dip with honey, a natural sweetener

Honey is a delicious, viscous sweetener, made naturally by bees for their own nourishment.

The fascinating process of making honey begins when the bees feast on flowers, collecting the flower nectar in their mouths.

This nectar then mixes with special enzymes in the bees’ saliva, an alchemical process that turns it into honey.

The bees carry the honey back to the hive, where they deposit it into the cells of the hive’s walls. The fluttering of their wings provides the necessary ventilation to reduce the honey’s moisture content, making it ready for consumption.

Honey comes in a range of colours, including white, amber, red, brown and almost black. Its flavour and texture vary with the type of flower nectar from which it was made. The most commonly available honeys are made from clover, alfalfa, heather and acacia flowers. It’s usually pasteurised.

Honey has been used since ancient times both as a food and as a medicine. It was used mainly in religious ceremonies to pay tribute to the gods, as well as to embalm the deceased.Raw honey that has not been pasteurised, clarified, or filtered — provided it is of the highest organic quality — is your best choice. Look for honey that states “100 per cent pure.” While regular honey is translucent, creamy honey is usually opaque and is made by adding finely crystallised honey back into liquid honey. Specialty honeys, made from the nectar of different flowers, such as thyme and lavender, are also available.

Remember that the darker the colour, the deeper the flavour.

It is important to keep honey stored in an airtight container so that it doesn’t absorb moisture from the air.

Honey that is kept at colder temperatures tends to thicken, while honey that is kept at higher temperatures has a tendency to darken and have an altered flavour.

In addition to its reputation as Nature’s nutritive…More

The Hindu :

Olivier Culmann’s photographs capture the passivity displayed by human beings while watching TV

EngrossedA couple watching news is Culmann’s favourite in his collection

In the peaceful environs of the National Gallery of Modern Art on Palace Road, you will find a photography exhibition on display titled “TV Viewers”.

It’s an interesting exhibition to go to, because for the first time perhaps, we can see what we probably look like when we are sprawled in front of the idiot box.

The photos are by famed French photographer Olivier Culmann.

On an email chat, the photographer says “the passivity that we humans have while watching TV frightened me”. And that is the reason behind his choice of subject.

“When I’m watching TV, I feel more of a spectator than an actor of the world where I’m living. Preoccupied with this feeling, I wanted to go deeper and more globally into this issue, looking at different countries, different cultures and ways of life. In general, I am very interested by the non-spectacular but very important aspects of our lives. I feel more attracted when nothing in a subject seems to be interesting.”

There are several pictures taken in Ernakulam, Kerala, where Culmann seems to have been fascinated by several subjects.

Couples like Jaishree and K.P. Rajagopal Sayujam, sitting stiffly on sofas totally engrossed in the news, taken in 2005, with their cat lying prone across both laps.

Stark contrasts

In stark contrast is Simon Ore watching a DVD of the animation series “The Simpsons” in Los Angeles, lolling across a comfortable and plush looking leather settee.

The older couples watching the news in India have a very correct air about them.

In another photo, Jmaa Raouani is cuddled in a blanket, just her face peeping through, watching a Mexican serial in Morocco.

In an interesting visual, Shreedevi and husband Venugopal Menon are seen sitting at their dining table, engrossed in the Malayalam film “The King”.

Another photo…More

The Hindu :

Revel in the sight of fine horses, and take in the horse power at the Circuit de Pau Arnos

Adrenalin rush At The Stars of Pau

There was an air of festivity in Pau the day we arrived. ‘The Stars of Pau’, an international equestrian event, was well underway and the Domaine de Sers, a beautiful and verdant horse training centre, the venue for competition shows and entertainment.

Pau is the base city if you want to visit the French side of the Pyrenees. It is a charming little place that feels like it was a village that grew up to become a town.

Tucked away in the South-west of France, you feel nice and cosseted by its charm. The Stars of Pau has evolved from an idea put forth by Doctor Chambaud, Mayor of Lons, in October 1990, to create an international equestrian event in Pau.

Most prestigious

From a CCI event (Concours Complet d’Equitation) with one star accreditation in 1991, the Stars of Pau today is a five-star CCI event that is one of the most prestigious ones on the world-wide equestrian circuit.

The main attractions, of course, were the fine horses and their riders, as they showcased how well they complemented and understood each other. Every rider knew his or her horse intimately, and it showed as they went around the cross-country obstacle course.

But, besides that, there was entertainment for the entire family. An exhibitor’s village with more than 70 exhibitors offered a diverse selection of local and international goods to sample and take home. These ranged from luxury goods, horse and rider equipments, rural crafts, to wine and champagne.

Children were kept happy with pony rides, and I was very happy with the fantastic food stalls that included yummy crepes with Nutella and stuffed French croissants. Watching horses and pretty riders and indulging in fine French fare was all very good, but I prefer…More

The Hindu : y>Here’s a chance for budding cartoonists to hone their skill

The Indian Institute of Cartoonists and British Council are organising a one-day workshop for budding cartoonists, on March 5 at the Institute.

The workshop will be conducted by noted British cartoonist, Michal Boncza Ozdowski. He will give a lecture and demonstration on the theme of climate change. This will be followed by an open discussion about practical techniques and hands-on training.

Michal contributed regularly to a London-based Spanish monthly “Notices” (News) in the 90s. he is trained as a fine art painter and designer in Poland. The workshop is open for those aged between 18 and 35 years, with a knowledge of English. Thirty to 35 candidates will be selected, by a panel of experts, for the workshop.

Applicants can send their application by post to Indian Institute of Cartoonists, No.1, Midford House, Midford Garden, off M.G. Road, near Big Kids Kemp, Bangalore- 1, or by mail to info@cartoonistsindia.com / cartoonistsindia@gmail.com.

Applicants should mention their name, postal addresses, contact number, email ID and also a brief note on their love for cartoons. The selected candidates will be informed by post or email. Last date to submit the applications are February 15. There is no fee for the workshop.

<FONT …More